Principal Applied AI Engineer

Incubator for Artificial Intelligence; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employer pension contribution

Hybrid work model

SC clearance sponsorship

Job summary

Incubator for AI (i.AI) is seeking a Principal Applied AI Engineer to set the technical strategy for Applied AI delivery and lead a portfolio of national-scale products.

You will guide the technical direction across departments, mentor aspiring engineering principals, and own major platforms while collaborating with public sector partners. Hybrid work in the UK with sponsorship for SC clearance.

Qualifications

• Experience leading technical direction of large-scale frontier AI products.
• Ability to ship products that transform departments, sectors or policy areas.
• Strong networks across the tech sector; public sector domain experience preferred.
• Deep subject-matter expertise in Entrepreneurship, ML/DL or Full Stack Engineering.
• Proven track record of attracting and inspiring top talent to an organisation.

Responsibilities

• Setting the overall strategy for Applied AI delivery and defining goals across product work streams.
• Leading execution of a portfolio of products, navigating ambiguity to ship pioneering AI solutions.
• Identifying key talent gaps and pitching in the talent needed to close them.
• Mentoring and coaching the next generation of AI engineering principals.
• Owning a major platform or tool, and advising on long-term technical strategy.

Skills

AI leadership

Frontier AI

Public sector domain

ML/DL

Full Stack Eng

Tools

Python

TypeScript

AWS

Azure

GCP

PyTorch

LangGraph

LangChain

DSPy

Langfuse

Inspect

Job description

Principal Applied AI Engineer | Incubator for AI (i.AI)

At i.AI, we're building AI products inside the UK Government that are transforming public services across health, education, planning and beyond.

We're looking for a Principal Applied AI Engineer to set the technical strategy for Applied AI delivery and lead a portfolio of products that reach national scale.

What will I be doing?

• Setting the overall strategy for Applied AI delivery and defining goals across product work streams
• Leading execution of a portfolio of products, navigating ambiguity to ship pioneering AI solutions that transform departments, sectors or policy areas
• Identifying key talent gaps — technical and product — and pitching in the talent needed to close them
• Mentoring and coaching the next generation of AI engineering principals
• Owning a major platform or tool, and advising the wider government on long-term technical strategy

Our stack: Python, TypeScript, AWS, Azure, GCP, PyTorch, LangGraph, LangChain, DSPy, Langfuse, Inspect and access to the latest frontier models.

What we're looking for:

• Significant experience leading the technical direction of large-scale, frontier AI products or delivery of frontier AI solutions, or founding innovative tech ventures — recognised as an AI leader, potentially internationally
• Proven ability to navigate ambiguity and ship products that transform departments, sectors or policy areas
• Strong networks across the tech sector; deep experience in a core public sector domain (health, planning, education, etc.) preferred
• Deep subject-matter expertise in one of the three core disciplines — Entrepreneurship, ML/DL or Full Stack Engineering — and strong working capability across the remaining two
• A track record of world-class technical leadership, with the credibility and standing to attract and inspire high-calibre talent to the organisation

What's in it for me:

• Salary of up to £145,000 (Base £71,525 + Technical Allowance £73,475), plus a 28.97% employer pension contribution
• London, Manchester or Bristol (Hybrid, with flexibility for occasional remote work abroad); Fixed-term (24 months — happy to discuss)
• 25 days annual leave (+1 per year of service), up to 39 weeks paid parental leave, home-office equipment stipend, plus discounts on cycling, dental insurance, retail and gyms

We know great talent comes from a range of backgrounds and experiences. If you're a pioneering technical leader excited about shaping the future of public sector AI, we'd love to hear from you.

Appointment is conditional on successfully completing UK Government SC clearance. Prior clearance is not required — we will sponsor and support you.