Technical Lead (Gen AI)

Mars; Greater London; On-site; GBP 95,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Mars Food & Nutrition seeks a Technical Lead for Generative AI & Cloud Technologies to drive the design, integration, and development of enterprise AI and cloud-native solutions across the organization.

Reporting to the Global Head of Data, AI and Enterprise Architecture, you will lead architecture, rapid prototyping, and cross-functional collaboration with business stakeholders, project managers, developers and analysts to deliver secure, scalable platforms and connected experiences.

Qualifications

• 8–14 years of software engineering experience.
• 3+ years in technical leadership or architectural design.
• Experience designing secure, high-availability, large-transaction environments.
• Hands-on coding experience with AI-assisted tools.
• Proficiency with APIs and REST/HTTPS.
• Expertise with AI platforms and enterprise integrations (e.g., Copilot, Gemini, Vertex AI, Claude).
• Advanced cloud architecture (Azure or GCP), Kubernetes, IAM, networks, secure storage.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development and implementation of technology initiatives aligned with business goals.
• Rapid prototyping with PoCs/MVPs using AI models and frameworks.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to gather requirements and define specs.
• Produce high-level and detailed architecture designs with performance and security in mind.
• Evaluate and adopt new technologies to improve performance and reliability.
• Stay current with tech trends and assist in project estimation and roadmaps.
• Contribute to architecture standards, guidelines and governance.

Skills

AI/ML expertise

Architectural leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Problem-solving

Tools

Github Copilot

Claude Code

Kubernetes

Azure

Google Cloud Platform

Job description

Job Purpose/Overview

As the Technical Lead for Generative AI & Cloud Technologies, the associate will be the primary technical authority driving the design, integration, and development of our enterprise-level artificial intelligence and cloud-native solutions. Reporting to the Global Head of Data, AI andEnterprise Architecture, the person in this role will be a part of the FN Digital Technologies team. The role operates globally and partners with FN business and digital leaders across all functions.

Job Description

As the Technical Lead for Generative AI & Cloud Technologies, the associate will be the primary technical authority driving the design, integration, and development of our enterprise-level artificial intelligence and cloud-native solutions. Reporting to the Global Head of Data, AI andEnterprise Architecture, the person in this role will be a part of the FN Digital Technologies team. The role operates globally and partners with FN business and digital leaders across all functions.

Context and Scope

Mars Food & Nutrition is a leading CPG business that leverages digital technologies to deliver innovative products and services to our customers. As we continue to expand our digital offerings and optimize our operations, we are seeking a highly skilled Technical Architect to join our dynamic team. The role sits within the Global Food & Nutrition Digital Technology Team and provides Insight, Thought Leadership, and Technology guidance to various tech projects/initiatives for the Segment. This role partners with the central Mars Inc. Digital Technology team to understand capabilities that currently exist as well as what new capabilities are being explored.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of various technology initiatives that align with business requirements and strategic goals.
• Rapid Prototyping: Build quick Proof of Concepts (PoCs) and Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) using emerging AI models and frameworks to solve complex business challenges.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including business stakeholders, project managers, developers, and analysts to gather requirements and define technical specifications.
• Create high-level and detailed architecture designs, considering factors such as performance, security, integration, and user experience.
• Evaluate and recommend new technologies, tools, and methodologies to improve system performance and reliability.
• Stay up-to‑date with the latest technology trends, updates, and industry best practices to ensure our solutions remain current and competitive. Assist in the estimation of project timelines, resources, and budgets related to proposed architecture and development efforts.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of technology architecture standards, guidelines, and documentation and roadmaps.

Job Specifications/Qualifications

• Between 8-14 years of total software engineering experience, with at least 3+ years in a technical leadership or architectural design capacity.
• Strong experience in designing mission‑critical Secure, High Availability, performant solution and deployment in large transaction volume environment.
• Hands‑on Coding expertise with deep knowledge on using Github CoPilot, Claude Code and/or similar AI assisted coding tools.
• Designing and implementing multi‑agent orchestration, function calling, tool use, long‑term memory management, and guardrails.
• Proficient with integration technologies and protocols (APIs,ReST,HTTPS etc..)
• Expertise in AI/ML algorithms, enterprise‑scale applications, and SaaS AI platforms (e.g., MS Copilot, Google Gemini Enterprise, Google Vertex AI, Claude), with experience integrating AI solutions with enterprise systems (Microsoft, Workday, SAP) to enable connected experiences across search and conversational AI.
• Advanced architectural expertise in Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (Azure/GCP preferred), specifically around modern compute (Kubernetes/AKS/EKS, Serverless), IAM, networks, and secure storage.
• 2 to 4 years' experience in CPG, Retail domain.
• Excellent analytical and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to think strategically and translate business requirements into actionable architectural designs.
• Strong collaboration skills, working with external technology vendors.
• Learning agility and desire to learn new technology.
• Strong problem analysis, negotiating and influencing skills.
• Proven track record to get things done in a matrixed organization and influencing without authority
• Nice to have - AI certifications (e.g., Azure AI Engineer, Google ML Engineer, TOGAF).