Senior AI Research Engineer

Lawhive; London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative legal tech platform is seeking a Senior Research Engineer to join their mission of democratizing access to the law. This role offers the chance to work on groundbreaking AI products, bridging cutting-edge research with real-world applications. You will experiment with LLM-based AI assistants, optimize legal workflows, and develop prototypes for novel AI-driven solutions. With a strong focus on collaboration and innovation, this position promises to be both challenging and rewarding, contributing to a vital cause in society. Join a team dedicated to making legal resources accessible to everyone while enjoying a supportive work environment.

Benefits

34 Holidays (25 days annual leave + birthday off + bank holidays)

Equity (Share Options)

Pension

Regular team building activities

Annual retreat

20% off legal fees

Qualifications

• Strong background in AI research and applied machine learning required.
• Experience with LLM model adaptation and inference optimization is essential.

Responsibilities

• Conduct applied research on LLM-based reasoning and develop bespoke models.
• Design and implement retrieval-augmented generation pipelines for legal workflows.

Skills

AI research

applied machine learning

NLP

LLM model adaptation

Python

Pydantic

FastAPI

retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)

self-supervised learning

cloud deployment (AWS/GCP)

Education

MSc in AI, ML, Computer Science

PhD in AI, ML, Computer Science

Tools

LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral)

vector databases

Job description

We're on a mission to make sure everyone has access to the law.

Backed by top VC funds and a recent $40M Series A - one of Europe's five largest Series A raises of 2024 - Lawhive is poised for rapid growth and expansion into the US market.

As a pioneering legal tech platform, we're seeking a Senior Research Engineer to join our mission of democratising access to the law. This role offers the opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI products, build best-in-class user experiences, and help solve one of society's most pressing problems.

We're looking for a Research Engineer to experiment with, develop, and refine LLM-based AI assistants, document automation systems, and case workflow optimisations. This is an opportunity to bridge cutting-edge AI research and real-world applications.

Responsibilities

• Conduct applied research on LLM-based reasoning, multi-agent systems and developing frontier bespoke models for automating legal workflows.
• Develop prototypes and experimental models to explore novel AI-driven legal solutions.
• Design and implement retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, leveraging embeddings, vector databases, and structured retrieval techniques.
• Optimise LLM inference and fine-tuning using techniques such as LoRA, PEFT, prompt engineering, and caching.
• Integrate multi-modal and external knowledge sources to enhance AI-driven insights.
• Research and implement autonomous agentic AI systems for complex, multi-step legal workflows.
• Stay up to date with the latest advancements in model architectures, alignment and interpretability, and orchestrating complex multi-agent systems.
• Collaborate with engineers to transition experimental models into production-ready systems.

Requirements

• Strong background in AI research, applied machine learning, and NLP.
• Experience with LLM model adaptation, fine-tuning, and inference optimization.
• Proficiency in Python, Pydantic, FastAPI, and working with LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, etc.).
• Understanding of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), vector databases, embeddings, and structured AI retrieval.
• Hands-on experience with LLM-based planning, reasoning, and autonomous task execution.
• Familiarity with self-supervised learning, reinforcement learning, or adaptive AI techniques.
• Ability to translate academic AI research into practical experiments and working prototypes.
• Experience deploying AI models in cloud environments such as AWS/GCP.
• MSc or PhD in AI, ML, Computer Science, or a related field.

Benefits

• 34 Holidays (25 days annual leave + your birthday off + bank hols in England)
• Equity (Share Options)
• Pension
• Regular team building activities, socials, and annual retreat!
• 20% off legal fees through Lawhive