AI Software Engineering Lead

Elsevier; City Of London; On-site; GBP 91,000 - 152,000; Full time

Job summary

Elsevier is seeking an Engineering Lead to guide a small team delivering the CK AI Service. You will set technical direction, mentor six engineers, and own the design and governance of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows and API expansion.

This role focuses on reducing bottlenecks, standardizing practices, and aligning with cross-functional teams to mature the platform while balancing short-term delivery with long-term sustainability.

Qualifications

• Experience leading engineering teams and mentoring.
• Proven track record reducing knowledge silos.
• Ability to remove blockers and improve delivery velocity.
• Experience designing scalable team structures for growth.
• Deep expertise in distributed systems and APIs at scale.
• Hands-on with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows.

Responsibilities

• Managing and mentoring of six direct reports.
• Own the technical strategy and execution for CK AI Service, including RAG workflows and API expansion.
• Improve delivery velocity by reducing bottlenecks and standardizing practices.
• Establish a sustainable leadership model to support team growth.
• Collaborate with Data Science to drive product roadmap and feature design.

Skills

Team leadership

Performance management

RAG workflows

API design

Distributed systems

LLM integration

Job description

About the role

Are you a collaborative Software Engineering Lead looking to work for a mission driven global organization?

As Engineering Lead—You will lead and manage a small team of engineers, fostering their growth and ensuring delivery excellence. You will be entrusted with making sure your team is set up for success as they deliver products. This position serves as a subject matter expert for a specific team of Software Engineers. In addition to writing code on complex systems and applications, this position provides direction on project plans, schedules, and methodologies.

About the team

This team supports CK AI Service team. The new Lead Engineer will have six direct reports and will own the technical strategy and execution for the CK AI Service, including the design and governance of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows and API expansion. This role will improve delivery velocity, reduce bottlenecks and single points of failure, drive standardization, mentoring, and cross-functional alignment as the platform matures, and establish a sustainable leadership model to support the planned division and growth of the team.

Requirements

• Proven ability to lead, mentor, and grow engineering teams, including managing performance, career development, and team health
• Established track record of creating high-performing, collaborative team environments and reducing knowledge silos
• Ability to remove blockers, manage priorities, and improve delivery velocity across a team
• Experience establishing scalable team structures and leadership models to support growth
• Deep expertise in designing and delivering distributed systems and APIs at scale
• Ability to define and execute technical strategies, balancing short-term delivery with long-term platform sustainability
• Experience with microservices architecture, API design, and system integration
• Proven ability to identify and eliminate single points of failure and improve system resilience
• Hands‑on experience designing and implementing retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) workflows

Understanding of:

• LLM integration and orchestration
• Embeddings and vector search
• Retrieval pipelines and ranking strategies

• Experience building AI-powered APIs and services for production environments
• Ability to govern and standardize AI patterns, including evaluation, observability, and performance optimization

Responsibilities

• Managing and mentoring of six direct reports.
• Driving and owning the technical strategy and execution for the CK AI Service, including the design and governance of retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) workflows and API expansion.
• Improving the delivery velocity, reducing bottlenecks and single points of failure, driving standardization, mentoring, and cross‑functional alignment as the platform matures
• Establishing a sustainable leadership model to support the planned division and growth of the team.
• Collaborating with our Data Science team to help drive product road map and feature design forward.

Company

Elsevier is a renowned global information analytics company that primarily focuses on providing scientific, technical, and medical (STM) research content, tools, and services. It is one of the largest publishers of academic journals and scholarly literature in the world.

Elsevier operates in various domains, including science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and more. They publish a vast number of peer-reviewed journals covering a wide range of disciplines. These journals act as platforms for researchers and academics to share their findings and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in their respective fields.

In addition to publishing, Elsevier offers a suite of digital solutions and services to support researchers, scientists, and professionals in their work. They provide online platforms like ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Mendeley, which offer access to a vast repository of scholarly articles, research papers, and other scientific content. These platforms often serve as essential resources for software developers seeking to stay updated with the latest scientific advancements.

Furthermore, Elsevier offers tools and services to help researchers with tasks such as data management, article submission, and citation tracking. They also provide metrics and analytics to assess the impact and reach of scientific publications.

Additionally, Elsevier hosts conferences and events to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration within the scientific community.

Compensation

U.S. National Base Pay Range: $115,400 - $192,300. Geographic differentials may apply in some locations to better reflect local market rates.

If performed in New Jersey, the base pay range is $136,213 - $217,587.

This job is eligible for an annual incentive bonus.

We know your well-being and happiness are key to a long and successful career. We are delighted to offer country specific benefits.

We are committed to providing a fair and accessible hiring process.

USA Job Seekers: EEO Know Your Rights.

We are an equal opportunity employer: qualified applicants are considered for and treated during employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, disability status, protected veteran status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.