Deployed AI Engineer (up to £160k)

Dex; Greater London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Security clearance eligibility

On-site deployments

Travel opportunities

Job summary

Dex is seeking a Deployed AI Engineer to embed state-of-the-art software into deployed operational environments. You will interface with aircraft mission-control systems and mission hardware, building adapters to bring modern AI to legacy edge platforms.

The role involves on-site deployments across the UK and EU, collaborating with customer teams and core product/ML groups to turn complex edge constraints into production-ready solutions.

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent systems-level grounding.
• Strong software engineering foundation in C++, Java, Rust, or similar systems languages, with scripting in Python or Bash.
• Deep practical command of Linux internals, networking stacks, and database systems, with ability to debug legacy environments.

Responsibilities

• Integrate AI capabilities into complex real-world platforms with customer avionics engineers.
• Decode network protocols, legacy APIs and databases to build adapters that connect edge hardware to cloud.
• Collaborate with product and ML teams to formalize requirements, edge cases and production updates.
• Coordinate live demos and trials across simulated and physical deployments to prove reliability.
• Own the integration lifecycle on-site across UK and EU deployments, monthly travel.

Skills

C++

Java

Rust

Python

Education

Computer Science degree

Tools

Linux

Networking

Databases

Job description

This role is with one of Dex's trusted partner companies. We work closely with their teams to truly understand their culture, goals, and what they're looking for, so we can match you with the right opportunity and give you context about the role before you commit to a process.

The role

One of Europe's best-funded AI companies is building real-time intelligence infrastructure for national defence. Rather than developing isolated research models or enterprise SaaS wrappers, their platform deploys directly onto frontline operational assets—integrating live with mission-critical aircraft, sensors, and sovereign hardware. Backed by multi-billion-dollar capital from premier global VCs, their technical team brings together senior systems and AI talent from Tier-1 tech environments to solve genuinely consequential problems.

As a Deployed AI Engineer, you are the tip of the spear turning state-of-the-art software into deployed operational reality. This is not an academic research role, and it is not a clean, greenfield backend seat where you control the whole stack. You will interface with customer avionics teams, dissect unfamiliar databases and proprietary network protocols inside aircraft mission systems, and build the adapters that bring modern AI to legacy edge environments. You own deployment outcomes end-to-end, often on-site where the software actually runs.

The work

• Integrate modern AI capabilities directly into complex real-world platforms, collaborating with customer avionics engineers to interface with aircraft mission-control systems and operational hardware.
• Trace, reverse-engineer, and decode unfamiliar network protocols, legacy APIs, and bespoke databases to build resilient adapters that connect edge hardware to cloud infrastructure.
• Work alongside core product and machine learning teams to turn chaotic edge-environment constraints into formalized requirements, edge cases, and production updates.
• Coordinate and execute live technical demonstrations and trials across simulated and physical deployments, proving system reliability under operational stress.
• Own the integration lifecycle on the ground across customer sites in the UK and EU, traveling on a monthly cadence to guarantee deployment readiness.

What You Bring

• Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent systems-level grounding.
• Strong software engineering foundation in C++, Java, Rust, or similar systems languages, paired with scripting fluency in Python or Bash.
• Deep practical command of Linux internals, networking stacks, and database systems, with a proven instinct to debug and adapt legacy environments rather than demanding a rewrite.
• Demonstrated ability to operate directly in high-stakes, customer-facing technical environments, asking sharp diagnostic questions and working side-by-side with external engineering teams.
• Willingness to travel across the UK and EU on a monthly cadence, and eligibility to obtain UK or European security clearance.

Defence AI is one of the most opaque and rapidly closing hiring markets in Europe, where high-ownership deployed seats are difficult to evaluate from the outside. Applying through Dex bypasses cold applications and connects you directly with the team leading the integration effort. We give you a candid briefing on the travel schedule, hardware stack, and clearance parameters before you enter the process.

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