Founding AI Engineer

Glot; Greater London; On-site; GBP 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Pension

Job summary

Glot in London is seeking a founding-level AI leader to own the direction, architecture, and long-term bets of our real-time translation platform.

You will sit with the CEO and senior colleagues, shipping end-to-end AI systems, guiding research and production as we scale language tech for real-world conversations. This is a high-impact role with equity and a strong pension offering.

Qualifications

• Deep hands-on experience building and shipping AI models, not just fine-tuning.
• Experience with hard problems like real-time processing, speech, translation, or low-latency inference.
• Background from top AI labs (e.g., DeepMind) or similar early-stage AI teams.

Responsibilities

• Own the AI direction, model architecture, and long-term technical bets for the product.
• Lead as part of the senior leadership committee, aligning technical strategy with business goals.
• Ship end-to-end AI systems with autonomy in a fast-moving startup environment.

Skills

AI model development

Real-time processing

Independent leadership

Job description

We believe no one should be a stranger just because they speak a different language.

Imagine two people, no shared language, talking as easily as old friends. That's exactly what we are building: real-time translation for real-world conversations.

It sounds like it should already exist. It doesn't.

We're a small, well-funded team in the heart of London, backed by people who built the tech already in your pocket, and we're right at the start. No one has built this before, including us, and that's the best part.

The role

You'll be part of our senior leadership committee - sitting alongside the CEO, Head of Engineering, Head of Product, Head of GTM and Chief of Staff. You own the AI direction, the model architecture, and the long-term technical bets we make on how this product thinks, learns and scales.

This is a founding-level role in everything but title.

What We're Looking For

• You have deep hands-on experience building and shipping AI models - not just fine-tuning, but understanding what's under the hood
• You've worked on problems that are genuinely hard - real-time processing, speech, translation, or low-latency inference would be a strong signal
• You're the kind of engineer who came up through places like DeepMind, top research labs, or early-stage AI teams where the bar was exceptionally high
• You're curious, sharp and energised by unsolved problems rather than comfortable ones
• You're someone people trust with decisions that are hard to reverse - you think carefully, communicate clearly, and don't cut corners on what matters
• You can work independently at a senior level while staying closely aligned with a small, fast-moving team

Compensation

• Salary: a competitive salary, benchmarked to the role and your experience. We're happy to discuss specifics early on.
• Equity: meaningful equity as an early employee.
• Pension: workplace pension with employer contributions.

What You'll Get

• Recognition and rewards for great work.
• All the boring stuff everywhere else provides - 25 days off, pension, the lot.
• Amazing London offices: two spaces, one floor, 360° views across London. One side is built for collaboration and energy (small talk encouraged). The other is quiet, calm - a low-distraction focus space, always there when you need it.
• A fully stocked fridge, a proper lounge, and a team that genuinely likes spending time together. Food is taken seriously here.
• You shape your own environment. Lighting, a desk away from the noise, headphones, a setup that works for you. Just ask.
• Flexible hours around a small set of shared core hours, plus focus time we actually protect, so you can work when you think best.
• Ownership and autonomy. If you want to deploy a solution, you don't need five meetings. You just do it.
• A clear first-month plan and someone you can ask anything, so you're never left guessing what's expected.
• A team that takes the mission seriously, but not itself - we love socials, passion, and building something we believe in.
• Benefits are still being shaped - tell us what would make a real difference to your quality of life, and we'll consider it. We mean that.