Senior AI Engineer

A&O Shearman; Larne; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

A&O Shearman is seeking a Senior AI Engineer (Manager) to lead the AI Platform team across Belfast and London offices. You will drive the strategy, design, and implementation of advanced AI/ML use cases and mentor a global engineering staff.

You will manage the full lifecycle of AI solutions, align with business outcomes, and collaborate with senior stakeholders to ensure scalable architecture and value delivery for fee earners and business teams.

Qualifications

• Experience leading AI/ML projects and teams.
• Strong background in ML/DL, model development and deployment.
• Proven ability to translate business needs into AI solutions.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead AI strategy across platforms and teams.
• mentor and manage a global AI engineering group.
• Oversee model development, evaluation, and deployment lifecycle.
• Coordinate with stakeholders to align AI initiatives with business goals.
• Manage external service providers and vendor reviews.

Skills

Machine learning

Deep learning

AI model development

Python

R

C#

TensorFlow

PyTorch

scikit-learn

AWS

Azure

GCP

Team leadership

Project management

Stakeholder management

Tools

GitHub Copilot

Claude Code

Codex

Job description

We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior AI Engineer (Manager) to join our IT (EA & Technology Platforms) team, based in A&O Shearman's Belfast or London office.

What you will do

Reporting to the AI Platform Owner, this role will be a senior technical leader responsible for the strategy, design, and implementation of advanced AI and ML use cases across the firm. The role is a member of AI leadership and is responsible for managing and motivating a team of skilled IT professionals and directing external third-party service providers.

The role is accountable for the implementation of the full lifecycle of AI solutions including model development, validation, deployment, and integration into other systems while providing feedback to continue to evolve the AI platform.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in machine learning, data analysis, and software development. The role will be responsible for designing, developing, and implementing AI solutions to solve complex problems and enhance our products and services resulting in improved experiences for our fee earners and business teams.

Maintain strong customer relationships with fee earners and business teams to manage the delivery of driving the technical strategy for AI solutions, ensuring scalable architecture and alignment with best practices.

Work as part of the Enterprise Architecture & Technology Platforms leadership team to collectively define, implement and operate the firm’s technical strategy for AI solutions, ensuring scalable architecture and alignment with best practices.

Work with senior stakeholders from business teams to understand AI use cases mapping to business outcomes.

Act as the focal point for matters related to driving the technical strategy for AI solutions, ensuring scalable architecture and alignment with best practices, providing expert guidance to other teams when required.

Performance management of AI Engineering, providing mentorship and ensuring alignment with HR standards and policies.

Facilitate regular service provider reviews to assess performance against service targets, drive innovation and ensure any remediation activities are being delivered.

Own the technical strategy for AI solutions, ensuring scalable architecture and alignment with best practices budget and benefits delivery, balancing priorities and clearly demonstrating the value that the firm’s AI solutions deliver whilst working with IT Business Operations to ensure alignment.

Actively identify and pursue opportunities for continuous improvement in driving the technical strategy for AI solutions, ensuring scalable architecture and alignment with best practices, whilst assessing the viability and business value for the firm.

What you will have Experience in machine learning, deep learning, and AI model development

Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, R, or C-Sharp.

Experience with AI frameworks and libraries such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, or scikit-learn.

Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure), experience with Azure a plus.

Experience leveraging AI code-writing assistants (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Codex) with appropriate engineering controls (code review, testing, security) in professional environments.

Knowledge of IT strategic planning, design, and operations processes.

Proven project and program management capabilities.

Strong knowledge of current IT and data market trends and technology innovations.

Proven track record of managing large global teams.

Experience within the legal or professional services sector is desirable but not essential.

Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills.

Excellent business acumen and understanding of how the firm is positioned in the market.

Ability to lead and develop teams.

Promotes the firm's values at all times and fosters collaborative working relationships with a wide range of people and departments.

NO AGENCIES PLEASE - A&O Shearman does not accept unsolicited CVs. For further information, please see our UK Recruitment Agency Policy and our commitment to direct sourcing

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