At a Glance
- Tasks: Build and integrate AI capabilities for impactful government projects.
- Company: Award-winning digital consultancy making a difference in the UK.
- Benefits: Hybrid working, competitive salary, and commitment to diversity.
- Other info: Opportunities for growth in a dynamic, supportive environment.
- Why this job: Join a collaborative team and shape the future of AI in public services.
- Qualifications: Experience with LLMs, programming skills, and a passion for responsible AI.
The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 £ per year.
Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom | Posted on 17/07/2026
Scrumconnect Consulting is a multi-award-winning digital consultancy, recognised for delivering impactful and innovative technology solutions across UK government departments. Our work has positively influenced the lives of over 40 million UK citizens.
Overview
We're looking for an AI Engineer to build the application-level AI capability inside a large-scale AI adoption programme for a central government department. Where the Machine Learning Engineer trains models and the MLOps Engineer runs the platform, you sit closest to the end product: turning LLMs, retrieval systems, and agentic workflows into working, usable features that integrate with the department's existing services. You'll work inside a collaborative 'Rainbow Team' alongside civil servants, implementing the guardrails and standards set by the Lead AI Engineer and Lead Technical Architect.
Key Responsibilities
- Build & Integrate: Implement RAG pipelines, prompt templates, and agentic workflows, and wire them into application logic that connects with the department's legacy and multi-cloud systems.
- Prompt Engineering & Evaluation: Design, test, and iterate on prompts and retrieval strategies; run structured evaluations to track answer quality, retrieval accuracy, and hallucination rate over time.
- Responsible AI in Practice: Implement the specific guardrails and human-in-the-loop checkpoints defined by the leads — this is an execution role, not a policy-setting one.
- Documentation & Handover: Contribute to 'Docs-as-Code' artifacts supporting the OKUA knowledge-transfer framework, so the features you build can be understood and maintained by internal government engineers.
Required Skills & Experience
- Practical experience building applications using LLMs or other foundation models, via API or self-hosted.
- Experience with RAG architectures, vector databases, and embedding-based retrieval.
- Solid general-purpose programming (commonly Python) and API design/integration skills.
- Prompt engineering with a systematic, evaluation-driven approach rather than trial and error.
- Familiarity with agentic/orchestration frameworks and multi-step AI workflows.
- Comfortable working within secure, regulated environments and handling sensitive data appropriately.
- Experience delivering digital services within UK central government or the wider public sector.
- Familiarity with GOV.UK Service Standard expectations.
- Exposure to open-source LLM tooling or communities.
- Familiarity with AI/ML tooling on AWS, Azure, or GCP.
Location and Working Pattern
Hybrid, based from Newcastle upon Tyne, with on-site attendance required for workshops, knowledge-transfer sessions, and onboarding. All production system and data access must be performed solely from within the UK.
How We Work
Our values: Collaboration, Create Value Early, Integrity, Commitment, and Diversity & Inclusion. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, including women, people with disabilities, and diverse communities, as well as those seeking flexible working arrangements. As a Disability Confident Level 1 employer, we provide reasonable adjustments throughout recruitment and employment.
How to Apply
Please submit your CV. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview. This role requires BPSS clearance — please flag in your application if you already hold clearance.
AI Engineer in Newcastle upon Tyne employer: Scrumconnect Limited
At Scrumconnect, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that champions collaboration and continuous learning. Our commitment to employee growth is evident through our investment in training and development opportunities, ensuring that our Data Engineers are equipped with the latest skills in cloud technologies and data engineering practices. With a focus on meaningful public service projects, you will have the chance to make a significant impact while enjoying the flexibility of remote work and a supportive team environment.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land AI Engineer in Newcastle upon Tyne
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Scrumconnect Limited or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Scrumconnect Limited.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Scrumconnect Limited.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Scrumconnect Limited that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace AI Engineer in Newcastle upon Tyne
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Scrumconnect Limited.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Scrumconnect Limited and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Scrumconnect Limited
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Scrumconnect Limited uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
