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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, strong Python skills, and AI architecture experience.
- 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 Hull employer: TalentCo
Contact Detail:
TalentCo Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead AI Engineer (UK Remote) in Hull
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in the AI space on LinkedIn or at meetups. A personal connection can often get your foot in the door faster than a CV.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio showcasing your AI projects, especially those involving complex architectures or backend systems. This gives potential employers a taste of what you can do.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for technical interviews by brushing up on your Python and AI concepts. Practice coding challenges and be ready to discuss your past projects in detail—this is your chance to shine!
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, we love seeing candidates who take that extra step.
We think you need these skills to ace Lead AI Engineer (UK Remote) in Hull
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion for AI: When you're writing your application, let your enthusiasm for AI shine through! Share specific examples of projects you've worked on that demonstrate your skills and passion for the field. We love seeing candidates who are genuinely excited about what they do.
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your application to highlight how your experience aligns with the Lead AI Engineer role. Use keywords from the job description and relate your past work to the responsibilities listed. This helps us see how you fit into our vision!
Be Clear and Concise: While we appreciate detail, clarity is key! Keep your application straightforward and to the point. Avoid jargon unless it's necessary, and make sure your achievements stand out. We want to understand your impact quickly!
Apply Through Our Website: Don't forget to submit your application through our website! It’s the best way for us to receive your details and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it makes the process smoother for everyone involved!
How to prepare for a job interview at TalentCo
✨Know Your AI Stuff
Make sure you brush up on your knowledge of AI architectures and the specific technologies mentioned in the job description, like LLMs and RAG pipelines. Be ready to discuss how you've applied these in real-world scenarios, as this will show your depth of understanding.
✨Showcase Your Coding Skills
Since this role involves a lot of backend engineering in Python, be prepared to demonstrate your coding skills. You might be asked to solve a problem on the spot, so practice coding challenges that focus on FastAPI and SQLAlchemy to ensure you're sharp.
✨Prepare for Technical Questions
Expect questions that dive deep into your experience with production engineering and data-driven optimisation. Think about specific projects where you’ve implemented ML models or built APIs, and be ready to explain your thought process and the outcomes.
✨Emphasise Team Collaboration
This role requires strong communication skills and a team-oriented mindset. Prepare examples of how you've mentored others or worked within cross-functional teams. Highlight your ability to explain complex ideas to both technical and non-technical audiences.
