AI Architect / Tech Lead

Talent Smart; Clewer Village; Remote; GBP 129,000 - 221,000; Full time

Job summary

Talent Smart is seeking an experienced AI Architect / Tech Lead for a largely remote UK contract in the energy sector. You will design and build practical AI solutions while staying hands-on with software engineering.

The role blends software development with cloud architecture, generative AI and agentic AI, taking solutions from design through to production. Expect hybrid collaboration with enterprise clients and a focus on scalable, secure AI systems.

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on software engineering; ability to write and explain code without AI assistants.
• Solid cloud architecture experience across Azure and AWS.
• Understanding of distributed systems, microservices and event-driven design.
• Experience building AI solutions with LLMs, RAG, vector databases and agent orchestration frameworks.
• Knowledge of agentic AI architectures and runtimes.
• Production experience including security, evaluation, monitoring and optimisation.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop AI solutions using LLMs, RAG, vector databases and agent orchestration frameworks.
• Build and deploy agentic AI solutions using LangGraph and MCP.
• Develop scalable architectures across Azure and AWS, leveraging microservices, APIs and event-driven systems.
• Establish production-ready AI solutions, covering security, evaluation, observability, performance, scalability and cost optimisation.
• Apply strong software engineering principles and architectural patterns to deliver robust, maintainable solutions.
• Assess when AI and agent-based approaches are appropriate, selecting the right technology for each use case.

Skills

Cloud architecture

Azure

AWS

LLMs

RAG

Vector databases

Agent orchestration

Distributed systems

APIs

Security

Tools

LangGraph

MCP

Job description

AI Architect / Tech Lead

Remote-based (UK)

Outside IR35

We are seeking an experienced AI Architect / Tech Lead to join an enterprise client within the energy sector. This is an outside IR35 contract, largely remote-based, offering the opportunity to design and build practical AI solutions while remaining hands-on with software engineering.

The ideal candidate will combine strong software development fundamentals with expertise in cloud architecture, generative AI and agentic AI, taking solutions from design through to production.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and develop AI solutions using LLMs, RAG, vector databases and agent orchestration frameworks.
• Build and deploy agentic AI solutions using tools such as LangGraph and protocols such as MCP.
• Develop scalable architectures across Azure and AWS, leveraging microservices, APIs and event-driven systems.
• Establish production-ready AI solutions, covering security, evaluation, observability, performance, scalability and cost optimisation.
• Apply strong software engineering principles and architectural patterns to deliver robust, maintainable solutions.
• Assess when AI and agent-based approaches are appropriate, selecting the right technology for each use case.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Strong hands-on software engineering skills, with the ability to write and explain code independently without relying on AI coding assistants.
• Solid cloud architecture experience across Azure and AWS.
• Strong understanding of distributed systems, APIs, microservices and event-driven architecture.
• Practical experience building AI solutions using LLMs, RAG, vector databases and agent orchestration frameworks.
• Knowledge of agentic AI architectures, agent runtimes and design patterns.
• Experience taking AI solutions into production, including security, evaluation, monitoring and optimisation.
• Excellent problem-solving, critical thinking and communication skills, with a collaborative approach to engineering.

More details available on successful application