Agent/ Data Engineer - London

Alana AI Inc.; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Alana AI Inc. in London is seeking an Agent / Data Engineer to build the conversational and data backbone powering our AI agents. You will bridge data engineering, conversational design, and real-time systems to make interactions feel alive.

Join a team shaping voice and text experiences, integrating speech and LLM tech, and collaborating with product, research and design to scale production systems in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in data engineering, ML infra, or conversational AI systems.
• Proficiency in Python or similar languages for data processing and pipeline orchestration.
• Experience with LLMs and speech models.
• Experience working with unstructured data (transcripts, embeddings, metadata).

Responsibilities

• Architect pipelines that process and structure conversational data for training and evaluation.
• Design frameworks for multi-turn dialogue management, context retention, and personality steering.
• Develop metrics and feedback loops to improve agent accuracy, tone, and responsiveness.
• Integrate and optimize speech recognition, synthesis, and LLM-based reasoning for natural voice experiences.
• Design systems for retrieval-augmented and hybrid text+voice agents that adapt to context in real time.
• Collaborate with product, research, and design to shape how agents think, speak, and evolve in production.
• 4+ years of experience managing production-grade infrastructure.

Skills

Data engineering

Python

LLM integration

Real-time systems

Conversations design

Speech/voice tech

Tools

Kafka

Snowflake

Vector databases

Job description

Alana is building the next generation of AI technology to help businesses create more human, intelligent, and personalised customer interactions. We’re a company that thrives on real-world collaboration, with our headquarters based in London and expanding teams in New York and Miami. Our workplace is built on five guiding principles that shape our actions and relationships: Trust, Customer Commitment, Craft, Momentum, and Community. These are not slogans but expectations we live by every day.

What You’ll Be Doing

As an Agent / Data Engineer at Alana, you’ll build the conversational and data backbone that powers our AI agents voice and text alike. You’ll design systems that let our agents listen, understand, and respond with personality and precision. Your work will bridge data engineering, conversational design, and real-time systems to make every interaction feel alive.

Your work might include:

• Architecting pipelines that process and structure conversational data for training and evaluation
• Building frameworks for multi-turn dialogue management, context retention, and personality steering
• Developing metrics and feedback loops that improve agent accuracy, tone, and responsiveness over time
• Integrating and optimizing speech recognition, synthesis, and LLM-based reasoning for natural voice experiences
• Designing systems for retrieval-augmented and hybrid text+voice agents that adapt to context in real time
• Collaborating with product, research, and design to shape how agents think, speak, and evolve in production
• 4+ years of experience managing production-grade infrastructure

What you bring:

• 4+ years of experience in data engineering, ML infrastructure, or conversational AI systems
• Proficiency in Python or similar languages for data processing and pipeline orchestration
• Familiarity with modern data tooling (e.g.Kafka, Snowflake, vector databases)
• Comfort working with unstructured data (transcripts, embeddings, metadata)
• Experience integrating or fine-tuning LLMs and speech models
• A bias toward iteration—you believe the best systems are learned from real conversations
• A passion for human-computer interaction and what “natural” really feels like in voice and text

Extra Credit

• Experience with ASR/TTS systems
• Knowledge of RAG pipelines and agent orchestration frameworks
• Familiarity with observability, logging, and evaluation of LLM-based systems
• Experience working closely with design or research teams on conversational UX
• Contributions to open-source AI or data tooling projects

Our Principles

Trust

We earn confidence through consistent delivery, thoughtful collaboration, and transparent communication. That extends to the way we build our systems and support one another.

Customer Commitment

We prioritize outcomes for our customers. Everyone on our team engages with users to understand their needs and solve real problems. If something goes wrong, we respond without delay.

Craft

We care deeply about quality and polish. Whether it is writing clean code, shaping a feature, or refining a user experience, we take pride in delivering thoughtful, refined work.

Momentum

We act quickly and with purpose. We aim high and hold ourselves accountable. Mistakes happen, but we handle them directly and use them as fuel to get better.

Family

We support each other both professionally and personally. We are committed to being a place where focused work and personal wellbeing go hand in hand.

Inclusion Matters

We believe that innovation thrives in a workplace where a range of backgrounds and perspectives are welcomed and respected. Our commitment to inclusion is not just policy, it is part of our identity. Even if your experience doesn’t match every line in this description, we encourage you to apply.

Alana is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate all candidates fairly, regardless of race, gender, age, disability, orientation, background, or identity.

We’d love to hear from you. If this role excites you, even if your experience doesn’t tick every box - we encourage you to reach out. We care more about your potential, drive, and alignment with our values than a perfect resume. Come build with us.