Head of AI - Hands-On Strategy & Production ML (On-site)

The Portfolio Group Inc.; Lancashire; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

The Portfolio Group Inc. in Manchester is seeking a Head of AI / Director of AI (Hands-On) to shape the AI strategy and move initiatives from concept to production on-site. You will define the vision and roadmap, architect and deploy AI solutions, build a cross-functional team, and partner with senior leaders to deliver measurable client and business outcomes. This is a senior leadership role for someone who combines strategic influence with hands-on expertise in ML, LLMs, and responsible AI.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience taking ML/Generative AI to production, including RAG architectures.
• Deep knowledge of LLMs, NLP, Python, SQL, and ML frameworks (PyTorch/TensorFlow).
• Experience leading AI initiatives or technical teams at director/lead level.
• Ability to talk strategy in the boardroom and architect with engineers to drive impact.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the organisation's AI strategy and roadmap, reporting into the senior leadership team.
• Stay hands-on: architect, build and deploy AI solutions into production, and set the technical standard for the team.
• Identify and deliver AI opportunities across client services, professional delivery, internal operations, knowledge management and growth.
• Work with Generative AI, LLMs, Machine Learning, RAG, vector search and knowledge graphs.
• Build and lead a cross-functional AI team, bringing together engineers and professional subject matter experts.
• Establish practical AI governance, covering security, privacy, compliance, accuracy, explainability and responsible AI.
• Partner with senior leaders to turn AI opportunities into measurable client and commercial outcomes.

Skills

Hands-on ML/AI

LLMs / Generative AI

NLP

Python

SQL

PyTorch

TensorFlow

MLOps / DevOps

CI/CD

Leadership

Tools

CI/CD

Job description

The Portfolio Group Inc. in Manchester is seeking a Head of AI / Director of AI (Hands-On) to shape the AI strategy and move initiatives from concept to production on-site. You will define the vision and roadmap, architect and deploy AI solutions, build a cross-functional team, and partner with senior leaders to deliver measurable client and business outcomes. This is a senior leadership role for someone who combines strategic influence with hands-on expertise in ML, LLMs, and responsible AI.