Lead AI Engineer

Kainos; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology company in Greater London is seeking a Lead AI Engineer to architect and deliver advanced AI solutions using cutting-edge technologies. The ideal candidate should have a strong educational background in a quantitative field, extensive Python experience, and skills in deploying AI/ML solutions on cloud platforms. This role involves mentoring junior staff and ensuring responsible AI practices, making it perfect for someone passionate about innovation and collaboration in a diverse environment.

Qualifications

• A minimum of a 2.1 degree in a quantitative field.
• Experience deploying AI/ML solutions in production.
• Strong Python skills and software engineering practices.

Responsibilities

• Architect and deliver advanced AI solutions.
• Drive adoption of modern AI frameworks and best practices.
• Mentor junior team members and foster innovation.

Skills

Python

AI/ML solutions deployment

Interpersonal skills

Cloud platforms (Azure & AWS)

Containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)

Education

2.1 degree in Computer Science, AI, Data Science, Statistics

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

scikit-learn

XGBoost

Job description

Profile Description

Join Kainos and Shape the Future At Kainos, we’re problem solvers, innovators, and collaborators – driven by a shared mission to create real impact. Whether we’re transforming digital services for millions, delivering cutting-edge Workday solutions, or pushing the boundaries of technology, we do it together.

We believe in a people‑first culture, where your ideas are valued, your growth is supported, and your contributions truly make a difference. Here, you’ll be part of a diverse, ambitious team that celebrates creativity and collaboration.

Ready to make your mark? Join us and be part of something bigger.

Main Purpose of the Role & Responsibilities in the Business

As a Lead AI Engineer at Kainos, you will architect, design, and deliver advanced AI solutions leveraging state‑of‑the‑art machine learning, generative and agentic AI technologies. You will drive the adoption of modern AI frameworks, AI Ops best practices and scalable cloud‑native architectures. Your role will involve hands‑on technical leadership, collaborating with customers to translate business challenges into trustworthy AI solutions and ensuring responsible AI practices throughout. As a technical mentor, you will foster a culture of innovation, continuous learning, and engineering excellence.

It is a fast‑paced environment, so it is important for you to make sound, reasoned decisions. You will do this whilst learning about new technologies and approaches, with talented colleagues that will help you to develop and grow. You will manage, coach, and develop a small number of staff, with a focus on managing employee performance and assisting in their career development. You will also provide direction and leadership for your team as you solve challenging problems together.

Minimum (Essential) Requirements

• A minimum of a 2.1 degree in Computer Science, AI, Data Science, Statistics or a similar quantitative field.
• Demonstrable experience of deploying modern AI/ML solutions into production, including prompt engineering, retrieval‑augmented generation, model evaluation and monitoring using metrics (e.g., precision, recall, NDCG and drift detection).
• Strong Python skills with a grounding in software engineering best practices (CI/CD, testing, code reviews, etc).
• Experience developing solutions at scale on cloud platforms (Azure & AWS), containerisation and orchestration tools such as Kubernetes and Docker.
• Expertise in data engineering for AI: handling large‑scale, unstructured, multimodal data.
• Understanding of responsible AI principles, model interpretability, and ethical considerations.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to lead client projects and establish requirements in non‑technical language.
• We are passionate about developing people; you will bring experience in managing, coaching, and developing junior members of a team and wider community.

Desirable

• Demonstrable experience with modern deep learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow), fine‑tuning or distillation of LLMs (e.g., GPT, Llama, Claude, Gemini), machine learning libraries (e.g., scikit‑learn, XGBoost).
• Experience with data storage for AI, vector databases, semantic search, and knowledge graphs.
• Contributions to open‑source AI projects or research publications.
• Familiarity with AI security, privacy, and compliance standards (e.g., ISO42001).

Embracing Our Differences

At Kainos, we believe in the power of diversity, equity and inclusion. We are committed to building a team that is as diverse as the world we live in, where everyone is valued, respected, and given an equal chance to thrive. We actively seek out talented people from all backgrounds, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or any other characteristic that makes them who they are. We also believe every candidate deserves a level playing field.

Our friendly talent acquisition team is here to support you every step of the way, so if you require any accommodations or adjustments, we encourage you to reach out. We understand that everyone's journey is different, and by having a private conversation we can ensure that our recruitment process is tailored to your needs.