Senior AI & Data Engineering Manager (Security Clearance required)

Senior AI & Data Engineering Manager (Security Clearance required)

We are seeking an experienced AI and Data Engineering leader to drive the delivery of enterprise-scale data platforms and AI-enabled solutions within a fast-paced, highly regulated environment. This role will lead multidisciplinary engineering teams responsible for building innovative, scalable, and secure solutions that support critical business functions. This contract role is onsite in London 3 days a week. Current Security Clearance is required.

You will play a key role in shaping AI and data strategy, overseeing delivery across the full life cycle-from data acquisition and transformation through to machine learning deployment, optimisation, and operational monitoring.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor cross-functional engineering teams delivering advanced data and AI solutions aligned to strategic business priorities.
• Manage the end-to-end delivery of data and AI initiatives, including platform engineering, model development, deployment, and operational support.
• Oversee the creation of scalable data pipelines and high-quality data products to support analytics and AI use cases.
• Provide technical leadership across cloud technologies, data architecture, AI/ML engineering, and platform scalability.
• Partner with product owners, business stakeholders, and technical teams to define priorities, manage delivery risks, and execute technical roadmaps.
• Champion engineering excellence by implementing best practices across software development, DevOps/MLOps, testing, and documentation.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and lead innovation initiatives, including proof-of-concept development and responsible AI adoption.
• Foster collaboration across engineering and business teams to ensure solutions deliver measurable business value.

Skills & Experience

• Proven experience leading AI and data engineering teams in complex enterprise environments.
• Strong understanding of AI technologies, machine learning techniques, and practical implementation of AI-driven solutions.
• Hands-on knowledge of Generative AI, LLMs, and selecting the right models for specific business applications.
• Experience delivering cloud-based data and AI platforms at scale.
• Strong understanding of modern engineering practices, including CI/CD, DevOps, and MLOps frameworks.
• Demonstrated ability to manage delivery in highly regulated industries.
• Experience working closely with business stakeholders in agile, fast-moving environments.
• Exposure to agentic workflows, orchestration frameworks, or AI automation approaches would be advantageous.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted software engineering and specification-driven development practices is desirable.