Lead Forward Deployed AI Engineer

Stott and May Inc.; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Stott and May Inc. partners with a scaling applied AI company to recruit a founding Forward Deployed AI Engineer / Technical Lead in the UK.

You will operate at the intersection of advanced AI, enterprise problem-solving and real-world impact. You’ll work directly with customers to understand complex business challenges, design and deploy production AI systems, and own solutions from initial concept through to measurable business outcomes.

Qualifications

• 5+ years building production AI systems, ML applications or complex software platforms.
• Strong Python engineering background and production experience.
• Experience with LLM applications, agents, RAG, evaluation frameworks or AI workflows.
• Track record owning ambiguous technical problems and delivering business impact.
• Experience working directly with customers, stakeholders or cross-functional teams.
• Thrives in high-ownership, fast-moving environments.

Responsibilities

• Design and deploy production AI systems for customer problems.
• Own solutions from initial concept through to measurable business outcomes.
• Help shape the UK engineering organisation, define technical standards and mentor hires.
• Build a foundational UK team capable of replicating the US success.

Skills

Python

Production AI

LLM applications

Customer-facing

Ambiguity handling

Job description

Founding Forward Deployed AI Engineer / Technical Lead | UK

We’re partnering with a scaling applied AI company that is building production AI systems for some of the world’s most ambitious organisations.

Following significant success in the US, they are now establishing their UK presence and are looking for a founding technical hire to help build and scale the engineering function locally.

This is a rare opportunity for an experienced AI Engineer / Forward Deployed Engineer who wants to operate at the intersection of advanced AI, enterprise problem-solving and real-world impact.

You’ll work directly with customers to understand complex business challenges, design and deploy production AI systems, and own solutions from initial concept through to measurable business outcomes.

Beyond being hands‑on, you’ll play a key role in shaping the UK engineering organisation - helping define technical standards, mentor future hires and build a team capable of replicating the success of the US business.

What they’re looking for:

• 5+ years building production AI systems, ML applications or complex software platforms
• Strong Python engineering background and experience taking systems into production
• Experience with LLM applications, agents, RAG, evaluation frameworks or AI workflows
• A track record of owning ambiguous technical problems and delivering business impact
• Experience working directly with customers, stakeholders or cross-functional teams
• Someone who thrives in high-ownership, fast-moving environments

This is an opportunity to become a foundational member of a UK AI engineering team, working on some of the most meaningful enterprise AI challenges and helping shape the future direction of the company.