AI Platform Engineer

Barclays UK; Glasgow; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services company in Scotland is seeking an AI Platform Engineer to design and develop a cutting-edge AI platform. The successful candidate will utilize their expertise in Python and AWS to build scalable, secure solutions for front-office applications. This role requires strong leadership skills and the ability to communicate technical concepts effectively. Join the team to drive innovation in financial services.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in Python engineering with backend focus.
• Deep knowledge of various AWS services for platform development.
• Experience in scaling platforms for AI/ML workload.

Responsibilities

• Design and improve software for business and technology capabilities.
• Ensure high-quality software delivery using aligned programming languages.
• Collaborate across teams to integrate software solutions with business objectives.

Skills

Python engineering

AWS services

AI/ML workload scaling

Secure software development

Technical communication

Team leadership

Tools

Databricks

SageMaker

Hugging Face

Job description

Join Us as an AI Platform Engineer – Shape the Future of AI at Barclays. We’re excited to launch a groundbreaking initiative at Barclays, building a next‑generation platform that empowers front‑office developers (Quants and Strats) to create high‑performance, AI‑driven applications. As an AI Platform Engineer, you’ll play a pivotal role in designing, building, and scaling robust platform components that enable advanced AI/ML workloads across both on‑premises and cloud environments.

This is a hands‑on engineering role where your expertise will directly influence how we deliver secure, scalable, and innovative solutions. You’ll collaborate with diverse teams, solve complex challenges, and help shape the technical direction of a platform that will transform how AI is leveraged in financial services.

Required Experience

• Proven experience in Python engineering, focusing on backend and infrastructure tooling.
• Deep knowledge of AWS services (IAM, KMS, CloudFormation, API Gateway, S3, Lambda, ECS, Glue, Step Functions, MSK, EKS, Bedrock).
• Experience scaling platforms for AI/ML workloads and integrating generative AI tooling.
• Understanding of secure software development, cloud cost optimization, and platform observability.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Demonstrated capability to guide engineering teams and influence technical strategy.

Highly Valued Skills

• Experience with MLOps platforms such as Databricks or SageMaker, and familiarity with hybrid cloud strategies (Azure, on‑prem Kubernetes).
• Strong understanding of AI infrastructure for scalable model serving, distributed training, and GPU orchestration.
• Expertise in Large Language Models (LLMs) and Small Language Models (SLMs), including fine‑tuning and deployment for enterprise use cases.
• Hands‑on experience with Hugging Face libraries and tools for model training, evaluation, and deployment.
• Knowledge of agentic frameworks (e.g., LangChain, AutoGen) and Model Context Protocol (MCP) for building autonomous AI workflows and interoperability.
• Awareness of emerging trends in GenAI platforms, open‑source MLOps, and cloud‑native AI solutions.

You may be assessed on key critical skills relevant for success in the role, such as risk and controls, change and transformation, business acumen, strategic thinking and digital & technology, as well as job‑specific technical skills.

This role can be based out of our Glasgow or Canary Wharf office.

Purpose of the role

To design, develop and improve software, utilising various engineering methodologies, that provides business, platform, and technology capabilities for our customers and colleagues.

Accountabilities

• Development and delivery of high‑quality software solutions by using industry‑aligned programming languages, frameworks, and tools. Ensuring that code is scalable, maintainable, and optimised for performance.
• Cross‑functional collaboration with product managers, designers, and other engineers to define software requirements, devise solution strategies, and ensure seamless integration and alignment with business objectives.
• Collaboration with peers, participation in code reviews, and promotion of a culture of code quality and knowledge sharing.
• Staying informed of industry technology trends and innovations and actively contributing to the organization’s technology communities to foster a culture of technical excellence and growth.
• Adherence to secure coding practices to mitigate vulnerabilities, protect sensitive data, and ensure secure software solutions.
• Implementation of effective unit testing practices to ensure proper code design, readability, and reliability.

Vice President Expectations

• Contribute to or set strategy, drive requirements and make recommendations for change. Plan resources, budgets and policies; manage and maintain policies/processes; deliver continuous improvements and escalation of policy breaches.
• If managing a team, define jobs and responsibilities, plan for the department’s future needs and operations, counsel employees on performance and contribute to pay decisions/changes. May lead specialists to influence department operations, balancing short‑term and long‑term goals and ensuring budgets and schedules meet corporate requirements.
• If the position has leadership responsibilities, demonstrate clear leadership behaviours to create an environment where colleagues thrive and deliver consistently excellent standards. The four LEAD behaviours are: Listen and be authentic, Energise and inspire, Align across the enterprise, Develop others.
• As an individual contributor, act as a subject‑matter expert within own discipline, guide technical direction, lead collaborative, multi‑year assignments, and guide team members through structured assignments. Provide information influencing long‑term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions.
• Advise key stakeholders, including functional leadership teams and senior management on functional and cross‑functional areas of impact and alignment.
• Manage and mitigate risks through assessment, supporting the control and governance agenda.
• Demonstrate leadership and accountability for managing risk and strengthening controls related to the work your team does.
• Show comprehensive understanding of the organisation’s functions to contribute to achieving the business goals.
• Collaborate with other areas of work for business‑aligned support, keeping pace with business activity and strategies.
• Create solutions based on sophisticated analytical thinking, comparing and selecting complex alternatives. Perform in‑depth analysis with interpretative thinking to define problems and develop innovative solutions.
• Incorporate outcomes of extensive research into problem‑solving processes.
• Build and maintain trusting relationships and partnerships with internal and external stakeholders to accomplish key business objectives, using influencing and negotiating skills to achieve outcomes.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to embrace the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.