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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Principal AI Platform Engineer - **Company:** UBDS IT Consulting Ltd - **Location:** Manchester, UK - **Experience:** Expert - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Microsoft Azure, Cloud Computing, Cloud Engineering, Dataspaces, Information Lifecycle Management, Python (Programming Language), Machine Learning, Cloud Services, IT Architecture, AI Platforms, Machine Learning Operations, Virtual Agents, Databricks - **Published:** July 7, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.totaljobs.com/job/principal-ai-engineer/ubds-it-consulting-ltd-job107648405 ## About the Role We're looking for a Principal AI Platform Engineer who combines deep AI architecture expertise with strong engineering capability and technical leadership. This is a senior hands-on role for someone who can shape AI platforms and production AI solutions, guide delivery teams and help expand AI engineering as a core capability within UBDS., Essential Experience * Strong hands-on engineering background with experience delivering secure AI platforms, AI-enabled applications or machine learning solutions into production environments * Deep understanding of modern AI architecture patterns and real-world operational delivery, including MLOps/Evals * Strong Python engineering capability and experience working across cloud-native engineering environments * Experience integrating AI capabilities into wider enterprise, cloud and data ecosystems * Experience acting as a senior technical lead, principal engineer or design authority * Comfortable working directly with senior client stakeholders * Strong mentoring and coaching capability * Experience with some of the following technologies or ecosystems: * Amazon Bedrock and SageMaker * Claude / Anthropic * Azure AI Foundry or Azure OpenAI * Databricks * Vector databases and RAG architectures * Agentic AI orchestration frameworks and MCP servers * Model and data lifecycle management Desirable Experience * Experience working within public sector or regulated environments * Experience with secure government delivery environments * Experience contributing to bids, pre-sales or technical strategy * Knowledge of responsible AI and AI governance frameworks * Experience scaling engineering capability or building new technical practices We do not expect candidates to have deep expertise across every technology listed above. We are looking for individuals with strong real-world production AI delivery experience, architectural depth and the ability to adapt across evolving AI ecosystems. ## Description As a Principal AI Platform Engineer at UBDS, you will lead the design and implementation of AI architectures across complex transformation programmes. What You'll Do * Lead the design and implementation of AI architectures * Help clients move AI solutions from experimentation into secure production delivery for large-scale user bases * Define platform standards covering governance, observability, security, orchestration and operational support * Support technical discovery, bids and client architecture discussions * Work closely with delivery, account and capability teams to shape AI opportunities * Mentor and upskill engineers moving into AI engineering delivery * Build reusable engineering patterns, accelerators and reference architectures * Support internal AI enablement and automation initiatives across UBDS, At UBDS Group our mission is to support entrepreneurs who are setting new standards with technology solutions across cloud services, cybersecurity, data and AI, ensuring that every investment advances our commitment to innovation, making a difference, and creating impactful solutions for organisations and society. ## Related Videos - [Beyond GPT: Building Unified GenAI Platforms for the Enterprise of Tomorrow](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1525-beyond-gpt-building-unified-genai-platforms-for-the-enterprise-of-tomorrow) - [Cutting LLM Costs Without Cutting Quality: How to Beat Proprietary LLMs with Fine-Tuned Open Source](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100151-cutting-llm-costs-without-cutting-quality-how-to-beat-proprietary-llms-with-fine-tuned-open-source) - [Harnessing the Power of Open Source's Newest Technologies](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1448-harnessing-the-power-of-open-source-s-newest-technologies) - [This App Reached 10,000 Users in One Week. Here's How.](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100329-this-app-reached-10-000-users-in-one-week-here-s-how) - [Azure AI Foundry for Developers: Open Tools, Scalable Agents, Real Impact](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1541-azure-ai-foundry-for-developers-open-tools-scalable-agents-real-impact) - [OLTP in the Lakehouse: Redefining Data for AI Workloads](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/2038-oltp-in-the-lakehouse-redefining-data-for-ai-workloads) ## Related Articles - [How to Become an AI Engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/331-how-to-become-an-ai-engineer) - [Navigating the AI Shift](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/629-navigating-the-ai-shift) - [Coffee with Developers - Maria Apazoglou - Making AI understandable for all in production](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/475-coffee-with-developers-maria-apazoglou-making-ai-understandable-for-all-in-production) - [What Industries Outside of AI Are Hiring The Most AI Experts?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/98-what-industries-outside-of-ai-are-hiring-the-most-ai-experts) - [MLOps And AI Driven Development](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/82-mlops-and-ai-driven-development) - [Data Engineer Salary UK](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/253-data-engineer-salary-uk)