Technical Lead, Software Development, AI Engineer (Applied​/Software)

Central London | Hybrid (2-3 days per week) | Up to £140k (flexibility for the right candidate) + Bonus + Excellent Benefits

We're working with a global payments technology organisation who is investing heavily in the future of Agentic Commerce and is looking for an experienced technology leader to help shape and define an entirely new function.

This is a rare opportunity to join at the beginning of a greenfield initiative backed by executive leadership and significant investment. The organisation is building a specialist team focused on how AI agents, merchants and customers interact in the future, creating new experiences that remove friction and simplify complex integrations.

This role is not about owning a team today. Instead, it is about influencing direction, setting standards, challenging thinking and helping define what good looks like in a rapidly evolving space.

What you'll be doing

• Helping define the technical direction of a brand-new Agentic Commerce function.
• Evaluating emerging AI and agentic technologies and determining how they can be applied at enterprise scale.
• Working closely with product, security and engineering leaders to shape future capabilities.
• Challenging existing approaches and driving innovation across multiple teams.
• Influencing architectural decisions and engineering standards.
• Acting as a visible technical leader both internally and externally.
• Supporting future hiring and helping build a world-class engineering team.
• Engaging with customers, partners and industry peers to understand emerging trends.

What we're looking for

• Strong software engineering fundamentals and architectural experience.
• Deep understanding of modern cloud-native engineering practices.
• Strong opinions backed by practical experience.
• Ability to influence stakeholders and drive technical direction.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Passion for AI, agentic systems and emerging technology.
• Comfortable operating in environments with ambiguity and change.

Nice to have

• Payments or fintech experience.
• Exposure to agentic AI workflows.
• Experience navigating trust, governance, security or risk considerations.
• Previous technical leadership or line management experience.

Package

• £120,000 - £140,000 base salary (flexibility for the right candidate)
• Enhanced pension
• Life assurance
• International travel opportunities
• Genuine opportunity to shape a new business function from day one

This is one of the most influential engineering hires within the organisation's AI strategy and offers the chance to define how a global business approaches Agentic Commerce for years to come.

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