AI Factory Lead Architect (Microsoft AI)

Location: United Kingdom; hybrid working

Salary: £85,000–£90,000 per annum

Company

hirify.global specialises in Microsoft technology, software development, web, and mobile recruitment, supporting organisations and professionals across the UK and internationally.

What you will do

• Own the internal AI strategy, architecture, delivery, security, governance, infrastructure, cost management, and DevOps processes.
• Design, build, and oversee production AI applications, agents, automations, dashboards, and integrations with internal systems, APIs, and data sources.
• Lead discovery sessions with stakeholders and translate business challenges into practical AI solutions with measurable benefits.
• Provide technical direction to the AI team through architecture and code reviews, development standards, documentation, and technical progression.
• Establish monitoring, support, release management, reusable templates, and best practices for reliable AI adoption at scale.
• Work with senior leadership, including the CTO, to prioritise initiatives, communicate technical risks, and demonstrate business value.

Requirements

• Proven experience as an AI Architect, Solution Architect, Technical Architect, or in a similar senior AI engineering role.
• Demonstrable experience designing and delivering AI solutions into production, not solely proofs of concept.
• Strong hands-on experience with Microsoft Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry, including building and orchestrating complex AI agents.
• Experience with agentic AI, Generative AI, LLMs, tool calling, and integrating AI solutions with business systems and data sources.
• Strong software engineering experience in Python, C#, or TypeScript, with API development and integration.
• Practical Model Context Protocol experience, including building or consuming MCP servers.
• Understanding of Retrieval-Augmented Generation, ideally with Azure AI Search experience.
• Experience with Azure architecture, source control, CI/CD pipelines, and DevOps practices.
• Understanding of Power Platform governance, including Copilot Studio, Power Automate, and Dataverse, plus strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

Nice to have

• Experience leading a technical team or owning solution-level architecture.
• Experience in a Microsoft Partner, MSP, or technology consultancy.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Purview, information protection, and data governance.
• Experience with GitHub Copilot and other AI-assisted development tools.

Culture & Benefits

• Permanent hybrid position based in the United Kingdom.
• Opportunity to shape internal AI strategy and establish standards for safe, scalable adoption across the organisation.

Hiring process

• Submit a CV or contact hirify.global directly by email or phone.