Lead AI Engineer — Remote-First, Hands-On Tech Leader

Leisure Employment Services; Hemel Hempstead; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary annual bonus

Wellbeing support

25 days holiday + bank holidays

Job summary

Haven, part of Bourne Leisure, seeks a Lead Engineer (AI) to set technical direction and architecture for an engineering squad. You will balance hands-on coding with coaching, shaping AI-enabled delivery practices and systems across the squad.

You will own the engineering lifecycle, mentor engineers, and collaborate with product, UX, and other squads to deliver high-quality, secure solutions at scale.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience as a software engineer in a similar environment.
• Proven experience in a Lead Engineer role with team leadership.
• Excellent knowledge of AI-enabled software engineering, including AI tooling and prompting.
• Strong programming skills in one of C#, Dart, or TypeScript paired with .NET/Flutter/React/Node.js.
• Solid grounding in SOLID, Clean Code, TDD and testing practices.
• Good mastery of Agile, Lean and OKR practices.
• Understanding of DevOps and SRE concepts (CI/CD, logging, monitoring).
• Knowledge of security concerns (OWASP Top 10).
• Strong coaching, communication and stakeholder management abilities.

Responsibilities

• Set the technical direction and architecture for your squad.
• Define and evolve the squad backlog with Product Manager and UX Designer.
• Lead by example in designing and delivering high-quality AI-enabled solutions.
• Own the squad’s engineering practice and promote sustainable AI-enabled ways of working.
• Communicate progress, risks, and decisions to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Coach and mentor engineers to support professional development.
• Collaborate with other squads to improve the wider engineering team.
• Resolve engineering issues affecting delivery (tools, access, third-party work).
• Contribute to simplifying Haven's digital estate and stay hands-on.

Skills

AI-enabled software engineering

Lead engineer leadership

C# / Dart / TypeScript

SOLID / Clean Code

TDD / testing practices

Agile / Lean / OKRs

DevOps / SRE

AWS / Azure

Security awareness

Communication / mentoring

Tools

React

.NET

Flutter

Node.js

Job description

Haven, part of Bourne Leisure, seeks a Lead Engineer (AI) to set technical direction and architecture for an engineering squad. You will balance hands-on coding with coaching, shaping AI-enabled delivery practices and systems across the squad.

You will own the engineering lifecycle, mentor engineers, and collaborate with product, UX, and other squads to deliver high-quality, secure solutions at scale.