Lead Learning Scientist (AI)

TL;DR

Lead Learning Scientist (AI/EdTech): Designing and leading the learning science discipline to ensure AI-powered education solutions are grounded in pedagogical evidence and measurably effective with an accent on learning design, evaluation frameworks, and adaptivity logic. Focus on translating complex learning science into technical requirements for engineering teams and building rigorous evaluation architectures for high-stakes AI education systems.

Location: Hybrid (London, UK)

Company

hirify.global is an AI company specializing in human-centric, responsible AI deployment across government, finance, and education sectors.

What you will do

• Lead the design of learning goals, skill models, and adaptivity logic for flagship AI education projects, including national infrastructure and tutoring systems.
• Create and maintain the hirify.global Learning Science Playbook, defining best practices for scaffolding, feedback loops, and data instrumentation.
• Design and oversee rigorous formative and summative evaluations to provide clients with credible evidence of learning impact.
• Collaborate with product, data science, and engineering leads to translate pedagogical principles into buildable technical requirements.
• Contribute expertise to AI safety and assurance work to ensure systems used in education are safe and fit for purpose.
• Mentor multidisciplinary colleagues and act as a subject-matter expert for senior internal and external stakeholders.

Requirements

• Expert-level knowledge of learning sciences, instructional design, and cognitive or behavioural science.
• Ability to translate pedagogy into clear, specific requirements that technical teams can build and test against.
• Strong practice in measuring learning impact (mastery, retention, transfer) and designing research studies.
• Experience collaborating with technical teams (engineers, data scientists) to shape system design.
• Technical literacy in AI system construction and a drive to deepen this knowledge.
• Excellent communication skills to influence senior stakeholders.

Nice to have

• Hands-on experience building adaptive or AI-driven learning systems.
• Familiarity with LLM architectures, RAG, evaluation harnesses, or learning analytics pipelines.
• Experience in consulting or agency environments serving multiple institutions.

Culture & Benefits

• Unlimited Annual Leave Policy.
• Private healthcare and dental insurance.
• Enhanced parental leave and family-friendly flexibility.
• Professional development via Sanctus Coaching.
• Hybrid working model.

Hiring process

• Talent Team Screen (30 minutes).
• Project Deep Dive with the Head of Education (60 minutes).
• Case Study and Technical Interview (60 minutes, brief provided 72 hours ahead).
• Cultural and Leadership Interview (60 minutes).