AI Development Specialist

AI Research Engineer
£63,500-81,500

Hybrid working, flexibility to travel

REED Technology are working with a client seeking an exceptional AI Research Engineer to take on a pivotal role in shaping the future of Artificial Intelligence in the UK. This position is at the heart of a national initiative, working not only with academic but also with commercial organisations and research bodies, to harness the power of the largest AI machines in the country.

This is a varied and high-impact role, with responsibilities spanning:

• Hands-on technical work – designing, developing, and optimising AI workflows and machine learning systems.
• Outreach & collaboration – running seminars, training sessions, and engaging with academic, public sector, and commercial stakeholders.
• Leadership – guiding a small specialist team of engineers (though this is a smaller element of the role compared to technical delivery).

You will be at the forefront of delivering services and solutions that enable world-leading researchers and organisations to exploit cutting-edge AI at scale.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead technical development on AI workflows, optimisation, and large language models (LLMs).
• Collaborate with researchers, industry partners, and non-technical stakeholders to understand needs and deliver effective AI solutions.
• Provide outreach and training, helping users across the UK to make the most of advanced AI resources.
• Play a hands-on role in coding, testing, and optimising AI applications in high-performance computing environments.
• Contribute to the design and delivery of strategic roadmaps for AI research infrastructure.
• Support and mentor a team of software engineers, ensuring high standards of technical excellence.

This role is ideal for someone who has worked solidly in AI and machine learning and is now looking to apply their expertise on a national stage.

Essential experience and skills:

• Strong track record in AI/ML development and workflows.
• Proven ability to design and optimise workflows for large-scale systems.
• Solid hands-on coding experience (C/C++, Fortran, or similar) with complex, scalable systems.
• Experience with HPC environments and parallelisation techniques (MPI, OpenMP).
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to work confidently with technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience engaging with a range of stakeholders, from academic researchers to commercial partners.

Desirable experience:

• Knowledge of heterogeneous parallel programming (CUDA, OpenCL, SYCL).
• Familiarity with LLMs and their applications.
• Experience delivering training, seminars, or public engagement activities.

What’s on Offer

• Competitive salary up to £81,544 including market supplement.
• Permanent role with excellent opportunities to shape the future of UK AI research and innovation.
• Hybrid working policy (1/2days a month to various sites)
• The chance to work with the largest AI machines in the UK and contribute to projects with national and international impact.

The successful candidate will be required to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check as part of the pre-employment service.

Applicants must also have full rights to work in the UK; visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

If you are interested in this role and have relevant experience, please apply using the link provided.