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- Tasks: Lead the development of cutting-edge AI systems and mentor a dynamic engineering team.
- Company: Exciting AI startup with a remote-first culture and strong backing.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, Apple devices, meaningful share options, and career growth.
- Why this job: Join a pioneering team and make a real impact in the AI landscape.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in production engineering and experience with AI architecture.
- Other info: Remote work with occasional London HQ visits for team bonding.
The predicted salary is between 108000 - 180000 £ per year.
TalentCo are delighted to be working with an AI startup looking to hire a high-calibre Lead AI Engineer into their growing engineering team in the UK, having recently closed a significant seed funding round. This is a senior individual contributor hire and can be based remote-first anywhere in the UK, for this London HQ'd startup.
You will drive the technical evolution of the clients AI-first platform and serve as their resident AI expert. You will be a core software engineer architecting the complex systems that make AI useful in production, splitting your time between crafting complex AI processing architectures and hands-on data/backend engineering, with the rest spent doing whatever is needed to ship.
As Lead AI Engineer you will:
- Architect & Engineer AI Systems: You won’t just call an API; you will build robust processing architectures that leverage off-the-shelf LLMs, RAG pipelines, and context engineering to solve hard problems. You will benchmark these systems rigorously to ensure they actually work, not just "feel" smart.
- Build the Backend Foundation: You will spend significant time in Python (FastAPI, SQLAlchemy) building the APIs, data structures, and services that power the product. You are an engineer who ensures the "AI" is delivered on reliable, production-grade rails.
- Close the Data Loop: As we launch, you will lead the transition from "zero-shot" implementations to data-driven optimisation. You will instrument data collection, design online evaluation metrics, and deploy simple, effective ML models (e.g., logistic regression, boosted trees) to optimise user outcomes based on real feedback.
- Mentor & Lead: You will work alongside full-stack engineers, upskilling the team on AI concepts and best practices. You are the "from-the-trenches" expert who helps the team distinguish between Twitter hype and engineering reality.
- Strategically Advise: You will help Product and Leadership navigate the map of what’s valuable and what’s possible, steering the roadmap toward features that achieve business impact through data-driven optimisation.
We want to hear from you if you bring:
- Production Engineering (5+ years): You are a strong software engineer first. You have extensive experience building and maintaining backend services in Python (ideally FastAPI or similar async frameworks) deployed to modern cloud providers (GCP/AWS) or point solutions (Railway, Render, Vercel).
- Applied AI Architecture: You have built complex applications using Foundation Models / LLMs. You understand context window management, prompting strategies, and how to chain models together to achieve reliable results.
- Team-Oriented Mindset: Strong communication skills for explaining complex ideas to technical and non-technical audiences, and a passion for collaborating within cross-functional teams.
- Passion and Pride in Shipping: A do-whatever-it-takes attitude to deliver against important business goals that help the entire team win.
- Pragmatic Best Practices: An overarching desire to build efficient, scalable, and maintainable code, while managing the tradeoffs between technical debt and delivery speed. You’d rather ship a heuristic that solves the user's problem today than a perfect model two weeks late.
What do they offer?
- Base salary c£150k
- Remote-first with occasional trips to the London HQ to see the team
- Apple devices and the best AI tooling
- Meaningful early-stage share opportunities
- Career rocket fuel - real growth, real ownership, real impact
Lead AI Engineer (UK Remote) in City of London employer: TalentCo
Contact Detail:
TalentCo Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead AI Engineer (UK Remote) in City of London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in the AI space on LinkedIn or at meetups. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio showcasing your AI projects, especially those involving complex architectures and backend systems. This will give potential employers a taste of what you can do.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by brushing up on your technical knowledge and soft skills. Be ready to discuss your experience with Python, AI architecture, and how you’ve tackled real-world problems in past roles.
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, we love hearing from passionate candidates who are eager to make an impact in the AI field.
We think you need these skills to ace Lead AI Engineer (UK Remote) in City of London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences that align with the Lead AI Engineer role. Highlight your production engineering experience, especially in Python and AI architecture, to show us you’re the right fit.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Use your cover letter to tell us why you're passionate about AI and how your background makes you a great candidate. Share specific examples of projects where you've built complex systems or mentored others in AI concepts.
Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills: In your application, don’t just list your skills; demonstrate how you've used them to solve real-world problems. We want to see your thought process and how you approach challenges in AI and backend engineering.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website for a smoother application process. This way, we can easily track your application and get back to you faster!
How to prepare for a job interview at TalentCo
✨Know Your AI Stuff
Make sure you brush up on the latest in AI architecture and production systems. Be ready to discuss your experience with LLMs, RAG pipelines, and how you've tackled complex problems in the past. This role is all about being the go-to expert, so show them you know your stuff!
✨Showcase Your Coding Skills
Since you'll be spending a lot of time in Python, especially with FastAPI and SQLAlchemy, be prepared to demonstrate your coding prowess. You might even want to bring examples of your previous work or projects that highlight your backend engineering skills. They’ll want to see how you build robust systems.
✨Talk Data-Driven Decisions
This role involves transitioning from zero-shot implementations to data-driven optimisation. Be ready to discuss how you've used data collection and evaluation metrics in your previous roles. Share specific examples of how your decisions have led to improved user outcomes based on real feedback.
✨Be a Team Player
They’re looking for someone who can mentor and lead within a team. Highlight your communication skills and any experiences where you've collaborated with cross-functional teams. Show them you can explain complex ideas clearly and help others grow in their understanding of AI concepts.
