Vice President of AI Platform Engineering

Wenham Carter; Nottingham; Hybrid; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A global leader in industrial software is looking for a VP of AI Platform Engineering to define and lead the Core AI Services platform. This senior leadership role requires extensive knowledge in software product development and AI technologies, as well as the ability to ensure secure and scalable services. Ideal candidates will have over 20 years of experience and demonstrated success in building complex AI solutions. This position offers competitive compensation and flexible global working conditions.

Benefits

Competitive senior-leadership package

Flexible global location

Some travel to core offices

Qualifications

• 20+ years in software product development, with 10+ years in senior engineering leadership roles.
• Proven track record building secure, scalable cloud/AI services.
• Solid background in AI/ML technologies, ideally with experience in advanced AI models.

Responsibilities

• Define and deliver the Core AI Services platform.
• Lead the design and delivery of AI-driven orchestration。
• Own platform non-functional attributes: security, reliability, availability.

Skills

Software product development

Senior engineering leadership

Cloud-native platforms

AI services

Public API design

Stakeholder engagement

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Wenham Carter is proud to be supporting a global leader in industrial software on a confidential search for a senior engineering leader: VP of AI Platform Engineering.

Our client is a leading industrial-software business that delivers engineering, operations, and asset-performance solutions used by major operators worldwide. They combine domain expertise with a cloud-first platform strategy and work with strategic cloud providers to deliver scalable, secure AI services for complex industrial environments.

The role

You will define and deliver the organisation’s core AI Services (orchestration, APIs, SDKs, integration toolkits) and lead the technical strategy to embed AI-driven orchestration across their software portfolio. This is a hands‑on senior leadership role: you will design the platform, own non‑functional requirements (reliability, security, scalability, compliance), drive adoption internally and externally, and build a small, high‑performing global team that moves fast with a start‑up mentality.

What you’ll do

• Define and deliver the Core AI Services platform (orchestration, APIs, SDKs, integration toolkits).
• Lead the design and delivery of AI‑driven orchestration layers across the software portfolio.
• Own platform non‑functional attributes: security, reliability, availability, compliance, and global scale.
• Lower barriers to integration - deliver an excellent developer experience (APIs, SDKs, documentation, sample apps).
• Collaborate closely with product, cloud, and partner teams to industrialise AI capabilities.
• Recruit, inspire, and lead a high‑performing global engineering team with a pragmatic, product‑led, start‑up mindset.

Core skills & qualifications

• 20+ years in software product development, with 10+ years in senior engineering leadership roles, driving cloud‑native platforms or AI services.
• Proven track record building distributed, secure, and scalable cloud/AI services (experience with major cloud providers preferred).
• Solid background in AI/ML technologies, ideally with experience integrating LLM gent or advanced AI models into production orchestration layers.
• Strong knowledge of public API design, service lifecycle management, and developer experience best practices.
• Familiarity with emerging AI standards and agent protocols.
• Practical understanding of AI governance and regulation, with demonstrable experience implementing responsible‑AI practices.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement, cross‑functional collaboration, and communication skills.

What success looks like (first 12–18 months)

• The core AI services are production‑grade: scalable, reliable, available, and secure.
• Strong adoption of services by internal teams and external partners.
• Excellent developer experience for AI Services APIs (reduced time‑to‑value, curated SDKs, documentation, onboarding).
• Compliance with AI governance goûts regulatory requirements.
• A motivated, scalable Core AI circulación team with clear growth, retention, and performance metrics.

Why this role matters

This is a high‑impact leadership position where you will define how AI is delivered to industrial customers at scale. You’ll work at the intersection of industrial expertise and state‑of‑the‑art AI - shaping platform architecture, partner strategy, and engineering culture for long‑term competitive advantage. The company’s industrial focus and cloud partnerships make this a rare opportunity to ship AI that materially improves uptime, safety, and efficiency for asset‐intensive organisations.

Practicalities

• Confidential senior leadership role; flexible global location with some travel to core offices expected (primarily UK and US).
• Competitive senior‑leadership package (base + bonus + long‑term incentives) commensurate with experience.

If you are a platform leader who has built secure, scalable cloud AI services for complex enterprise customers – and you want to lead a small, ambitious team delivering industrial AI at scale – I’d like to talk.