Scaling Inference Lab Director

ARIA; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 108,000 - 132,000; Full time

Job summary

ARIA in London seeks the Scaling Inference Lab Director to lead a £50m ARIA-backed lab delivering rack-scale AI hardware and benchmarking. You will drive deployment plans, partnerships, and the operating model to scale research and industry impact. Immediate start with a two-year fixed term and potential extension.

The role combines leadership, strategy, and hands-on oversight of the lab program, with hybrid work and UK-wide collaboration opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Scaling Inference Lab as part of the Scaling Compute Programme.
• Oversee delivery milestones, partnerships, and operating model to ensure long-term success.
• Manage rack-scale AI systems for benchmarking and collaboration with startups and researchers.

Job description

Salary: c.£120,000

Location: Kings X, London; Tues - Thurs (3 days) at HQ, Monday + Friday, anywhere

Employment Type: Full-time; we are open to discussing this opportunity as a part-time role (80%) or fractional commitment (25-50%) depending on mutual fit

Contract: Two-year fixed term, with the possibility of extension

Start Date: Immediate

About ARIA

ARIA empowers scientists to pursue breakthroughs at the edge of the possible.

From climate change to AI, society faces enormous challenges and opportunities that can be uniquely addressed through science and technology. ARIA was created to activate the UK's world-class R&D in new ways, so we can meet these head on.

Our success is shaped by one question: how will ARIA transform the lives of the UK's future generations? Whether that is a life-changing new technology or a burgeoning new industry, it should be obvious that ARIA played a catalytic role.

If you want to help make breakthroughs like these possible, come and build ARIA with us.

Learn more here.

The Role

The Scaling Inference Lab is an ARIA-backed, £50m testbed for next-generation AI hardware. Delivered by CommonAI CIC, it is building real, deployable rack-scale AI systems that enable startups and research groups to test new technologies in an open environment. Every six months, the Lab will build a new rack as a structured pilot, integrating promising technologies into working systems that can run AI models and be benchmarked against commercial alternatives. Its ambition is to create a route for breakthrough infrastructure technologies to prove themselves at system scale, reduce the cost of large AI systems and strengthen the UK's capability to build the infrastructure that powers AI. As the Scaling Inference Lab Director, you will lead the Scaling Inference Lab, which is a part of the Scaling Compute Programme, ensuring the programme delivers, grows with purpose, and has the partnerships, operating model and long-term backing to succeed.