Frontier AI Assistant Director

EY UK; Manchester; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

EY UK is seeking an Frontier AI Assistant Director to identify, shape and scale emerging AI opportunities across EY. You will connect client needs with evolving tech, lead initiatives from experimentation to capability development, and work with service lines, sectors, and alliances.

You will explore trusted models, AI-native software, enterprise knowledge systems, and agentic AI, driving tangible business outcomes with evidence-based strategies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required with advanced degree preferred.
• 8+ years in software engineering, AI, machine learning, product development or related tech fields.
• Hands-on experimentation, prototyping, or building with emerging technologies.
• Experience leading complex technology initiatives spanning tech and business.

Responsibilities

• Identify and lead Frontier AI initiatives linking tech to client challenges and strategy.
• Monitor AI developments across EY and external markets for opportunities.
• Build relationships across service lines, regions, and ecosystems to understand needs.
• Design experiments, prototypes, and proofs-of-concept to validate opportunities.
• Assess opportunities by value, feasibility, readiness, risk and adoption potential.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to refine and scale new capabilities.
• Translate technical advances into actionable business recommendations.

Skills

AI strategy

Cross-functional leadership

Technical evaluation

Prototyping

Experimentation

Stakeholder engagement

Communication

Business translation

Ecosystem building

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, Business, or related field. Advanced degree preferred

Job description

About the Next Frontier:

Applied Innovation's Next Frontier focuses on emerging technologies, including Physical AI, Quantum Computing, and Frontier AI, amongst others such as Cyber Frontier. This initiative translates advanced capabilities into measurable outcomes, helping clients and EY teams unlock new opportunities through technology-driven capabilities.

The opportunity:

Frontier AI bridges emerging AI capabilities and evolving client needs. We identify high-potential innovations in the market and connect experts across EY and the ecosystem; where breakthroughs meet customer needs, we incubate, validate and deliver new scalable capabilities to the firm and its clients. We are builders, strategists, and innovators focused on turning rapidly evolving AI technologies into trusted business outcomes through evidence, collaboration, and responsible innovation.

The Frontier AI Assistant Director helps identify, shape, and scale emerging AI opportunities across EY. Working closely with service lines, sectors, alliances, and innovation teams, this role connects evolving client needs with emerging technologies and leads initiatives from experimentation through capability development. Areas of focus may include trusted and open-weight models, AI-native software delivery, enterprise knowledge and context systems, specialized AI, and agentic systems.

Your key responsibilities

• Monitor developments across AI, both externally and across EY, to identify emerging capabilities, market signals, and opportunities relevant to clients and firm strategy.
• Build relationships across service lines, sectors, alliances, regions, and external ecosystems to understand evolving business needs and technology opportunities.
• Identify, shape, and lead Frontier AI initiatives that connect emerging technologies with client challenges and strategic priorities.
• Continuously experiment with emerging technologies to develop first‑hand understanding of their capabilities, limitations, and potential applications.
• Design and build experiments, prototypes, and proof‑of‑concepts to validate opportunities, evaluate technologies, and accelerate learning.
• Assess opportunities across business value, technical feasibility, enterprise readiness, risk, and adoption potential.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to validate, refine, and advance new capabilities.

Skills and attributes for success:

• Deep curiosity about the evolving AI landscape and a demonstrated ability to identify meaningful developments before they become mainstream.
• Ability to connect emerging technologies with client needs, business opportunities, and strategic priorities.
• Broad technical foundation with the credibility to evaluate technologies, challenge assumptions, and engage deeply with technical practitioners.
• Actively builds, prototypes, and experiments with emerging technologies as part of an ongoing hands‑on practice.
• Learns through doing, rapidly testing ideas and developing first‑hand perspectives on new capabilities.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity, using experimentation and evidence to inform decisions and recommendations.
• Ability to engage effectively with business leaders, client‑serving teams, technologists, startups, and alliance partners to identify opportunities and shape initiatives.
• Translates technical developments into business implications, strategic recommendations, and actionable next steps.
• Strong communication, influence, and storytelling skills across technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Experience bringing together diverse stakeholders to advance new ideas from concept to implementation.
• Builds relationships across internal and external innovation ecosystems to accelerate learning and capability development.
• Creates reusable assets, frameworks, accelerators, and playbooks that enable successful innovations to scale.

What we look for:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, Business, or a related field. Advanced degree preferred.
• 8+ years of experience in software engineering, AI, machine learning, product development, solution architecture, technical consulting, technical program management, innovation, or related technology disciplines.
• Demonstrated history of hands‑on experimentation, prototyping, or building with emerging technologies as part of an ongoing practice of learning and exploration.
• Experience leading complex technology initiatives that span technical, business, and stakeholder considerations.
• Experience evaluating emerging technologies and translating them into business value, technical solutions, or new capabilities.
• Preferred backgrounds include technology startups, technical program management, solution engineering, customer engineering, product development, technical consulting, innovation organizations, or related roles.

Note: This job description is intended as a guide to reflect the principal functions of the job. However, it is not an all‑inclusive listing of the required job functions and functions may vary depending on the geographic location of the job and/or the manager. Further, the job description is subject to change at the discretion of management.

What we offer you

At EY, we’ll develop you with future‑focused skills and equip you with world‑class experiences. We’ll empower you in a flexible environment, and fuel you and your extraordinary talents in a diverse and inclusive culture of globally connected teams. Learn more.

To help create an equitable and inclusive experience during the recruitment process, please inform us as soon as possible about any disability‑related adjustments or accommodations you may need.

EY | Building a better working world

EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets.

Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow.

EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi‑disciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories.