Senior AI Engineer​/Freelance

Location

London or Manchester with Remote options

6 months

£550 - 1200 Depending on seniority

We're looking for a Principal AI Engineer to lead the design and delivery of AI-powered software solutions that solve complex business challenges. You'll combine deep engineering expertise with hands‑on AI development, helping shape technical direction while turning emerging technologies into scalable, secure, production‑ready solutions.

This is a senior individual contributor role for someone who enjoys building, experimenting, and driving innovation through modern software engineering and AI.

• Design and build scalable, secure, cloud-native applications.
• Lead technical architecture and engineering best practice across AI initiatives.
• Develop AI-powered solutions using Large Language Models (LLMs), prompt engineering, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).
• Prototype new technologies and proof of concepts to validate emerging ideas.
• Integrate AI capabilities into enterprise applications and workflows.
• Write high-quality code in Java, Python, and other modern languages.
• Collaborate with Product, Engineering, and QA teams to deliver impactful solutions.
• Champion automation, testing, CI/CD, and secure software development.
• Stay at the forefront of AI and software engineering trends.

• Significant experience in software engineering and solution architecture.
• Commercial experience building AI-enabled applications, with at least one year of hands‑on AI development.
• Strong Java and/or Python development skills.
• Experience with LLMs, prompt engineering, embeddings, vector databases, and RAG.
• Experience deploying AI solutions into production environments.
• Knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and modern Dev Ops practices.
• A passion for innovation, experimentation, and solving complex technical challenges.

You’ll play a key role in shaping the future of AI within a technology‑driven financial services business, working with modern tools, solving meaningful problems, and influencing the next generation of intelligent products and platforms.