Junior AI Engineer

Reply; Manchester; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

Reply specialises in designing and implementing solutions across new communication channels and digital media. This role sits in a bespoke AI engineering practice within the Reply - Microsoft alliance, focusing on building complex, regulated AI agents for Azure AI Foundry and related tools.

You will work in a small, hands-on team of consultant-engineers, shaping delivery approaches and contributing across full-stack development, from backend logic to cloud infrastructure.

Qualifications

• 0-2 years of software development experience.
• Exposure to AI/ML concepts or tools (courses/projects/self-taught).
• Self-starter who learns quickly and adapts to new tools.

Responsibilities

• Build bespoke AI agents and data foundations using the best-fit tools.
• Develop end-to-end software across backend, APIs, UI and cloud infra.
• Work with the Microsoft AI stack (Azure OpenAI, Foundry, ML) in production builds.
• Decide when pro-code vs low-code is appropriate for a use case.
• Take ownership of your slice of each build and ensure quality.

Skills

Software engineering

Git

CI/CD

Docker

Databases

AI/ML concepts

Tools

Azure OpenAI

Azure AI Foundry

Azure Machine Learning

Cognitive Services

Job description

Reply specialises in designing and implementing solutions based on new communication channels and digital media. Structured as a network of highly specialised companies, Reply supports leading European industrial groups in sectors such as Telco & Media, Industry and Services, Banking and Insurance, and Public Administration, helping define and develop business models enabled by new paradigms such as AI, Cloud Computing, Digital Media, and the Internet of Things. Reply's services include Consulting, System Integration, and Digital Services.

Role Overview:

This role sits in a bespoke AI engineering practice within the Reply - Microsoft alliance, focused on building the complex, regulated AI agents that off-the-shelf copilots and low-code tools can't handle. You'll help run one connected story end-to-end: finding the use cases worth doing, engineering bespoke pro-code agents, and governing them into safe, evidenced production on Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI, and the wider Azure AI ecosystem. You'll be part of a small, hands-on team of consultant-engineers, generalists by design, who pick up whatever a client's problem actually needs rather than staying boxed into a single layer of the stack.

Responsibilities:

• Build bespoke AI agents, integrations, and the data foundations that make them reliable, using whichever language or tool best fits the problem.
• Develop across the full stack - from backend application logic and APIs to front-end interfaces and cloud infrastructure - based on what each use case actually needs.
• Work hands-on with the Microsoft AI stack (Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Foundry, Azure Machine Learning, Cognitive Services) in real production builds, not just sandbox demos.
• Help shape delivery approaches, understanding when a use case genuinely needs pro-code and when a lighter-touch or low-code option is the honest answer.
• Take ownership for your slice of each build, ensuring the clarity, reliability, and quality of what you ship.
• Prototype and experiment with new AI tools, frameworks, and development techniques - including AI-assisted engineering - and share what you learn with the wider team.
• Collaborate with colleagues and, over time, clients to explain what you've built, how it works, and the trade-offs behind key technical decisions.
• Continuously push your own learning, picking up new parts of the stack as needed rather than staying fixed to one technology or layer.

About the Candidate:

• Early-career developer (graduate or 0-2 years' experience) with a solid grounding in software engineering and clean, working code.
• Demonstrated exposure to AI/ML concepts or tools (coursework, projects, or self-taught) and a genuine interest in real-world generative AI applications.
• Self-starter who experiments, learns fast, and can independently pick up new tools, frameworks, and concepts when the problem demands it.
• Clear and concise communicator, able to explain what they've built and why to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Generalist mindset, preferring to learn whatever piece of the stack the use case needs rather than staying in a narrow lane.
• Comfortable using modern engineering practices and tooling (e.g. Git, CI/CD, Docker, databases) or motivated to ramp up quickly.
• Curious, hands-on, and motivated by shipping real products to users rather than working only on theoretical or sandbox exercises.

Reply is an Equal Opportunities Employer and committed to embracing diversity in the workplace. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type regardless of age, sexual orientation, gender, identity, pregnancy, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, medical history, skin colour, marital status or parental status or any other characteristic protected by the Law.

Reply is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone. To help you during the recruitment process, please let us know of any Reasonable Adjustments you may need.