Director – AI & Innovation

UST; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

UST is seeking a Director of AI & Platform Engineering to define and lead the engineering strategy for our AI platform. This is a strategic role that combines senior technical authority with hands-on engagement in architecture and execution. You will drive innovation while ensuring the platform meets client needs and delivers measurable value.

Key responsibilities include leading cross-functional teams, establishing engineering standards, and mentoring senior talent. The role offers a hybrid work model with 3 days onsite and 2 days remote.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as Director or Senior Principal in enterprise software or platform engineering.
• Strong record in building scalable platforms and SaaS solutions.
• Expertise in cloud-native architecture and microservices.

Responsibilities

• Lead the engineering vision and roadmap for UST’s AI platform.
• Drive the transition from AI prototypes to scalable products.
• Oversee engineering practices and ensure delivery excellence.

Skills

Experience with AI/GenAI ecosystems

Leadership in cross-functional engineering teams

Cloud-native architecture expertise

Ability to influence senior stakeholders

Tools

Azure

AWS

GCP

CI/CD pipelines

Job description

Director – AI & Platform Engineering (Hands‑on Leadership)

Location: London (Hybrid: 3 days onsite / 2 days remote)
Employment Type: Permanent

UST is seeking a Director of AI & Platform Engineering to define and lead the engineering strategy for our enterprise AI platform, enabling scalable, secure, and commercially viable AI adoption across client engagements.

This is a strategic leadership role at the intersection of platform architecture, product engineering, and AI innovation, with accountability for translating emerging AI capabilities into enterprise‑grade, reusable solutions. You will drive the evolution of our AI platform from innovation‑led initiatives into a mature, production‑ready offering that delivers measurable client value.

While operating at a Director level, this role remains intellectually hands‑on, requiring deep technical engagement in architectural decision‑making, platform design validation, and engineering execution where required.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise AI Platform Strategy & Leadership

• Define and execute the end‑to‑end engineering vision and roadmap for UST’s AI platform, aligned to enterprise, client, and market needs.
• Establish architecture principles, engineering standards, and governance frameworks to ensure scalability, security, and sustainability.
• Act as a senior technical authority, influencing platform direction and long‑term investment decisions.

Productisation & Commercialisation of AI

• Lead the transition of AI capabilities from experimentation and PoC into scalable, enterprise‑grade products.
• Drive the creation of reusable, modular, API‑first platform components supporting multi‑client adoption.
• Embed product thinking, ensuring the platform is client‑ready, configurable, and commercially scalable.

Scalable, Secure & Cloud‑Native Architecture

• Ensure the platform is engineered for multi‑tenant environments, high availability, resilience, and performance at scale.
• Champion cloud‑native, secure‑by‑design, and observable architectures across Azure, AWS, or GCP.
• Oversee platform maturity, including release management, versioning, and lifecycle governance.

Engineering Excellence & Delivery Leadership

• Embed best‑in‑class software engineering practices, including design patterns, code quality standards, and DevOps maturity.
• Provide leadership across AI/ML, GenAI, platform engineering, and full‑stack development, ensuring robust and consistent delivery.
• Remain hands‑on where required, reviewing architecture, validating designs, and unblocking complex engineering challenges.

Client Engagement & Solution Leadership

• Partner with Sales, Solutions, and Delivery teams to position the AI platform in strategic client engagements.
• Lead or contribute to executive‑level solution discussions, technical workshops, and architecture reviews.
• Ensure that platform capabilities directly translate into business outcomes and client value realisation.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Build, scale, and lead a high‑performing, cross‑functional engineering organisation.
• Foster a culture of engineering excellence, innovation, and accountability.
• Mentor senior engineering talent and develop future technical leaders.

What We’re Looking For

• Proven experience operating at Director / Senior Principal level within enterprise software, platform, or product engineering environments.
• Demonstrated success in building and scaling complex platforms, SaaS solutions, or reusable engineering ecosystems.
• Strong track record of leading large, cross‑functional engineering teams, balancing strategy, delivery, and technical depth.
• Ability to operate seamlessly across architecture, hands‑on engineering, and executive stakeholder engagement.

Technical Expertise

• Deep experience with AI/GenAI ecosystems, including LLM‑based applications, RAG architectures, orchestration frameworks, and ML platforms.
• Strong expertise in cloud‑native architecture (Azure, AWS, or GCP) and distributed systems design.
• Advanced knowledge of microservices, APIs, event‑driven architectures, and integration patterns.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, release engineering, and DevOps best practices.
• Proven ability to scale platforms from proof‑of‑concept to enterprise production environments.

Client & Commercial Exposure

• Experience engaging directly with enterprise clients, including solution shaping, technical advisory, and delivery governance.
• Ability to influence technical and commercial decision‑making at senior stakeholder levels.

Why Join UST?

This is an opportunity to define and lead a next‑generation AI platform capability at scale, shaping how enterprise clients adopt AI in a secure, scalable, and impactful way, while remaining close to the technology and engineering craft.