At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead and grow AI Engineering teams, delivering innovative AI solutions.
- Company: A forward-thinking company shaping the future of enterprise-scale AI.
- Benefits: Flexible working, competitive salary, generous leave, and a car allowance.
- Other info: Work from anywhere in the UK with occasional travel to London.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in AI while enjoying great career progression.
- Qualifications: Strong leadership in AI engineering and deep expertise in AI technologies.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.
Are you an AI Engineering leader ready to shape the future of enterprise-scale AI delivery while building and leading high-performing teams? You’ll lead and grow the AI Engineering capability across our Data & AI Practice. You’ll play a key role in shaping the future of how we deliver AI solutions, working closely with senior leadership to drive excellence across engineering, delivery, and innovation. This is a highly visible leadership position where you’ll balance hands-on technical leadership with strategic oversight, helping clients solve complex challenges using cutting-edge AI approaches.
We can offer great career progression opportunities, ability to be based anywhere across the UK, benefits which you can flex to meet your needs, and training and development opportunities. This role is UK-wide, with travel to London 1–2 times a month for team collaboration, client meetings, or key events.
What you'll be doing:
- Leading, developing, and growing the AI Engineering capability, building a high-performing team through recruitment, coaching, and mentoring.
- Owning technical delivery excellence across AI and GenAI engagements, ensuring quality, scalability, security, and customer satisfaction.
- Establishing engineering standards, delivery methodologies, tooling, and best practices across AI Engineering, MLOps, LLMOps, DevSecOps, and cloud-native delivery.
- Providing technical leadership and governance on complex programmes, supporting delivery assurance, technical risk management, and recovery where needed.
- Partnering with the Practice CTO and solutioning teams to support bids, proposals, and client engagements, including shaping technical approaches and estimates.
- Acting as a recognised thought leader, representing the practice in client forums, industry events, and contributing to market propositions and innovation.
What you’ll bring:
- Strong experience leading AI-focused software engineering teams within a consulting environment.
- Deep expertise across AI and GenAI technologies, including LLMs, AI agents, agentic AI, RAG, machine learning, full stack development, and hyperscaler AI platforms.
- Proven ability to deliver enterprise-scale AI solutions into live operational environments while managing technical delivery teams.
- Experience establishing engineering standards, modern delivery practices, and driving adoption of MLOps, LLMOps, and DevSecOps.
- Experience supporting bids, proposals, estimations, and providing technical governance across programmes.
- Confidence engaging senior stakeholders, translating complex technical concepts into clear business outcomes.
It would be great if you had:
- Experience contributing to thought leadership, client workshops, or industry events within AI Engineering.
- Experience shaping AI propositions or supporting go-to-market strategies in a consulting environment.
If you’re interested in this role but not sure if your skills and experience are exactly what we’re looking for, please do apply, we’d love to hear from you!
Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent.
Location: UK Wide – with travel to London 1–2 times a month.
Security Clearance Level: SC Eligible.
Salary: Dependent on experience.
Benefits: £6,600 car allowance, 25 days annual leave with the option to buy additional days, private medical, life assurance, pension, and generous flexible benefits fund.
Although this role is advertised as full-time, we believe that flexibility at work can promote work/life balance, increase your motivation, reduce stress and improves performance and productivity. We support different ways of working and can offer a range of flexible working arrangements. So, if you’re interested and need to work flexibly, we encourage you to apply and talk to us about what might be possible.
With a long history of delivering transformation, we've developed a market-leading partnership ecosystem to provide business services of the future and shape valuable, positive outcomes for communities. We empower our clients by providing innovative solutions and commercial models that help them meet their business needs, drive operational efficiencies, and deliver impactful value creation. We remain committed to values of excellence, empathy and respect to produce transformative outcomes in business processing – creating value for all.
Head of AI Engineering employer: Sopra Steria
Sopra Steria is an exceptional employer, offering a unique opportunity for a Data Security Technical Lead to influence enterprise-wide data security strategy while working remotely. With a strong focus on professional development, competitive benefits including a generous car allowance and private medical insurance, and a collaborative work culture that values innovation, employees are empowered to grow their careers in a supportive environment dedicated to making a real difference in national security.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Head of AI Engineering
✨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 Sopra Steria 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 Sopra Steria.
✨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 Sopra Steria.
✨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 Sopra Steria 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 Head of AI Engineering
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 Sopra Steria.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Sopra Steria 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 Sopra Steria
✨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 Sopra Steria 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.
