Solutions Engineer (Lead)

Whitespace Ventures Ltd; Belfast; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading AI solutions firm is seeking a Solutions Engineer (Lead) in Belfast. The role involves developing LLM-powered applications, working closely with clients to tailor AI solutions to their needs. Candidates should have significant software engineering experience, strong Python skills, and the ability to communicate complex technical concepts. This position offers a full-time contract in an agile team with a flexible work environment.

Benefits

Flexible working environment

25 days of annual leave

EMI share options

4-day work week during holidays

Qualifications

• 5+ years as a software engineer with experience building production LLM applications.
• Proven experience with tool/function calling and prompt engineering.
• Strong Python skills focused on production-grade applications.

Responsibilities

• Develop platform functionality using Python and build APIs.
• Design and implement LLM-powered applications.
• Work directly with clients to gather requirements.

Skills

Software engineering experience

Python programming

API development

Client-facing experience

Problem-solving

Leadership qualities

Tools

FastAPI

OpenAI AgentSDK

Docker

Job description

Solutions Engineer (Lead)

Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Hours: Full-time

Salary: £70,000 - £85,000 p.a. (+EMI share options)

About Whitespace: Whitespace leads in creating smarter, safer AI solutions for enterprises. We build an AI Operating System for high‑assurance environments, enabling humans and machines to collaborate like never before. Whitespace offices are located in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Role Summary: The successful AI Solutions Engineer will extend and enhance our AI Operating System, which leverages LLMs to solve industry‑specific challenges across defence, legal, health, infrastructure and consulting sectors. This lead role focuses on rapidly prototyping and deploying AI‑powered solutions. You will work directly with clients, translating their needs into scalable, production‑ready AI applications using modern frameworks and techniques.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Develop platform functionality using Python, building APIs and integrations to extend capabilities for diverse client needs.
• Design and implement LLM‑powered applications and workflows using open‑source models such as Llama, Qwen, Gemma, and online models from OpenAI, Gemini, etc.
• Build AI agents with tool/function calling, prompt engineering and appropriate guardrails using frameworks such as OpenAI AgentSDK, LangGraph or LlamaIndex.
• Implement testing and evaluation frameworks for LLM applications, covering prompt testing, output quality metrics and agent behaviour validation.
• Apply relevant AI technologies as needed, including retrieval systems (RAG, GraphRAG), knowledge graphs, vector databases or data pipelines.
• Design and deliver scalable, efficient solutions tailored to client‑specific requirements while balancing innovation with practical constraints around compliance, performance, cost and security.
• Lead technical discussions, diagnose complex challenges and provide guidance to less experienced team members.
• Work directly with clients to gather requirements and translate them into actionable AI‑powered solutions, moving rapidly from concept to working prototype.
• Communicate complex technical concepts effectively to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to technical knowledge sharing within the team.

Role Requirements

• At least five years as a software engineer on commercial platforms, with demonstrable experience building production LLM‑powered applications.
• Proven experience with API‑level LLM usage, including tool/function calling, prompt engineering and evaluation.
• Experience with agent frameworks (OpenAI AgentSDK, LangGraph, LlamaIndex Agents or similar).
• Experience developing APIs using FastAPI or similar frameworks and integrating with third‑party platforms.
• Direct client‑facing experience gathering requirements and delivering technical implementations.
• Experience within agile development workflows and engineering teams.
• Strong Python programming skills with a focus on production‑grade applications.
• Excellent communication abilities, translating complex technical concepts for diverse audiences.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving approach, identifying scalable and reusable solutions.
• Leadership qualities, including technical mentorship, team collaboration and line management.
• Ability to align solutions with business goals and industry‑specific constraints.
• Self‑sufficient contributor capable of working independently and seeking support when needed.

Nice to Have

• Open‑source LLMs (Llama, Qwen, Gemma, GPT‑OSS) and local deployment strategies.
• Frameworks and protocols such as Model Context Protocol (MCP) or Agent‑to‑Agent (A2A).
• LLM evaluation tooling (OpenAI Evals, LangSmith, custom evaluation harnesses).
• Advanced agent patterns: multi‑agent systems, supervision, delegation strategies.
• RAG, GraphRAG and knowledge graph design and implementation.
• Vector databases and similarity search systems.
• Graph databases (ArangoDB, Neo4j, Neptune) and property graph modelling.
• Data engineering: ETL pipelines, document processing, schema design for AI applications.
• Cloud platforms (GCP preferred, AWS/Azure relevant) and containerisation (Docker).
• Observability and monitoring for LLM applications (tracing, metrics, cost tracking).
• Secure coding practices for regulated industries and sensitive data handling.
• Frontend experience (React/Next.js) for rapid prototyping of client demos.

What We Offer

• Work on impactful, cutting‑edge products powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning.
• Be part of an agile, close‑knit team that values creativity, quality, and continuous learning.
• A flexible working environment, typically 2 days of hybrid working in our Belfast office, plus one of the best work‑life balances you’ll find.
• A (Mon‑Thu) 4‑day work week during the holidays – July, August and December.
• The last Friday of every month off.
• Early finish every working Friday at 3 pm.
• 25 days of annual leave, plus all NI bank holidays.
• EMI Share options in a rapidly growing scale‑up.

Seniority level

Mid‑Senior level

Employment type

Full‑time

Job function

Information Technology

Industries

Software Development

Closing date: Open until filled