Chief AI Engineer

Lloyds Bank plc; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 138,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension up to 15%

Annual bonus

Share schemes

Discount shopping

30 days holiday

Wellbeing & parental leave

Job summary

Lloyds Banking Group is seeking a Chief AI Engineer to lead Conversational AI initiatives in London or Manchester. You will shape strategy, design scalable AI architectures and align with our platform principles.

As a senior leader, you'll coach a high‑performing team of AI engineers, define a roadmap, and partner with senior business and technology leaders to deliver the next generation of customer experiences.

Qualifications

• Proven expertise in GenAI and Agentic AI with production-ready AI systems.
• Strong NLP capabilities across generative AI, agents, chatbots, language models and transformers.
• Experience building full conversational AI architectures from frontend to backend integrations.
• Understanding and applying ethical AI standards in regulated environments.
• Ability to communicate complex tech clearly to senior leadership and partners.
• Experience managing reliability, security and explainability risks in regulated settings.
• Line management experience coaching technical staff.
• Passion for learning about AI and real-world applications at scale.

Responsibilities

• Define the technical direction across multiple products to align with platform strategy.
• Guide architecture decisions and review solution designs across teams.
• Coach and develop a high-performing AI engineering team.
• Lead development of reusable AI capabilities and platforms across the Group.
• Evaluate new technologies and identify high-potential use cases in Conversational AI.

Skills

GenAI

Agentic AI

NLP

Generative AI

AI agents

Chatbots

Language models

Transformers

Vector stores

Search algorithms

Conversational AI

Back-end integrations

Ethical AI

Effective communication

Regulated environment

Reliability

Security

Explainability

Line management

Lifelong learning

Job description

End Date

Wednesday 02 September 2026

Salary Range

£137,848 - £172,310

Flexible Working Options

Hybrid Working, Job Share

Job Description Summary

Job Description

JOB TITLE: Chief AI Engineer

SALARY: £137,848 - £189,541

LOCATION(S): London or Manchester

HOURS: Full-time

WORKING PATTERN

Our work style is hybrid, which involves spending at least two days per week, or 40% of our time, at one of our office sites. Colleagues with disabilities can be supported with workplace adjustments including hybrid working expectations in line with our Flexibility Works policy.

What you'll be doing

As a senior leader in our Conversational AI team, you'll shape the future of how millions of customers interact with the bank. Drawing on your deep expertise in AI and conversational technologies, you'll design and deliver scalable, reusable architectures that enable high-volume customer engagement while leveraging the latest advancements in AI. You'll define the technical direction across multiple products, ensuring solutions align with our platform strategy, enterprise architecture principles, engineering standards and responsible AI commitments.

You’ll act as the leading technical authority for complex AI engineering challenges, guiding architecture decisions, reviewing solution designs and influencing implementation approaches across multiple teams. Working closely with senior business, design and technology leaders, you'll translate strategic priorities into an ambitious Conversational AI roadmap, demonstrating the art of the possible and helping shape the next generation of customer experiences.

A key part of the role will be building capability and creating an environment where talented engineers can thrive. You'll coach and develop a high-performing team of AI Engineers, bringing together expertise in engineering, data science and architecture to solve complex problems at scale. You'll also lead the development of reusable AI capabilities and platforms that can be leveraged across the Group, maximising value and accelerating innovation.

Through applied research, experimentation and prototyping, you'll evaluate new technologies, identify high-potential use cases and help ensure the organisation remains at the leading edge of Conversational AI innovation

Why join us?

We're on an exciting journey to transform our Group and the way we're shaping finance for good. We're focusing on the future, investing in our technologies, workplaces, and colleagues to make our Group a great place for everyone.

What we're looking for?

• Recognised expertise in GenAI and Agentic AI technology, with experience of creating novel solution to real-world problems and successfully delivering AI systems to production
• Strong experience in NLP technologies such as generative AI, AI agents, chatbots, language models, transformers, vector stores, and search algorithms
• Experience in building and extending full conversational AI architecture from front end experience through AI services to back end system integrations
• Experience in understanding and applying ethical AI standards
• Ability to communicate technical concepts simply to senior leaders and partner teams
• Experience of working in a regulated environment and managing reliability, security, safety and explainability risks
• Line management experience in coaching various levels of technical staff
• A relentless passion to learn more about AI and its real-world applications at scale

We know that great talent comes from many backgrounds. Whilst this job advert may reference specific years of experience, we recognise that skills are developed in many ways, so if you have relevant, transferable experience, we encourage you to apply.

This is a place for you:

Our ambition is to be the leading UK business for diversity, equity and inclusion supporting our customers, colleagues and communities, and we're committed to creating an environment in which everyone can thrive, learn and develop.

We were one of the first major organisations to set goals on diversity in senior roles, create a menopause health package, and a dedicated Working with Cancer Initiative.

We offer reasonable workplace adjustments for colleagues with disabilities, including flexibility in office attendance, location and working patterns. And, as a Disability Confident Leader, we guarantee interviews for a fair and proportionate number of applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role with a disability, long-term health or neurodivergent condition through the Disability Confident Scheme.

We provide reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process to reduce or remove barriers. Just let us know what you need.

We also offer a wide-ranging benefits package, which includes:

• A generous pension contribution of up to 15%
• An annual performance-related bonus
• Share schemes including free shares
• Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping
• 30 days' holiday, with bank holidays on top
• A range of wellbeing initiatives and generous parental leave policies

At Lloyds Banking Group, we're driven by a clear purpose; to help Britain prosper. Across the Group, our colleagues are focused on making a difference to customers, businesses and communities. With us you'll have a key role to play in shaping the financial services of the future, whilst the scale and reach of our Group means you'll have many opportunities to learn, grow and develop.

We keep your data safe. So, we'll only ever ask you to provide confidential or sensitive information once you have formally been invited along to an interview or accepted a verbal offer to join us which is when we run our background checks. We'll always explain what we need and why, with any request coming from a trusted Lloyds Banking Group person.

We're focused on creating a values-led culture and are committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the customers and communities we serve. Together we're building a truly inclusive workplace where all of our colleagues have the opportunity to make a real difference.