Lead AI & Data Engineer

JR United Kingdom; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology firm in Edinburgh seeks a technical and strategic AI and Data Engineer to spearhead data engineering practices. The role involves designing robust data architectures and developing AI solutions while fostering a culture of innovation. Ideal candidates will possess deep expertise in Azure technologies, strong programming skills, and a proven track record in DataOps and MLOps.

Benefits

Flexible working

Collaborative culture

Pathways for growth

Qualifications

• Deep expertise in data engineering and pipelines.
• Hands-on experience building platforms on Microsoft Azure.
• Strong programming skills: Python, SQL, YAML.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and delivery of scalable data architectures.
• Develop and maintain AI and data products aligned to business outcomes.
• Mentor and develop a high-performing engineering team.

Skills

Python

SQL

YAML

Data Engineering

Data Pipelines

DataOps

MLOps

Tools

Microsoft Azure

Data Factory

Synapse

Databricks

Terraform

Bicep

Job description

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Our client is looking for a technical and strategic AI and Data Engineer to take ownership of AI and data engineering practices. You’ll play a central role in shaping modern data platforms, building production-grade AI solutions, and embedding best practices in data and AI engineering.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the design and delivery of scalable data architectures and pipelines to meet analytics and AI needs.
• Develop and maintain AI and data products aligned to business outcomes.
• Champion automation-first engineering practices across ingestion, transformation, and deployment.
• Design and deploy generative and predictive AI solutions using Azure and open-source frameworks.
• Implement modern DataOps and MLOps practices, including CI/CD pipelines and monitoring.
• Establish and maintain reusable enterprise data models and semantic layers for self-service analytics.
• Mentor and develop a high-performing engineering team.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to embed insight and AI in product delivery and business decision-making.

About You:

• Deep expertise in data engineering, data pipelines, and semantic models.
• Hands-on experience building data platforms on Microsoft Azure (Data Factory, Synapse, Databricks, Purview).
• Skilled in deploying machine learning models and generative AI applications in production.
• Strong programming skills in Python, SQL, YAML.
• Experience with CI/CD and infrastructure-as-code (e.g., Terraform/Bicep).
• Proven leadership in embedding modern engineering practices (DataOps, MLOps) within teams.
• Comfortable working in Agile development and structured deployment environments.
• Desirable experience with Azure OpenAI, LangChain, and graph/vector databases.

What’s on offer:

• Opportunity to lead the engineering backbone of a data-driven transformation.
• Work with forward-thinking teams in a culture of innovation and continuous learning.
• Flexible working, collaborative culture, and pathways for growth.

Apply here for more information and a full job spec.