Applied AI Lead

Next Frontier Capital; Glasgow; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Next Frontier Capital is seeking an Applied AI Lead to drive cross-functional AI initiatives across Risk, Finance, Compliance and Legal, leveraging advanced research and engineering. You will collaborate with technology and business partners to source, analyse and model data, deploying scalable AI solutions on public cloud for thousands of users.

The role emphasizes leadership, practical implementation with Python/AWS, and building high-quality, maintainable systems.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in a STEM subject.
• Extensive practical research experience applying AI techniques.
• Strong Python programming skills and familiarity with the Python ecosystem.
• Ability to lead technical teams and communicate with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, build and deployment of end-to-end AI solutions surfacing actionable insights for many business groups as part of a diverse team.
• Drive and participate in exciting research and development activities for new and existing AI products, setting technical direction and standards.
• Engage with stakeholders to understand and translate business requirements into robust technical solutions.
• Oversee the complete product and software development lifecycle, including architecture, design, coding, testing, peer review, CI/CD and validation.
• Mentor and guide junior team members, fostering a culture of technical excellence.

Skills

Python programming

Stakeholder management

Team leadership

Advanced data science methods

AI/ML engineering

Education

Master’s degree in a STEM subject

PhD in a STEM field

Tools

Pandas

NumPy

scikit-learn

PyTorch

pytest

Job description

As an Applied AI Lead in our cross-functional team you will use your advanced applied research, AI engineering and data science expertise to drive and lead complex initiatives across the Corporate Functions including Risk, Finance, Compliance and Legal. You will collaborate closely with technology and business partners to source, analyse and integrate diverse data; develop & evaluate models; architect, implement & deploy software solutions to public cloud infrastructure benefiting over 200k employees across the lines of business.

You’ll solve business problems by building systems to surface insights from a wide and ever-increasing range of data sources including news, company filings, non-government organisation reports and market data. You’ll care about producing high-quality, maintainable AI solutions and be keen to develop skills across a broad and evolving technology stack centred on Large Language Models (LLMs), Generative AI, Agentic systems, Python and AWS cloud infrastructure.

Job Responsibilities

• Lead the design, build and deployment of impactful end-to-end AI solutions surfacing actionable insights for many business groups as part of a diverse team
• Drive and participate in exciting research and development activities for new and existing AI products, setting technical direction and standards
• Engage with stakeholders to understand and translate business requirements into robust technical solutions
• Oversee the complete product and software development lifecycle, including architecture, design, coding, testing, peer review, continuous integration and deployment, and validation
• Mentor and guide junior team members, fostering a culture of technical excellence through knowledge sharing, pair programming, collaborative debugging and design workshops

Required Qualifications, Capabilities, and Skills

• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in a STEM subject (including Data Science, Computer Science, Engineering, Physical Sciences, Applied Mathematics or Statistics)
• Extensive practical research experience and a proven track record of applying AI and adjacent techniques to solve real-world problems in industry or academia
• Strong Python programming skills and deep familiarity with the Python ecosystem (i.e. pandas, numpy, scikit-learn, pytorch, pip, pytest)
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical teams and initiatives with strong communication and stakeholder management skills

Preferred Qualifications, Capabilities, and Skills

• Experience applying large language models in agentic systems in industry
• Practical experience with graph technologies including databases and graph analytics frameworks
• Experience in natural language processing (NLP) and its applications
• User interface design and development experience using React
• Exposure to public cloud technologies and microservice deployment
• Experience in the financial services industry

We recognize that our people are our strength and the diverse talents they bring to our global workforce are directly linked to our success. We are an equal opportunity employer and place a high value on diversity and inclusion at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of any protected attribute, including race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital or veteran status, pregnancy or disability, or any other basis protected under applicable law. We also make reasonable accommodations for applicants’ and employees’ religious practices and beliefs, as well as mental health or physical disability needs. Visit our FAQs for more information about requesting an accommodation.