Director, Model Orchestration

Lenovo; Farnborough; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A global technology company in Farnborough is seeking an experienced leader for AI model orchestration. The role requires a minimum of 8 years in AI/ML engineering, focusing on architectural development and R&D team mentorship. A graduate degree is preferred. The position offers a hybrid model and opportunities for advancement in a dynamic environment.

Benefits

Career advancement opportunities

Training programs

Performance-based rewards

Flexibility with hybrid work model

Electric car salary sacrifice scheme

Life insurance

Qualifications

• 8+ years in AI/ML engineering or orchestration platform development.
• Deep understanding of model routing strategies.
• Experience with agentic frameworks and workflow orchestration.

Responsibilities

• Architect and lead the development of an AI model orchestration system.
• Collaborate with university researchers to accelerate innovation.
• Direct and mentor a high-caliber R&D engineering team.

Skills

AI/ML engineering

Distributed systems

Orchestration platform development

Leadership in R&D

API integration

Cost optimization

Monitoring systems design

Education

Graduate degree (MS/PhD) in Computer Science, AI/ML, Distributed Systems

Tools

LangChain

Airflow

Job description

General Information

Req # WD00088670

Career area: Hardware Engineering

Country/Region: United Kingdom

State: Hampshire

City: Farnborough

Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Working time: Full-time

Additional Locations: United Kingdom - Hampshire - Farnborough

Why Work at Lenovo

We are Lenovo. We do what we say. We own what we do. We WOW our customers.

Lenovo is a US$69 billion revenue global technology powerhouse, ranked #196 in the Fortune Global 500, and serving millions of customers every day in 180 markets. Focused on a bold vision to deliver Smarter Technology for All, Lenovo has built on its success as the world\'s largest PC company with a full-stack portfolio of AI-enabled, AI-ready, and AI-optimized devices (PCs, workstations, smartphones, tablets), infrastructure (server, storage, edge, high performance computing and software defined infrastructure), software, solutions, and services. Lenovo\'s continued investment in world-changing innovation is building a more equitable, trustworthy, and smarter future for everyone, everywhere. Lenovo is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange under Lenovo Group Limited (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY).

This transformation together with Lenovo\'s world-changing innovation is building a more inclusive, trustworthy, and smarter future for everyone, everywhere. To find out more visit www.lenovo.com, and read about the latest news via our StoryHub.

Description and Requirements

This role is open for the London, UK location only. Candidates must be based there, as the position requires working from the office at least three days per week (3:2 hybrid policy).

We are building a state-of-the-art AI Model Orchestration Platform to intelligently allocate and route AI workloads across devices, laptops, and cloud environments - optimizing for cost, privacy, latency, and user experience.

This role is based at our new Lenovo site at Imperial College London, where you will not only shape the architecture, roadmap, and execution of Lenovo\'s AI orchestration strategy, but also play a founding leadership role in establishing and growing the site. This unique opportunity blends cutting-edge R&D, cross-disciplinary collaboration with world-class academic researchers, and high-impact product delivery.

You will ensure our platform becomes a global benchmark for intelligent AI deployment while helping build a vibrant new hub for AI innovation in the UK.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and lead the development of an intelligent AI model orchestration system capable of dynamic, context-aware workload allocation across heterogeneous compute environments.
• Enable seamless routing of AI workloads between on-device, laptop, and cloud compute, balancing performance, energy efficiency, privacy, and cost optimization.
• Collaborate closely with university researchers to accelerate algorithmic innovation, federated learning capabilities, and privacy-preserving AI deployment.
• Direct and mentor a high-caliber R&D engineering team (~6 engineers), fostering a culture of technical excellence, rapid prototyping, and rigorous validation.
• Establish evaluation pipelines and performance metrics for AI orchestration at scale, ensuring reproducibility, stability, and deployment readiness.
• Drive integration of orchestration capabilities into Lenovo\'s consumer and enterprise products, in partnership with internal product and platform engineering teams.
• Stay ahead of emerging trends in distributed AI, multi-agent orchestration, and edge-to-cloud integration, guiding Lenovo\'s long-term technical direction.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years in AI/ML engineering, distributed systems, or orchestration platform development in a research or production environment. At least 3 years working on AI/ML workloads.
• Model Routing Systems: Deep understanding of routing strategies (heuristic, learned policies, multi-armed bandits, cost/latency trade-offs, dynamic fallback mechanisms).
• Orchestration Frameworks: Experience with agentic frameworks (LangChain, AutoGen, CrewAI, Semantic Kernel, or equivalents) and workflow orchestration (Airflow, Ray, Prefect).
• Scalability: Proven experience in scaling multi-model and multi-tenant inference systems to millions of daily requests.
• Latency & Cost Optimization: Expertise in designing systems that balance throughput, latency, and cost per query.
• Experimentation Platforms: Familiarity with A/B testing, reinforcement learning from feedback, and dynamic policy evaluation for routing decisions.
• Tool & API Integration: Proficiency in integrating external APIs, tools, and databases into orchestration pipelines.
• Observability: Ability to design monitoring systems for correctness, drift detection, and performance regressions across model families.
• Strong leadership track record in R&D settings, with the ability to translate research into deployed systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience collaborating with academic research institutions or research-led industry programs.
• Prior work in AI workload optimization for consumer electronics, IoT devices, or edge platforms.
• Graduate degree (MS/PhD) in Computer Science, AI/ML, Distributed Systems, or related discipline.
• Familiarity with federated learning, agent-based orchestration, and privacy-preserving AI frameworks.
• Strong ability to operate across ambiguous and emerging technology landscapes, defining scalable frameworks for innovation.

What we offer

• Opportunities for career advancement and personal development
• Access to a diverse range of training programs
• Performance-based rewards that celebrate your achievements
• Flexibility with a hybrid work model (3:2) that blends home and office life
• Electric car salary sacrifice scheme
• Life insurance

#AAITC

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any federal, state, or local protected class.

Additional Locations: United Kingdom - Hampshire - Farnborough

United Kingdom

United Kingdom - Hampshire

United Kingdom - Hampshire - Farnborough

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