Principal Applied AI Engineer

Colibri Limited.; City of London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A specialist engineering consultancy is seeking a Principal Applied AI Engineer to lead the development of scalable AI systems. You'll work closely with clients to deliver innovative AI solutions while mentoring engineers. This remote role offers competitive salary, private health insurance, and opportunities for long‑term growth.

Benefits

Private health insurance

Flexible remote work

Projects with global brands

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a senior or principal engineering role within an AI technology consultancy.
• Strong foundation in software engineering with hands‑on experience in production systems.
• Deep understanding of modern cloud and MLOps environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical discovery and delivery for AI engineering engagements.
• Design, build and deploy applied AI systems.
• Develop and maintain backend systems, APIs, and frontends.

Skills

AI delivery experience

Software engineering foundation

Cloud and MLOps environments

Proficiency in Python

Mentoring experience

Communication skills

Job description

Apply for the Principal Applied AI Engineer role at Colibri Digital.

Colibri Digital is a specialist engineering consultancy delivering advanced data and AI solutions for clients across finance, healthcare, logistics, government, and technology.

Department: Services
Location: Remote, UK

The Role

We’re looking for a Principal Applied AI Engineer to shape and build AI systems that make a tangible impact.

You’ll work closely with clients and cross‑functional teams to design and deliver scalable, production‑ready AI capabilities — from intelligent automation to generative applications. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in ambiguity, mentors others with confidence, and enjoys bridging design, engineering, and delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead technical discovery and delivery for AI engineering engagements, taking clients from concept to production.
• Design, build and deploy applied AI systems that integrate seamlessly with existing software and data platforms.
• Develop and maintain backend systems, APIs, and frontends in alignment with software engineering best practices.
• Mentor and develop engineers (both within Colibri and client teams), building capability and confidence.
• Define and uphold best practices in AI engineering, including robust architecture, testing, and deployment.
• Partner with data scientists, product managers, and delivery leads to ensure AI solutions are practical, ethical, and aligned with business outcomes.
• Contribute to Colibri’s internal capability development; shaping frameworks, patterns, building reusable code repositories or other assets and thought leadership in applied AI.
• Represent Colibri as a trusted technical advisor, communicating complex AI concepts clearly to non‑technical audiences.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Proven experience in a senior or principal engineering role within an AI technology consultancy or AI‑driven product organisation, delivering AI models, systems and products to production.
• Strong foundation in software engineering with hands‑on experience building and deploying production‑grade AI or ML‑enabled systems.
• Deep understanding of modern cloud and MLOps environments (AWS, Azure, GCP; MLflow, SageMaker, or equivalent).
• Proficiency in at least one major programming language (Python preferred) and modern software delivery practices (CI/CD, containers, orchestration).
• Experience mentoring engineers and guiding clients through AI adoption and delivery.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, able to lead with empathy and clarity in complex client environments.

Desirable

• Experience integrating generative AI, retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG), or similar architectures into production systems.
• Strong background in consultancy, digital transformation, or multi‑industry project delivery.
• Contributions to open‑source projects or AI engineering communities.

What you can expect from us

• Remote‑first working with flexibility around client needs.
• Private health insurance.
• Projects with global brands & public sector leaders, working on real‑world impact.
• A collaborative culture of excellence and continuous improvement.
• Competitive salary, bonus structure, and long‑term growth opportunities.

Seniority level

Mid‑Senior level

Employment type

Full‑time

Job function

Engineering and Information Technology

Industries

IT Services and IT Consulting