Founding AI Engineer

Venture-Backed FinTech Start up | Equity Opportunity | ManchesterWe're partnering with an ambitious, early-stage fintech business on a mission to transform how consumers engage with and improve their financial wellbeing. Having achieved strong early validation and entered its next phase of growth, the company is seeking a highly capable AI Engineer to become the first dedicated AI hire and ultimately build and lead the AI function. This is a rare opportunity to join at a formative stage, influence product direction, and create AI capabilities that sit at the heart of the customer experience.For the right individual, there is a clear pathway into a future Head of AI position, alongside meaningful equity participation. The RoleThis is not a traditional engineering role.You'll operate as a builder, architect, and strategic partner to the founders, helping shape both the AI roadmap and the wider product vision.The business sees AI as a core differentiator, not an add-on feature.You will be responsible for designing, building, and scaling intelligent systems that enhance customer engagement, personalisation, automation, and decision-making. Key ResponsibilitiesAI Product DevelopmentDesign and deploy AI-powered customer experiencesBuild intelligent recommendation and personalisation systemsCreate AI-driven workflows that deliver measurable user valueRapidly prototype, test and launch new AI capabilitiesAgentic AI & AutomationDesign and implement agent-based architecturesBuild autonomous and semi-autonomous workflowsDevelop multi-agent systems where appropriateLeverage modern orchestration frameworks to improve customer outcomesAI Infrastructure & ArchitectureBuild scalable AI foundations and pipelinesDevelop retrieval and knowledge-management systemsImplement evaluation, monitoring and governance frameworksEnsure solutions are secure, reliable and production-readyStrategic ContributionWork closely with founders on AI strategyHelp identify commercially valuable AI opportunitiesInfluence product direction and roadmap decisionsAct as the internal AI subject matter expertFuture LeadershipAs the business scales, you will:Define the AI hiring strategyRecruit and mentor future AI talentEstablish AI standards and best practicesBuild and lead the AI function

What We're Looking ForTechnical ExperienceSoftware engineering or machine learning engineeringProven experience building production AI applicationsStrong Python engineering capabilityExperience deploying AI products into real-world environmentsExperience with several of:LLM applicationsAgentic AI frameworksMulti-agent systemsRAG architecturesVector databasesAI orchestration platformsAI evaluation and observability toolsModel optimisation and fine-tuningMindsetWe're particularly interested in individuals who:Thrive in startup environmentsEnjoy building from zero to oneThink commercially as well as technicallyAre naturally curious about emerging AI capabilitiesMove quickly and take ownershipWant to help build a company, not just a productIdeal BackgroundsSenior AI EngineerLead AI EngineerFounding AI EngineerApplied AI EngineerAI Product EngineerMachine Learning Engineer (LLM Focus)AI Solutions Architect What's on OfferCompetitive salaryMeaningful equity opportunityDirect access to founders and strategic decision-makingSignificant autonomy and ownershipFlexible working environmentClear progression pathway to Head of AI Why This Role?Few opportunities offer the chance to join at such an early stage and genuinely shape the future of a business. If you're excited by ownership, AI innovation, start-up pace, and the opportunity to build a function from the ground up, we'd love to hear from you.