Lead AI Scientist

Lloyds Banking Group; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 107,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services company is seeking a Lead AI Scientist to drive their AI transformation. The role includes overseeing AI solution designs, guiding technical delivery, and collaborating with cross-functional teams. Candidates should have extensive experience in AI/ML, strong Python skills, and a Master's or PhD in a relevant field. This role works in a hybrid model, offering competitive compensation and numerous benefits.

Benefits

Generous pension contribution

Annual bonus award

Share schemes

30 days’ holiday

Wellbeing initiatives

Qualifications

• Experience in production environments.
• Knowledge of AI concepts, algorithms, and techniques.
• Familiarity with Generative AI and reinforcement learning.

Responsibilities

• Lead AI solution designs to drive business value.
• Oversee AI delivery lifecycle from data exploration to deployment.
• Mentor junior team members and foster continuous learning.

Skills

Extensive experience developing and deploying AI systems

Strong proficiency in Python

Expertise in AI/ML frameworks

Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities

Excellent communication skills

Adaptability and passion for continuous learning

Education

Master’s or PhD in relevant STEM field

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Google Cloud Platform

Job description

End Date

Tuesday 09 December 2025

Salary Range

£90,440 - £106,400

We support flexible working – click here for more information on flexible working options

Flexible Working Options

Job Share

Job Description Summary

As an AI technical delivery lead at Lloyds Banking Group, you will be an expert practitioner at the forefront of the Group's AI transformation. In this role, you will lead the technical delivery of cutting‑edge artificial intelligence, machine learning, and generative AI solutions, 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.

Job Description

As a Lead AI Scientist at Lloyds Banking Group, you will be an expert practitioner at the forefront of the Group's AI transformation. In this role, you will lead the technical delivery of cutting‑edge artificial intelligence, machine learning, and generative AI solutions, 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.

JOB TITLE: Lead AI Scientist

SALARY: £90,440 - £131,450

LOCATION: London or Bristol

WORKING PATTERN: Hybrid, 40% (or two days) in the London or Bristol office.

Role Responsibilities

• AI Solution Design: Lead the development of AI use‑case solution designs, balancing innovation with practicality. Apply appropriate data science techniques to develop and/or tune models and evaluate performance.
• Project Delivery: Oversee the entire data science / AI delivery lifecycle, from data exploration to model development/tuning to deployment, monitoring, and performance optimisation using ML and AI Ops best practices.
• Collaboration: Lead and work within cross‑functional teams comprising of business leaders, product managers, data scientists, data engineers and ML/AI engineers.
• 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.
• Team Mentorship: Coach and mentor junior data scientists and AI engineers, helping to grow team capabilities and fostering a culture of continuous learning and curiosity.
• Continuous Learning: Maintain an active view of emerging tools and techniques. Develop proof‑of‑concepts to demonstrate new capabilities. Guide the team in solving complex AI use cases and improving existing approaches.

About us

We’re on an exciting journey and there couldn’t be a better time to join us. The investments we’re making in our people, data, and technology are leading to innovative projects, fresh possibilities, and countless new ways for our people to work, learn, and thrive.

What you’ll need

• Extensive experience developing and deploying AI systems and machine learning models in a production environment.
• 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.

About working for us

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‑represented groups.

We’re disability confident. So, if you’d like reasonable adjustments to be made to our recruitment processes, just let us know.

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

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.

We keep your data safe. So, we'll only ever ask you to provide confidential or sensitive information once you have formally been invited along to an interview or accepted a verbal offer to join us which is when we run our background checks. We'll always explain what we need and why, with any request coming from a trusted Lloyds Banking Group person.

We're focused on creating a values‑led culture and are committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the customers and communities we serve. Together we’re building a truly inclusive workplace where all of our colleagues have the opportunity to make a real difference.