AI Engineering Lead – LLMs & Agentic Systems

Join Sanderson Government and Defence as an AI Engineering Lead – LLMs & Agentic Systems, based in South East London, London. Lead technical delivery of large‑language‑model and agentic AI solutions for secure, high‑impact government programmes.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide hands‑on technical leadership and mentorship to multi‑disciplinary AI teams.
• Design, implement and optimise LLM‑based and agentic AI components within complex enterprise environments.
• Bridge architecture and delivery, ensuring solutions meet security, scalability and compliance requirements.
• Collaborate with product owners, data scientists and engineering managers to translate business needs into robust AI architectures.
• Establish best practices, coding standards and CI/CD pipelines for AI model deployment.
• Conduct technical reviews, risk assessments and performance tuning for AI services.

Required Skills & Experience

• Minimum 5 years of continuous UK residency.
• Proven experience leading AI projects that incorporate large language models (e.g., GPT, Llama) and autonomous agentic systems.
• Strong background in Python, ML frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch), and MLOps tooling.
• Deep understanding of model fine‑tuning, prompt engineering, and inference optimisation.
• Experience with secure, IR35‑compliant contracts and remote/hybrid delivery in government or defence settings.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to influence senior stakeholders.

What We Offer

• Competitive daily rate of £560 (inside IR35) with an annual equivalent salary range £130,000 – £145,600.
• Flexible remote/hybrid working on secure programmes.
• Opportunity to shape cutting‑edge AI strategy for national defence projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of contract is offered for the AI Engineering Lead role?

The position is a UK‑based contract inside IR35, paid at £560 per day.

Do I need to be based in the UK to apply?

Yes, you must have at least five years of continuous UK residency.

Is remote work possible for this role?

The role offers flexible remote or hybrid working for secure government programmes.