Head of Data & AI

Head of Data & AI - Global AI Innovation Initiative

Location: Manchester (Hybrid - 2 times per week)

Salary: £110K-£140K + Bonus + Benefits

We're working with a multi-£billion global leader in market insights and analytics, operating in over 90 countries, on a multi-million-pound AI transformation programme. This is a rare opportunity to join a build-phase initiative that has already developed advanced machine learning models and is now focused on productising these for real-world, high-impact internal use.

You'll be stepping into a Leading AI position, leading the engineering vision and hands-on delivery for a synthetic data platform that will be deployed to consultants globally. This is a strategic initiative with a budget in the tens of millions of pounds and direct accountability to the C-suite. The platform is expected to generate £5-10M in revenue in its first phase, scaling to £30-50M in the coming years.

You'll be working at the heart of an executive-backed programme, shaping a product that combines LLM agents, digital twins, synthetic data replicates, and agentic workflow modelling-all built on cutting-edge Python, GCP, and Vertex AI foundations.

What You'll Be Doing

• Taking full engineering and architectural ownership of a synthetic data platform already in the advanced build phase.
• Driving MLOps and production deployment workflows across GCP, Vertex AI, and model lifecycle management.
• Making critical design decisions-defending your technical strategy and knowing when to push back.
• Collaborating with data scientists, engineers, and external delivery partners to deliver at pace.
• Navigating complex political and organisational environments, influencing senior and executive stakeholders.
• Operating with direct C-suite engagement in a global organisation with a multi-£billion turnover.

What We're Looking For

• Senior engineering authority with proven delivery of ML/MLOps platforms into production.
• Hands-on expertise in Python, Cloud and LLM solutions and model lifecycle management.
• Ability to operate in a high-visibility, high-stakes environment with resilience and confidence.
• Strong stakeholder influence skills, including C-suite interactions.
• Track record of owning large-scale, strategic engineering programmes from design to deployment.

Why This Role?

• Impact & Scale: This is not R&D for R&D's sake-this is a multi-million-pound, revenue-generating AI initiative.
• Innovation: Synthetic data, LLM agents, digital twins, and next-gen agentic workflows.
• Visibility: Direct exposure to the executive leadership team of a global market leader.
• Growth: Play a pivotal role in modernising a traditional industry through AI.

If you're a technically astute engineering leader who thrives in complex, high-impact environments, get in touch for a confidential discussion.