Principal Applied AI Engineer - AI Incubator Team

Tony Blair Institute; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global political advisory organization in the UK is seeking a skilled AI Engineer to develop innovative AI solutions for enhancing government services. In this role, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams to design cutting-edge AI systems, mentor a small engineering team, and prototype features that drive evidence-based decision-making. The ideal candidate possesses a strong background in Python, data science, and systems engineering with a commitment to responsible AI deployment. This position offers the opportunity to work directly with international governmental teams and make a significant impact on public service delivery.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Opportunities for professional development

Work in a diverse and inclusive environment

Qualifications

• Experience designing and building AI systems in government contexts.
• Ability to mentor and lead engineering teams.
• Strong understanding of responsible AI principles.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with teams to translate customer needs into AI solutions.
• Lead the architecture and development of semantic infrastructure.
• Establish frameworks to responsibly develop AI systems.
• Prototype AI-powered features and iterate based on user feedback.
• Mentor and provide leadership to an engineering team.

Skills

Proficiency in Python

Experience with data science and machine learning stack

Strong systems engineering skills

Experience with natural language processing

Ability to communicate technical concepts

Demonstrated problem-solving skills

Education

Relevant academic qualifications in AI or related field

Tools

Pandas

NumPy

PyTorch

Langchain

Pydantic

Job description

• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams including researchers, product managers, senior stakeholders and users to understand customer needs and translate them into pragmatic technical solutions leveraging AI.

• ·Lead the architecture and development of semantic infrastructure that structures complex government data, including legislation, parliamentary records, policy documents, and operational datasets, making them retrievable and interpretable for AI‑powered decision support systems. Work embedded within governments internationally, serving as trusted technical advisor to policy and operational teams, helping translate departmental challenges into technical solutions and building local AI capability through knowledge transfer.

• Establish frameworks, tools and processes to responsibly develop, deploy and monitor AI systems in high‑stakes government contexts, including decision support tools, fraud detection systems, and policy intelligence applications.

• Rapidly prototype AI‑powered features and tools iterate based on user feedback, with focus on building robust, production‑ready systems that operate reliably in secure government environments.

• Mentor and provide technical leadership to a small engineering team while remaining hands‑on with code, balancing strategic architecture with practical delivery.

• Evangelise best practices in applied AI across the public sector, including training government teams on prompt engineering, evaluation frameworks, and responsible AI deployment.

  Passion for building AI that augments human capabilities and improves lives: Genuine commitment to applying technology in service of public good and democratic governance.

• Dual‑context technical expertise: Proven track record in both industry AI roles (demonstrating technical excellence and delivery at scale) and operational experience within government, public sector, defence, or intelligence environments. Deep understanding of how to build cutting‑edge AI systems while navigating the unique constraints, security requirements, and stakeholder landscapes of government contexts.

• Proficiency in Python and experience with the full data science and machine learning stack (Pandas, NumPy, PyTorch, Langchain, Pydantic), with strong software engineering fundamentals.

• Strong systems engineering skills with a focus on building robust, production‑ready systems and understanding of deploying and monitoring such systems in cloud environments.

• Experience with natural language processing, deep learning and generative AI including prompt engineering, retrieval‑augmented generation, and agentic workflows and frameworks.

• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non‑technical stakeholders and policymakers, translating between technical capabilities and organisational needs.

• Demonstrated problem‑solving skills with a pragmatic approach to delivering value quickly, comfortable working in ambiguous environments and iterating based on user feedback.

• Understanding of ethical considerations and responsible AI principles in public sector applications, including transparency, bias measurement, and governance requirements for sensitive government contexts.

• Experience building systems that process unstructured data at scale – such as document understanding, semantic search, knowledge extraction, or similar applications working with legislative, policy, or operational government data.

  At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, we work with political leaders around the world to drive change. We help governments turn bold ideas into reality so they can deliver for their people. We do it by advising on strategy, policy and delivery, unlocking the power of technology across all three. And by sharing what we learn on the ground, so everyone can benefit. We do it to build more open, inclusive and prosperous countries for people everywhere.

• We are a global team of over 800 changemakers, operating in more than 40 countries, across five continents. We are political strategists, policy experts, delivery practitioners, technology specialists and more. We speak more than 45 languages. We are working on over 100 projects, tackling some of the world's biggest challenges. We're all here at TBI to make a difference. In a world of ever more complex challenges, we believe diversity of background and perspective is a strength. We pride ourselves on a culture that values and nurtures difference. We are dedicated to unlocking potential, not only for the countries we work in but also for each of our team members. No matter where you're from or who you are, if you're passionate about the transformative power of progressive politics, we invite you to build a better future with us. At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, our new AI Incubator team is on a mission to reinvent government leadership and revolutionise public services through cutting‑edge AI solutions. We operate at two critical levels: developing transformative AI systems for government service delivery, while also providing data‑driven insights directly to world leaders. Our team rapidly prototypes, develops, and delivers AI solutions that enhance government leaders' ability to make evidence‑based decisions. Our fast‑response data science unit stands ready to tackle urgent analytical challenges on matters of state, providing crucial insights when they're needed most. Working in partnership with global leaders and policymakers, this team operates at the intersection of technology and governance, creating innovative solutions that measurably improve lives. As part of the team, you will help establish new standards for responsible, effective AI deployment in the public sector while contributing to work with immediate, real‑world impact. Join us in harnessing the power of AI to address some of the most pressing challenges facing governments worldwide.

• Join an agile, innovative, evangelical and mission‑driven team tackling some of the most exciting challenges at the intersection of technology and public service. You'll have the opportunity to build AI systems with real‑world impact across fraud detection, legislative intelligence, decision support, and policy analysis - working directly with governments internationally to help them harness AI responsibly and effectively. You'll work embedded alongside government teams from the UK to partner nations worldwide, combining technical depth with the opportunity to shape how democracies adopt AI. This role offers genuine autonomy, the chance to mentor talented engineers while staying hands‑on technically, and the satisfaction of seeing your work deployed in production systems that serve thousands of users and inform critical government decisions.