Principal Engineer (AI Engineering)

TL;DR

Principal Engineer (AI Engineering): Evaluating emerging AI technology and building MVPs for agentic AI solutions within a regulated financial environment with an accent on GenAI and engineering leadership. Focus on bridging the gap between applied research and production-grade scalability to drive customer engagement.

Location: Hybrid; Must be based in the UK (London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, or Manchester) with a requirement to spend at least 40% of time in the office.

Salary: £102,864 - £128,580

Company

A leading UK financial institution transforming the future of finance through innovation and AI.

What you will do

• Identify and evaluate emerging AI methods and technologies through applied research and prototyping.
• Lead the engineering of operational MVPs to solve critical AI business challenges.
• Partner with business platform teams to develop customer-facing agentic AI solutions for regulated FSI environments.
• Act as a domain expert in GenAI and Agentic AI, serving as a trusted advisor to engineering and business leaders.
• Contribute to the development of the Group's overall business and technology strategy for AI.

Requirements

• Proven experience as an engineering lead delivering production-grade solutions in complex environments.
• Proficiency in at least two programming languages.
• Strong applied AI/ML and GenAI experience, specifically with RAG, tool use, guardrails, and agents.
• Experience operating AI solutions in regulated environments, managing reliability, security, and explainability risks.
• Ability to translate ambiguous problem spaces into clear technical direction and scalable solutions.
• Strong technical leadership skills with the ability to mentor engineers and engage senior stakeholders.

Nice to have

• Experience delivering technology solutions in financial services or other regulated industries.
• Industry or academic research experience, including an advanced degree.
• Experience developing large-scale customer-facing platforms (digital apps, contact centres).
• Experience establishing engineering standards or reference architectures in large organisations.

Culture & Benefits

• Generous pension contribution of up to 15%.
• Annual performance-related bonus and share schemes including free shares.
• 30 days’ holiday plus bank holidays.
• Comprehensive wellbeing initiatives and generous parental leave policies.
• Inclusive work environment with dedicated support for under-represented groups.