Associate Director, AI Engineering

Blend360; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Blend360 is a leading data consultancy seeking a senior technical leader to steer the AI Engineering capability. You’ll set architecture direction, own major engagements, and balance hands‑on coding with strategic oversight across Python, data, and AI systems.

You’ll mentor engineers, shape delivery models, and work with clients and executive sponsors to translate complex concepts into credible architectures.

Qualifications

• 10+ years across AI, data and software engineering.
• 3+ years leading engineering teams or large technical functions.
• Strong credibility in production Python and API-driven systems.

Responsibilities

• Set technical direction across AI Engineering and define architecture principles.
• Own major AI engagements and ensure delivery quality and scale.
• Lead multiple workstreams, align teams, and manage risks and delivery outcomes.
• Design and review production AI architectures including retrieval, multilingual systems and observability.

Skills

Leadership

AI Engineering

Systems thinking

Python

Databricks

Azure OpenAI

Client engagement

Tools

Databricks

Azure OpenAI

Job description

Blend is an award-winning pure play data consultancy who help people do data right through project delivery across strategy and consulting, data science and BI, and data engineering. As a trusted Data & AI partner we co-create value with clients across a wide variety of industries. Our company has made the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing Companies and currently have offices in Edinburgh, the US, Uruguay, and India. We are an accredited “Great Place To Work” company across all our office locations, with a shared and active focus on DEI initiatives and championing representation in all aspects of our work.

By combining our teams’ expert technical knowledge with a practical approach to value creation, we deliver outcomes that make a real change for our clients. From using computer vision to remotely monitor crops to implementing a BI dashboard to help swimmers win more medals – nothing we do is designed to be left on the shelf.

Job Description

About the role

You’llbe one of the senior technical leaders responsible for the direction,qualityand growth of AI Engineering at Blend360.

This is a broad leadership role spanning technical strategy, major client engagements, engineeringstandardsand the development of our AI Engineering capability.You’lloperateacross the department, providing leadership wherever the biggest technical decisions, risks or opportunities sit.

You’llalso remain deeply hands-on.You’lldesign architectures, challenge technical decisions, work directly with engineers and clients, and get into the code when the problemwarrantsit.

You’llbe expected to challenge technical decisions where needed, explain your reasoning clearly and help teams arrive at stronger solutions. When a client or internal team proposes an approach thatwon’thold up,you’llbe abletoidentifythe risks, make the case for a better option and take responsibility for the technical direction.

We’renot looking for someone to simply review or approve other people’s architecture.You’llbe expected to set technical direction, makedifficult decisionsand remain accountable for the quality of what we deliver.

Our AI Engineering work spans CPG,pharmaand energy clients, andit’sgrowing.

The work

Set technical direction across AI Engineering, defining the architecture principles, engineering standards, deliverypracticesand technical capabilities we need as the practice grows.

Own the technical quality of major AI engagements, particularly where architecture, scale,complexityor delivery risk requires senior leadership.

Lead across multiple projects and technical workstreams, setting priorities and direction while ensuring teams can execute without becoming dependent on you for every decision.

Design and review production AI architectures, including retrieval and knowledge layers, agentic pipelines, evaluation, multilingual systems, and the cost, latency,reliabilityand scalability trade-offs involved.

Remain hands-on on the hardest problems: reviewing code, prototyping approaches, resolving architectural issues and working directly with engineers when senior technical intervention will materially improve the outcome.

Run rigorous design reviews that raise the engineering bar across the practice and create an environment where technical decisions are challenged regardless of seniority.

Act as a senior technical counterpart to clients, includingCxOand architecture leadership, taking ownership of difficult technical conversations, trade-offs, deliveryrisksand changes in direction.

Own the technical quality of major AI proposals, translating solution concepts into credible architectures, scopes, delivery models, team structures,estimatesand commercial assumptions.

Work with commercial and account leadership to shape technical propositions,identifyopportunitiesanddeterminewhere the AI Engineering practice should invest and differentiate.

Develop senior engineers and technical leads, building the leadership depth and successionrequiredto scale the department.

Shape the AI Engineering capability plan, including hiring priorities, skills development, teamcompositionand the bar for senior technical talent.

Qualifications

At least 10 years’ experience across AI,dataand software engineering, including 3+ years leading engineering teams or a substantial technical functionwithin consulting or professional services.

Experienceoperatingbeyond individual project leadership, with responsibility for technical direction, engineeringqualityor capability across multiple teams.

Deep technical credibility.You’recomfortable working in production Python, substantial codebases and API-driven systems that need to perform reliably at scale.

Recent, personal experience architecting and building productionAIsystems. Expect to discuss retrieval strategy, caching, context economics, serving constraints, evaluation, observability and what went wrong in practice.

Strong systems thinking. You can reason through unfamiliar platforms and problems rather than relying onexpertisein a single stack.

Experience leading complex programmes or multiple concurrent engineering workstreams, with accountability for technical direction, planning, resourcing,riskand delivery outcomes.

The judgement to know when to intervene personally and when to lead through others, delegating effectively without giving up accountability for technical quality.

Experience developing senior engineers and technical leaders, shaping teamcapabilityand raising the engineering bar across a wider organisation.

Commercial awareness sufficient to turn a technical solution into a realistic scope, team shape, estimate and delivery plan, and to challenge assumptions that do not hold up.

Experience contributing to account growth, technicalpropositionsor go-to-market activity within a consulting organisation.

Confidenceoperatingwith senior clients and executives whileremainingcredible with engineers at code and architecture level.

The ability to make difficult technical calls, create clarity where there is ambiguity and take responsibility for the outcome.

Strong experience with Databricks and Azure OpenAI, which underpin much of our delivery.

Nice to have

Ontology, knowledgegraphor semantic layer experience.

Delivery experience in pharma or CPG.

Practical experience designing systems around EU AI Act requirements.

Multilingual AI systems in production.

A strong presence in the Databricks or Microsoft partner ecosystem.

Experience shaping go-to-market and commercial strategy for an AI Engineering practice.

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