Principal AI Engineer in Glasgow

Energy Jobline ZR; Glasgow; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology firm in Glasgow is seeking a Principal Engineer to define and execute their AI and data science strategy. This role requires deep technical expertise and leadership to build intelligent systems for financial compliance. Candidates should have a PhD or MSc in a related field and experience in deploying AI systems. The position offers flexible working policies and participation in a share options scheme.

Benefits

Participation in share options scheme

Private Medical Plan

Work From Anywhere policy

Flexible working policy

Enhanced leave schemes

Paid volunteering leave programme

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in building and deploying AI systems in production environments.
• Strong understanding of data governance, bias, fairness, and regulatory considerations in AI.
• Ability to support hiring of senior engineering talent and contribute directly to broader business strategy.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the AI and data science strategy across Encompass products.
• Architect and lead the development of a cutting-edge agentic AI system.
• Foster collaboration across cross-functional teams.

Skills

AI system development

Data science expertise

RegTech experience

Strategic thinking

Education

PhD or MSc in Computer Science, Data Science, AI or related field

Tools

MLOps

Job description

Energy Jobline is the largest and fastest growing global Energy Job Board and Energy Hub. We have an audience reach of over 7 million energy professionals, 400,000+ monthly advertised global energy and engineering jobs, and work with the leading energy companies worldwide.

We focus on the Oil & Gas, Renewables, Engineering, Power, and Nuclear markets as well as emerging technologies in EV, Battery, and Fusion. We are committed to ensuring that we offer the most exciting career opportunities from around the world for our jobseekers.

Job Description

Description Encompass enables fast, accurate validation and verification of corporate customers, and a gold standard approach to KYC. Our award-winning corporate digital (CDI) platform incorporates real-time data and documents from authoritative global public data sources and private customer information, to create and maintain digital risk profiles. Utilizing the expertise of a global transformation team of KYC and banking industry experts, as well as strategic data, technology and consulting partnerships, enables seamless integration of Encompass into existing workflows and systems.

With Encompass the world’s leading banks improve customer experience and increase business opportunities through consistent regulatory compliance and risk mitigation. With offices in Amsterdam, Glasgow, London, New York, and Sydney, we are a rapidly growing international company offering a chance to be part of our success - read on if you think you’re up for the challenge.

About the role

We are seeking a technically hands‑on Principal Engineer to define and execute our AI and data science strategy. You’ll work at the intersection of AI research and product engineering to build intelligent, trustworthy systems that transform how financial institutions meet compliance and regulatory obligations.

This is a leadership role that requires deep technical expertise, strategic thinking, and the ability to build and grow a high‑performing key area of the business.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership – Define and lead the AI and data science strategy across Encompass products, aligned with our vision for intelligent KYC automation. Partner with Product, Engineering, and Executive teams to identify opportunities for AI‑driven innovation, especially around data acquisition and reasoning.
• Agentic AI Development – Architect and lead the development of a cutting‑edge agentic AI system for intelligent data discovery, extraction, and decision‑making. Oversee the integration of LLMs, knowledge graphs, retrieval‑augmented (RAG), and reinforcement learning for autonomous task execution. Champion the application of explainable and trustworthy AI principles in all solutions.
• Hands‑on Technical Leadership – Serve as a player‑coach—writing code, prototyping models, conducting experiments, and reviewing designs. Establish best practices for data science, MLOps, and model deployment at scale. Guide the selection of AI technologies, platforms, and tooling.
• Team Building – Foster collaboration across cross‑functional teams, promoting a culture of experimentation, continuous learning, and high performance.
• Strategic Influence – Provide actionable direction to teams of multiple stakeholders even in the most challenging of situations. Effectively create buy‑in for a multi‑year technology strategy across the company, from Board level to individual engineers. Communicate difficult decisions when necessary.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree (PhD or MSc) in Computer Science, Data Science, AI, or a related field.
• Experience in financial services, RegTech, or compliance domain is a strong plus.
• Demonstrated experience in building and deploying AI systems in production environments.
• Strong understanding of data governance, bias, fairness, and regulatory considerations in AI.
• Capability to support hiring of senior engineering talent and contribute directly to broader business strategy.
• Ability to think in 3‑5 year horizons, help others see future implications, and drive technology strategy from Board level to individual engineers.

Benefits

• Participation in our industry‑leading share options scheme
• Private Medical Plan 20 days a year
• Work From Anywhere policy for all staff
• Flexible‑first working policy
• Enhanced annual, personal and parental leave schemes
• Paid volunteering leave programme
• Employer recognition and employee assistance programmes
• Equal Opportunities – We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered to thrive. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of ethnicity, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, or any other protected characteristic. If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process to ensure an equitable experience, please let us know.

Join us in creating an environment where everyone can contribute their best work. Please note, we are not looking for agency assistance on these roles and will not accept any speculative CVs shared. Powered by award‑winning automation and unrivalled global data access, Encompass offers AML and KYC due diligence software on demand.

Energy Jobline wishes you the very best of luck in your next career move.