Head of Applied AI in London

Remote, UK (travel required) | Permanent | Delivery | Reports to the Chief Services Officer

Shape how Colibri takes AI from possibility to production. Colibri Digital is looking for a Head of Applied AI to lead and grow our AI engineering capability. This is a senior leadership role sitting at the intersection of AI engineering, consulting, commercial growth and technical delivery. You'll help shape where we take our AI capability next, lead senior conversations with clients and remain close enough to the technology to challenge architecture, guide engineers and influence how solutions are built.

Our focus is very much on applied AI. We're interested in what happens beyond the demo: taking Generative AI, Agentic AI and predictive AI into secure, governed production environments where they solve real business problems. You'll inherit strong technical capability, but there's plenty still to build. You'll have the opportunity to shape the team, our propositions, how we go to market and how we turn emerging AI technology into solutions clients can actually use.

Why this role is worth a conversation

• You get to build, not just inherit. There is an established technical capability here, but the AI market is moving quickly and we're still shaping what comes next. You'll have genuine influence over the direction of the practice, the team we build and the propositions we take to market.
• You’ll stay close to the technology. This isn't a role where you step completely away from engineering. We want someone who can hold an executive-level conversation about the business application of AI and then switch into a detailed discussion with engineers about architecture, RAG, agents, evaluation or how a solution will operate in production.
• You’ll be involved before the solution is sold. You'll work closely with our sales, pre-sales and consulting teams from discovery onwards – identifying where AI can create genuine value, shaping credible solutions and making sure what we commit to is technically achievable and commercially sound.
• You’ll help turn innovation into revenue. Part of the opportunity is taking what works for clients and turning it into repeatable propositions, accelerators and reusable assets that help Colibri grow.

What you'll own

• The Applied AI capability. Its technical direction, standards, people, propositions and continued growth.
• Senior client conversations. Leading AI discovery, consulting and solution conversations from initial opportunity through to delivery.
• AI engineering excellence. Setting high standards across architecture, engineering, testing, CI/CD, MLOps/LLMOps, evaluation, security and AI governance.
• Production AI. Ensuring solutions move beyond experimentation into reliable, scalable and governed production environments.
• Solution design. Challenging architecture, estimates and delivery approaches before commitments are made.
• The team. Leading, mentoring and developing AI engineers and senior technical specialists while helping us build the capability we need for the future.
• Commercial growth. Working alongside sales and pre-sales to build pipeline, win new work and expand existing client relationships.
• Propositions and IP. Turning successful client solutions into repeatable offerings, accelerators and reusable assets.
• Capability performance. Helping manage revenue, utilisation, capacity and margin across the practice.
• Our presence in the AI market. Building visibility through clients, partners, events, content and thought leadership.

What we’re looking for

There isn't one particular career path into this role. You may already be leading an AI practice or capability, or you could be an exceptional Principal or Director-level AI leader ready to take the next step. What matters more is the combination of technical depth, client credibility, commercial awareness and a genuine appetite to build something. We're particularly interested in evidence that you have:

• Deep technical expertise in modern AI engineering, particularly LLM-based systems, RAG, agentic or multi-agent architectures, vector databases/embeddings and AI evaluation.
• Taken AI or ML solutions from prototype through to reliable production use.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals including system design, APIs, version control, automated testing and CI/CD.
• Experience of MLOps/LLMOps and operating AI systems in production.
• Experience with modern cloud AI technologies and platforms.
• Led engineers building AI systems while retaining strong technical credibility yourself.
• Worked directly with senior clients, ideally within consulting, professional services or another client-led technology environment.
• Been involved in pre-sales – whether through discovery, solution shaping, proposals, pitches or helping win and expand client work.
• Led, mentored and developed technical people.
• A strong understanding of responsible AI, governance, evaluation and the challenges of deploying AI safely at scale.
• The ability to move comfortably between conversations about business value and commercial outcomes and detailed conversations about how an AI solution should actually work.

The kind of person who’ll thrive here

You’ll probably be naturally entrepreneurial and curious. AI is moving too quickly for us to have a playbook for everything. You'll be comfortable operating where the answer isn't always known upfront, experimenting with emerging technologies and making informed decisions about what's genuinely useful versus what's simply generating hype. You don't need to come from a small consultancy. Experience within a larger consulting organisation can be equally relevant. What matters is that you're comfortable operating without layers of infrastructure around you, taking ownership and turning ideas into action. We're looking for someone who wants to build the playbook, not wait for one.

What you'll get

• A highly competitive salary, depending on experience.
• Salary Sacrifice Pension plan of 5+3.
• 25 days' annual leave + 1 birthday day.
• Private Medical and wider benefits.
• Remote-first within the UK.
• This is a senior client-facing leadership role, so there will be travel to client sites, partner events and Colibri/Nasstar offices, including central London, when required.

How the process runs

• Talent conversation – an initial conversation with our Talent team to explore the role and your background.
• Leadership conversation – focused on your AI leadership, consulting and commercial experience.
• Technical/working session – an opportunity to explore how you approach Applied AI, architecture and taking solutions into production.
• Practice/peer conversations – meet some of the leaders and technical people you'll work alongside.
• Executive conversation – time with senior leadership to understand Colibri's strategy, growth ambitions and expectations for the role.

Depending on availability, some stages may be combined. We'll keep you informed throughout the process.