At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the delivery of complex AI solutions and mentor a community of data scientists.
- Company: Join a leading digital technology consultancy with a strong focus on responsible AI.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, hybrid working, and a people-first culture prioritising innovation.
- Other info: Be part of a dynamic team driving AI advancements across major sectors.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in AI and influence industry standards at a pivotal moment.
- Qualifications: Proven track record in AI solutions and ability to engage with C-level stakeholders.
The predicted salary is between 90000 - 130000 £ per year.
Senior AI leadership role at one of the UK's leading AI and Data businesses. Cutting-edge work across machine learning, generative AI and agentic AI at enterprise scale. Belfast based hybrid working with UK-wide client engagement. Salary £90,000 to £130,000. UK work authorisation required.
About the Company
Our client is a leading digital technology consultancy with a decade-long track record of delivering production-grade AI solutions across government, healthcare, defence and commercial sectors. Their 150-strong AI and Data Practice is trusted by Microsoft, AWS and others to deliver advanced solutions at citizen scale. Pioneers in responsible AI, this is a genuinely exciting practice to join at a pivotal moment in its growth.
The Role
A principal-level leadership position for a senior AI and Data Science professional who can operate with equal confidence in a technical deep-dive and a C-suite conversation. You will be accountable for large-scale AI solution delivery, help set the strategic direction for AI and data science across the business, and lead a community of data scientists and AI engineers. If you want to influence the future direction of AI in some of the UK's most important organisations, this is the role.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the delivery of complex, production-grade AI and ML solutions at scale across major client programmes.
- Provide technical and thought leadership to C-level and senior stakeholders, defining architectural principles and strategic direction.
- Drive adoption of scalable, cloud-native AI development practices and robust engineering standards.
- Lead, mentor and develop a community of data scientists, AI engineers and technical managers.
- Embed responsible AI principles, model interpretability and ethical considerations across all delivery.
- Shape commercial AI offerings, influence account strategies and support business development.
- Build enduring client relationships and develop new alliances with technology partners.
- Contribute to the wider AI community through thought leadership, research and industry engagement.
What You'll Need
Essential:
- Proven track record delivering complex, production-grade AI and ML solutions at scale.
- Deep expertise in advanced AI and ML models including time series, supervised and unsupervised learning, reinforcement learning, LLMs and agentic AI.
- Experience with modern AI engineering approaches including prompt engineering, RAG and agentic AI orchestration.
- Expertise in data engineering for AI, including large-scale, unstructured and multimodal data.
- Deep understanding of responsible AI principles with a track record of influencing policy and standards.
- Ability to communicate and negotiate with C-level stakeholders, translating technical concepts into business value.
- Experience shaping commercial AI offerings and driving business development.
- Demonstrated ability to build and lead high-performing data science teams and communities.
Desirable:
- Experience with PyTorch, TensorFlow, and fine-tuning or distillation of LLMs including GPT, Llama and Gemini.
- Experience with vector databases, semantic search and knowledge graphs.
- Active contribution to open-source projects, research publications or industry events.
- Familiarity with AI security, privacy and compliance standards including ISO 42001.
Why Apply?
- Salary of £90,000 to £130,000.
- Work at the cutting edge of AI and ML delivery on programmes at genuine national scale.
- Join a 150-strong AI and Data Practice at a pivotal moment in its growth.
- Pioneer in responsible AI with real influence over policy, standards and industry direction.
- People-first culture with a strong focus on innovation, continuous learning and engineering excellence.
- Hybrid working within a collaborative and ambitious practice.
Principal Data Scientist in Belfast employer: Ocho People
Join a pioneering digital technology consultancy that stands at the forefront of AI and Data innovation in Belfast. With a people-first culture that prioritises continuous learning and engineering excellence, this role offers you the chance to lead transformative AI solutions while influencing industry standards. Enjoy hybrid working arrangements and the opportunity to engage with high-profile clients across various sectors, all while being part of a dynamic team dedicated to responsible AI practices.
