AI Technical Lead

F5 Consultants; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 85,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Predominantly remote

Shaping AI capability in a growing org

Backing of an established software集团

Job summary

F5 Consultants is seeking a hands-on Technical Lead to steer an AI engineering squad from Bristol and the South West, with a blend of remote work and quarterly office sessions. You’ll guide architecture, code reviews, and delivery of AI-enabled features across commercial products used by local authorities in the UK.

The role combines leadership with practical software delivery, focusing on C#/.NET, LLM, RAG and agentic AI, while collaborating with product stakeholders to realise strategic AI

Qualifications

• Strong commercial C#/.NET backend engineering experience, including hands-on coding and reviews.
• Experience leading, mentoring and technically directing software engineers.
• Hands-on involvement in LLM, RAG, agentic AI or related AI-enabled product development.
• Strong architecture and system-design capability.
• Ability to translate business problems into deliverable AI solutions with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of AI Software Engineers (3).
• Shape architecture and technical direction for AI across the product suite.
• Deliver LLM, RAG and agentic AI solutions from discovery to production.
• Involve in architecture reviews, code reviews and engineering delivery.

Skills

C#/.NET backend

AI leadership

Architecture & system design

Mentoring & direction

Stakeholder collaboration

Tools

LLM

RAG

Agentic AI

Job description

Up to £95,000 + bonus | Predominantly remote | Bristol/South West preferred

A new AI engineering team has been assembled. The engineers are joining. The next step is finding the Technical Lead who will give the team direction and turn promising ideas into dependable product functionality.

You'll join an established software business introducing AI into commercial products used by local authorities across the UK. With the stability of a larger international technology group behind you, you'll have the freedom and visibility to influence the AI roadmap from an early stage.

This is a hands-on leadership role. You'll guide a small team while remaining actively involved in architecture, system design, code reviews and engineering delivery.

What you'll do

• Lead and develop a team of three AI Software Engineers
• Shape the architecture and technical direction for AI across the product suite
• Lead the delivery of LLM, RAG and agentic AI solutions
• Take ideas from an initial business problem through discovery, prototyping and production
• Establish practical standards for evaluation, security, observability, governance and cost control
• Review C#/.NET code, provide constructive feedback and maintain practical engineering standards across the team whilst remaining hands-on.
• Work directly with Product and operational stakeholders to turn high-level requirements into deliverable solutions
• Assess where AI will add genuine value and challenge its use when a conventional solution would work better
• Introduce effective AI-assisted development practices across the engineering function

What we're looking for

You'll be a credible technical leader who can combine sound software-engineering judgment with practical AI experience.

Ideally, you'll bring:

• Strong commercial C#/.NET backend engineering experience, including recent hands-on coding and regular code reviews.
• Experience leading, mentoring and technically directing software engineers
• Hands-on involvement in LLM, RAG, agentic AI or related AI-enabled product development
• Strong architecture and system-design capability
• Experience taking software from unclear requirements through to secure, supportable production deliveryA practical understanding of AI evaluation, hallucination risk, security, monitoring and cost
• Confidence working with Product and business stakeholders without relying on fully defined specifications
• The communication skills to influence standards across teams without becoming overly process-heavy

You don't need to have spent your whole career in AI. Strong candidates may come from an established C#/.NET leadership background and have more recent experience introducing AI into products or engineering workflows. What matters is that you understand the difference between experimenting with AI and operating it responsibly in production.

Location

The role is predominantly remote, but it isn't intended to be completely disconnected from the office.

The engineering team is centred around Bristol and the surrounding area, and you'll attend the Bristol office for planned team sessions, workshops and key meetings. Attendance is expected to be roughly quarterly, with occasional additional visits where they would benefit the team or a particular project.

Candidates based in Bristol, South Wales or elsewhere within straightforward travelling distance of Bristol are therefore particularly encouraged to apply.

Package

• Salary up to £95,000, depending on experience
• Annual bonus
• Predominantly remote working
• Opportunity to shape a new AI capability and lead an already-hired engineering team
• Backing and stability of an established international software group

If you're a hands-on C#/.NET technical leader who wants genuine ownership of how AI is introduced into established products, I'd be very happy to tell you more.