Head of AI

Durlston Partners; Greater London; On-site; GBP 200,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Durlston Partners in London is seeking a senior AI leader to architect and execute a strategy for frontier AI systems. You will lead a cross-functional team spanning research, engineering, safety and product to push the boundaries of what AI can do.

You will hire and retain top talent while keeping the organization efficient, safe, and enterprise-ready, translating ambitious theoretical work into scalable, real-world impact.

Qualifications

• Experience leading AI research and engineering teams.
• Proven track record building large AI models or platforms.
• Strong strategic vision for AI development.

Responsibilities

• Lead the AI organization across research, engineering, safety and product.
• Hire brilliant humans and help them stay brilliant.
• Keep the team lean, mean and computationally efficient.
• Own the model roadmap, architecture, training and scale.
• Dream in AGI: world models, agents and planning systems.
• Build an AI platform that works in real world, safely and at scale.
• Be the grown-up in the room and represent AI work to investors and partners.

Skills

AI leadership experience

Large AI models / platforms

Strategic AI vision

Job description

We’re working with a well capitalised business in London that is looking for someone to lead the charge in building one of the most advanced AI systems on the planet. Think frontier LLMs. Think agentic systems. Think world models that actually understand stuff. You’ll be the architect of their AI strategy, the builder of their dream team, and the person who turns “what if” into “what’s next.”

What You’ll Actually Do:

• Lead the Geeks (and Geniuses) – Scale and inspire our AI org across research, engineering, safety, and product.
• Hire brilliant humans (and help them stay brilliant).
• Keep us lean, mean, and computationally efficient.
• Own the Model
  • Define and deliver the roadmap to a frontier LLM.
  • Make the big calls on architecture, training, data, and scale.
  • Ensure we’re not just keeping up—but setting the pace.
• Dream in AGI
  • Push beyond next-token prediction into world models, agents, and systems that can plan, simulate, and interact.
  • Help us build the bridge from LLMs to general intelligence.
• Build the Platform
  • Oversee the creation of an AI platform that actually works in the real world.
  • Make it safe, scalable, and ready for enterprise workflows.
• Be the Grown‑Up in the Room (When Needed)
  • Set safety standards and release protocols.
  • Navigate regulation without losing your sense of adventure.
  • Be the face of our AI work to investors, partners, and the world.

Qualifications & Experience

• Experience leading AI research and engineering teams.
• Proven track record in building large AI models or platforms.
• Strong strategic vision for AI development.

If this sounds like the type of role that could leverage your track record of leading teams that’ve built large models or complex AI platforms before, please apply to the link provided!