Lead AI Researcher

Lloyds Banking Group; Bristol; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services organization in the UK is seeking a Lead AI Researcher to guide innovative AI and machine learning technologies. The candidate will oversee AI research projects, ensuring ethical practices and collaboration with cross-functional teams. Ideal applicants will possess extensive experience in AI development, a strong publication record, and a Master's or PhD in a relevant field. This role offers a competitive benefits package, including a generous pension and flexible work options.

Benefits

Generous pension contribution of up to 15%

Annual bonus award

Share schemes including free shares

Adaptable benefits for lifestyle

30 days' holiday plus bank holidays

Wellbeing initiatives and parental leave policies

Qualifications

• Extensive experience developing AI systems and deploying ML models.
• Strong publication record in AI research.
• Deep knowledge of AI/ML concepts, including Generative AI.
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end AI research and innovation projects.
• Set technical direction and research roadmap for the AI team.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams and academic partners.
• Present findings at conferences and publish research papers.
• Coach and mentor junior AI researchers.

Skills

AI Research & Innovation

Strategic Leadership

Project Execution

Collaboration

Thought Leadership & Communication

Team Mentorship

Responsible AI Governance

Education

Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or relevant STEM field

Tools

Python

AI/ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow)

Google Cloud Platform

Job description

As a Lead AI Researcher at Lloyds Banking Group, you will be a strategic leader and expert practitioner at the forefront of the Group's AI transformation. In this role, you will lead the research and development of cutting‑edge artificial intelligence, machine learning, and generative AI technologies, guiding their application to drive business value while ensuring ethical and responsible implementation. You will work within the AI Centre of Excellence, collaborating with diverse teams to solve complex financial challenges and create innovative, customer‑centric banking solutions.

Role Responsibilities

• AI Research & Innovation: Lead and conduct hands‑on, end‑to‑end research, developing novel AI, Machine Learning (ML), Generative AI (GenAI), and Agentic AI solutions and patterns.
• Strategic Leadership: Set the technical direction and research roadmap for the AI team, translating complex business challenges and opportunities into a clear vision for AI development. Your work will inform the Group's AI strategy and advance its capabilities.
• Project Execution: Lead the full lifecycle of AI research projects, from formulating problems, ideation, proposing hypotheses, developing new algorithms/models to experimentation to validating outcomes and publishing results, ensuring high‑quality impactful outcomes.
• Collaboration: Lead and work within cross‑functional teams comprising of product managers, data scientists, ML/AI engineers, and business leaders. Lead research partnerships with key academic partners and fintechs.
• Thought Leadership & Communication: Act as a subject matter expert, present research findings at conferences and publish papers to advance the field. You will communicate complex technical concepts effectively to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders, including senior leaders.
• Team Mentorship: Coach and mentor junior AI researchers and engineers, helping to grow team capabilities and fostering a culture of continuous learning and curiosity.
• Responsible AI Governance: Partner with the Responsible AI team to embed robust ethical principles, bias mitigation techniques, and regulatory compliance into all AI development workflows.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience developing and deploying AI systems and machine learning models in a production environment.
• Demonstrable experience in AI research, with a strong publication record in top‑tier conferences and journals.
• Master's or PhD (preferred) in Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or relevant STEM field.
• Deep knowledge of AI/ML concepts, algorithms, and techniques, including Generative AI, Agentic AI and reinforcement learning.
• Strong proficiency in programming languages, particularly Python.
• Expertise in AI/ML frameworks such as PyTorch/TensorFlow, Scikit‑learn, Statsmodels, LangGraph and ADK.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (preferably Google Cloud Platform and Vertex AI).
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, and complex problem‑solving abilities.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and influencing skills, with the ability to convey business information from technical subject matter.
• A high degree of ethical awareness, with an understanding of AI ethics, risk mitigation, and bias detection.
• Adaptability and a passion for continuous learning to keep up with the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Benefits

• A generous pension contribution of up to 15%
• An annual bonus award, subject to Group performance
• Share schemes including free shares
• Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping
• 30 days' holiday, with bank holidays on top
• A range of wellbeing initiatives and generous parental leave policies

Inclusive Workplace

Our focus is to ensure we're inclusive every day, building an organisation that reflects modern society and celebrates diversity in all its forms. We want our people to feel that they belong and can be their best, regardless of background, identity or culture. We were one of the first major organisations to set goals on diversity in senior roles, create a menopause health package, and a dedicated Working with Cancer initiative. And it's why we especially welcome applications from under‑representative groups. We're disability confident. So, if you'd like reasonable adjustments to be made to our recruitment processes, just let us know.

Join Our Journey

Want to do amazing work, that's interesting and makes a difference to millions of people? Join our journey. At Lloyds Banking Group, we're driven by a clear purpose; to help Britain prosper. Across the Group, our colleagues are focused on making a difference to customers, businesses and communities. With us you'll have a key role to play in shaping the financial services of the future, whilst the scale and reach of our Group means you'll have many opportunities to learn, grow and develop.