AI Technical Lead

AI Technical LeadUp to £95,000 + bonus | Predominantly remote | Bristol/South West preferredA new AI engineering team has been assembled. The engineers are joining. The next step is finding the Technical Lead who will give the team direction and turn promising ideas into dependable product functionality.You’ll join an established software business introducing AI into commercial products used by local authorities across the UK. With the stability of a larger international technology group behind you, you’ll have the freedom and visibility to influence the AI roadmap from an early stage.This is a hands-on leadership role. You’ll guide a small team while remaining actively involved in architecture, system design, code reviews and engineering delivery.What you’ll doLead and develop a team of three AI Software EngineersShape the architecture and technical direction for AI across the product suiteLead the delivery of LLM, RAG and agentic AI solutionsTake ideas from an initial business problem through discovery, prototyping and productionEstablish practical standards for evaluation, security, observability, governance and cost controlReview C#/.NET code, provide constructive feedback and maintain practical engineering standards across the team whilst remaining hands on.Work directly with Product and operational stakeholders to turn high-level requirements into deliverable solutionsAssess where AI will add genuine value—and challenge its use when a conventional solution would work betterIntroduce effective AI-assisted development practices across the engineering functionWhat we’re looking forYou’ll be a credible technical leader who can combine sound software-engineering judgment with practical AI experience.Ideally, you’ll bring:Strong commercial C#/.NET backend engineering experience, including recent hands-on coding and regular code reviews.Experience leading, mentoring and technically directing software engineersHands-on involvement in LLM, RAG, agentic AI or related AI-enabled product developmentStrong architecture and system-design capabilityExperience taking software from unclear requirements through to secure, supportable production deliveryA practical understanding of AI evaluation, hallucination risk, security, monitoring and costConfidence working with Product and business stakeholders without relying on fully defined specificationsThe communication skills to influence standards across teams without becoming overly process-heavyYou don’t need to have spent your whole career in AI. Strong candidates may come from an established C#/.NET leadership background and have more recent experience introducing AI into products or engineering workflows. What matters is that you understand the difference between experimenting with AI and operating it responsibly in production.LocationThe role is predominantly remote, but it isn’t intended to be completely disconnected from the office.The engineering team is centred around Bristol and the surrounding area, and you’ll attend the Bristol office for planned team sessions, workshops and key meetings. Attendance is expected to be roughly quarterly, with occasional additional visits where they would benefit the team or a particular project.Candidates based in Bristol, South Wales or elsewhere within straightforward travelling distance of Bristol are therefore particularly encouraged to apply.PackageSalary up to £95,000, depending on experienceAnnual bonusPredominantly remote workingOpportunity to shape a new AI capability and lead an already-hired engineering teamBacking and stability of an established international software groupIf you’re a hands-on C#/.NET technical leader who wants genuine ownership of how AI is introduced into established products, I’d be very happy to tell you more.