Lead Applied Engineer

1000scholars; Greater London; On-site; GBP 69,000 - 83,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Family friendly policies

Employee benefits guide

Job summary

The Alan Turing Institute is seeking a Lead Applied Engineer in the United Kingdom to act as the technical anchor for a small cross-functional team. This role is hands-on, spanning design, build, and deployment, with direct engagement with stakeholders to identify high-impact problems and drive delivery from project design to deployment in constrained environments.

The successful candidate will lead by example, establish technical standards, and work across engineering delivery, solution

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading a small cross-functional engineering team.
• Experience delivering deployable AI/ML systems in constrained environments.
• Knowledge of secure development lifecycle and deployment patterns.

Responsibilities

• Lead the team from design to delivery of Defence-related projects.
• Collaborate with Defence customers to translate requirements into technical solutions.
• Set technical standards and provide day-to-day technical leadership for the team.
• Review and challenge the team's technical work and unblock delivery.

Skills

Technical leadership

Hands-on engineering

MLOps

Stakeholder collaboration

Cloud and on-premise

Job description

HOURS: 36

CLOSES: 01/11/2026

THE ROLE

We are looking for a Lead Applied Engineer to be the technical anchor of this team from day one. This is a hands-on role: you will spend most of your time designing, building and deploying. You will be hired alongside the first three engineers, so you start with colleagues around you rather than a team that exists only on paper. Strategic direction comes from senior Institute staff; the day-to-day technical leadership of the team is yours. You will work directly with stakeholders to identify the highest-impact problems and lead the team from project design to delivery into constrained environments. You will set the technical standards for the team, leading by example.

The role sits at the intersection of engineering delivery, solution architecture and applied AI. It suits a strong engineer with leadership experience who is comfortable in fast-moving environments, is motivated by direct operational impact and enjoys engaging closely with stakeholders.

HOW YOU WILL MAKE AN IMPACT

• Design and build: take Defence problems from requirement through architecture to working, deployable systems, and stay close to the code throughout.
• Work directly with Defence customers to draw out requirements and translate them into technical solutions that operate within the constraints of the deployment environment.
• Establish how the team builds from day one: secure development lifecycle, MLOps and deployment patterns, evaluation and assurance of AI systems, code quality and documentation.
• Act as the bridge between Turing research and operational delivery: for example, assessing research outputs for maturity and exploitability & deciding what to prioritise for delivery
• Review and challenge the team's technical work, unblock delivery and make the calls that keep it moving.
• Provide day-to-day technical leadership and management for a small cross-functional team
• Provide technical quality assurance review of the Turing policy research team’s outputs

YOU’LL THRIVE IN THIS ROLE IF YOU

• Are motivated by producing work that has real operational relevance and impact for UK defence and national security.
• Can hold a technical position under scrutiny – from senior stakeholders and from your own team – and change it when the evidence says you should.
• Want to lead by building – setting the bar through your own work and the reviews you give, rather than through process.
• Move fluidly between customer conversations, technical design and hands-on delivery.
• Have built data and AI systems from the ground up across cloud and on-premise environments.

Please see our portal for a full breakdown of the Job Description.

Terms and Conditions

This post is offered on a fixed term basis, at an annual salary of £69,000-82,500 plus excellent benefits, including flexible working and family friendly policies, Employee-only benefits guide | The Alan Turing Institute

Eligibility for DV clearance is an essential requirement for this role. Eligibility criteria and further information on the process can be found on the UK Government security vetting website.

Equality Diversity and Inclusion

We value diversity of background, experience, and perspective, and are proud to be an inclusive employer. We warmly encourage applications from all backgrounds, particularly from groups currently under‑represented in our sector. If you feel passionate about this role but don’t meet every single requirement, please apply –we recognise that great candidates maybring strengths beyond the criteria listed.

£69,000 to £82,500 per annum