VP of Prototyping, AI & Innovation

WPP; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

WPP is seeking a VP, Development, Prototyping & Innovation to lead the Open Intelligence Solutions prototyping and innovation program. You will bridge R&D, product and engineering to turn ideas into validated prototypes and scalable assets.

You’ll establish governance from prototype to production, shape engineering standards and drive AI and platform integration across the WPP network, guiding teams to deliver business value with responsible experimentation.

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading software engineering, technical innovation, R&D or applied technology teams.
• Strong track record taking concepts or prototypes through to production or scalable implementation.
• Architectural and engineering standards experience with reusable patterns.
• Experience across prototyping, platform integration, cloud-native development and technical delivery.
• Knowledge of modern AI application development, including agentic systems and AI orchestration.
• Experience with MLOps, deployment automation and modern engineering practices.
• Ability to assess feasibility quickly and prioritize investments in engineering effort.
• Proven collaboration with Product, R&D, Enterprise Technology and senior engineers.
• Understanding of security, data governance and enterprise architecture in production contexts.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills; capable of translating complex tech for diverse stakeholders.
• Passion for emerging technology and pragmatic, delivery-focused mindset.

Responsibilities

• Own the development and prototyping capability for Open Intelligence Solutions.
• Turn strategic concepts and research into demonstrable prototypes and reusable assets.
• Assess technical feasibility and identify fastest viable route from idea to validated solution.
• Establish governance for prototype → pilot → production transitions.
• Create frameworks for prioritising experiments, proofs of concept and technical spikes.
• Lead architecture of solutions integrating with WPP Open, data platforms and enterprise tech.
• Drive AI application development, agentic systems and MCP tooling.
• Develop reusable templates and patterns to scale prototypes across the network.
• Lead and grow a team of engineers and innovation specialists.
• Ensure security, governance and production readiness guide all technical work.

Skills

Software architecture

Engineering leadership

AI application development

R&D / applied technology

Prototyping & rapid experimentation

Platform integration

MLOps / deployment automation

Cloud-native development

Technical delivery

Stakeholder collaboration

Tools

MCP tooling

APIs & enterprise tech

Job description

WPP is seeking a VP, Development, Prototyping & Innovation to lead the Open Intelligence Solutions prototyping and innovation program. You will bridge R&D, product and engineering to turn ideas into validated prototypes and scalable assets.

You’ll establish governance from prototype to production, shape engineering standards and drive AI and platform integration across the WPP network, guiding teams to deliver business value with responsible experimentation.