Technical Specialist - AI & Creative Technology

Manchester Metropolitan University; Manchester; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Manchester Metropolitan University is seeking a leader for the Digital Arts team to drive AI and Creative Technology across education, research and knowledge exchange. You will collaborate with senior colleagues to shape its future direction and embed AI across teaching and projects.

The role requires experience in AI, creative tech workflows and stakeholder management, with a focus on delivering high-quality student and academic outcomes in a dynamic, customer-focused environment.

Qualifications

• Experience leading AI or Creative Tech projects.
• Ability to develop and embed AI-focused techniques in education and research.

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategic direction of the AI and Creative Tech specialism across Education, Research and Knowledge Exchange.
• Plan and manage work across disciplines, including matrix management of others.
• Support students and academics in developing industry-standard AI and creative technology skills.

Skills

Python

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Hugging Face

Figma/Adobe XD

Tools

NVIDIA GPUs/CUDA

Job description

This role forms part of an exciting recruitment campaign within Technical Services, as we invest additional focus and resource into strengthening our capability across broadcast media technologies and the fast-evolving AI landscape. We are growing our Digital Arts team so that students and academics continue to benefit from industry-leading equipment, expertise and support as these fields advance at pace, and this is a great opportunity to help shape that development from the ground up.

About our team:

Technical Services are a large and diverse team of highly skilled technical professionals who ensure the optimal functioning of specialist spaces and resources to deliver an exceptional student experience. We work in specialist laboratories, workshops, studios, resource centres and IT facilities.

Our technical professionals play a key role supporting, guiding, and advising students across our university from sciences, art, design and technology, through to sports, ceramics, nursing and physiotherapy.

About the role and you:

This is a fixed-term post. This role sits in the Digital Arts team, who provide specialist technical support to the School of Digital Arts (SODA) and the wider Arts & Humanities Faculty. As Technical Services lead for AI & Creative Technology (CreaTech), the post-holder will hold responsibility for the development, adoption and embedding of the specialism across education, research and knowledge exchange, working in collaboration with senior academic colleagues to shape its future direction.

The ideal candidate will have demonstrable leadership ability and expertise spanning AI and software development at one end, and creative technology, human-AI interaction and design at the other.

They will be experienced in:

• Python, PyTorch, TensorFlow and Hugging Face
• GPU/AI compute systems (NVIDIA GPUs, CUDA)
• AI-enabled creative production workflows (ComfyUI, Stable Diffusion)
• interaction and AI design/prototyping tools (Figma, Adobe XD)
• planning and managing work across a specialism, including matrix management of others

They will lead the strategic direction of the specialism, plan and manage work across both disciplines, and support students and academics in developing industry-standard AI and creative technology skills. Experience of leading AI or CreaTech projects and setting strategic direction would be advantageous, as well as the ability to demonstrate and instruct to a high standard.

The role will involve supporting staff and students on a diverse number of customer-facing specialist counters and support areas. The successful candidate will have a proven track record of accomplishment in a similar environment. Additionally, they will have a positive and flexible approach to work, be reliable and punctual as well as motivated and willing to undertake all required training and allocated tasks. They will have the ability to work alongside others and be capable of working in a team, whilst striving to deliver excellent customer service. Strong communication and interpersonal skills are key as well as being able to demonstrate ownership of personal workload.

At Manchester Metropolitan University, we are committed to supporting our technical staff in enabling them to undertake development activities in line with the needs of their specialism and work area, so a willingness to learn and develop is essential.

If you are enthusiastic about this area, flexible, and committed to providing a high level of customer service, we would love to hear from you.

Further information:

Manchester Metropolitan University fosters an inclusive culture of belonging that promotes equity and celebrates diversity. We value a diverse workforce for the innovation and diversity of thought it brings and welcome applications from all local and international communities, including Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, disabled people, and LGBTQ+ individuals.

We support a range of flexible working arrangements, including hybrid and tailored schedules, which can be discussed with your line manager. If you require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process or in your role, please let us know so we can provide appropriate support.

Our commitment to inclusivity includes mentoring programmes, accessibility resources, and professional development opportunities to empower and support underrepresented groups.

Manchester Met is a Disability Confident Leader and, under this scheme, aims to offer an interview to disabled people who apply for the role and meet the essential criteria as listed in the attached Job Description for that vacancy.