Chief AI Engineer

Lloyds Banking Group; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension up to 15%

Annual bonus

Share schemes

Discounted shopping

30 days holiday plus bank holidays

Wellbeing initiatives and parental leа

Job summary

Lloyds Banking Group is seeking a senior Conversational AI leader in Manchester to shape reusable architectures for high-volume customer interactions. You will define the technical direction, ensuring alignment with platform strategy, enterprise architecture, and responsible AI commitments.

You will guide architecture decisions, review designs with multiple teams, and mentor a high-performing AI engineering group. This role focuses on delivering scalable AI capabilities across the Group.

Qualifications

• Expertise in GenAI and AI agents with production delivery experience.
• Strong NLP experience with generative AI, transformers and related tools.
• Ability to design full conversational AI architectures end-to-end.
• Knowledge of ethical AI standards and responsible AI practices.
• Ability to communicate complex topics to senior leaders and partners.
• Experience in regulated environments and managing reliability, security, safety and explainability risks.
• Proven line management experience coaching technical staff.
• A relentless passion to advance AI capabilities at scale.

Responsibilities

• Shape technical direction across multiple AI products and deliver scalable architectures.
• Lead complex AI engineering challenges, review designs, and guide implementations.
• Coach and develop a high-performing team of AI engineers.
• Build reusable AI capabilities and platforms across the Group.
• Evaluate new technologies and identify high-potential use cases for AI.

Skills

GenAI expertise

NLP technologies

AI architecture

Ethical AI

Stakeholder communication

Regulated environment

People leadership

Curiosity for AI at scale

Job description

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

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