Senior AI Engineer

At 1st Central everything starts with our people.

As one of the UKs leading motor and home insurers we use smart technology data and great service to make insurance fast fair and simple for over 1.4 million customers. Were proud to create an environment where people feel supported trusted and able to grow -whether thats developing new skills taking on fresh challenges or making a real impact every day. If youre looking for a role where you can make a difference wed love to hear from you.

Were on the lookout for 2 Senior AI Engineers to play a pivotal role in our AI and Generative AI initiatives focusing on the design development and deployment or integration of advanced AI systems and solutions.

Were seeking Senior Engineers with deep technical expertise in AI technologies particularly in areas such as Azure OpenAI Cognitive Services prompt engineering RetrievalAugmented Generation (RAG) architectures vector stores and API integrations. Youll be able to demonstrate substantial experience in Azure networking and infrastructure enabling you to effectively design and manage secure cloudbased AI environments. This includes leveraging offtheshelf agentic AI components and orchestrating their integration into robust scalable agentic systems to accelerate the delivery of intelligent automation outcomes.

Youll collaborate closely with multiple teams including Data Science Software Engineering Data Engineering and Enterprise Architecture to deliver endtoend AI systems from initial concept and prompt design through development testing deployment productionisation monitoring and continuous improvement.

As a Senior AI Engineer youll bring strong proficiency across broader AI disciplines such as Computer Vision and Natural Language Processing (NLP) ensuring solutions that draw on the full spectrum of modern AI capabilities. Youll stay abreast of emerging industry trends continually adapting and innovating to deliver stateoftheart AI capabilities aligned with organisational goals.

This is a flexible hybrid role with occasional visits to our offices in Salford Quays (Manchester) or Haywards Heath (West Sussex) when required. We offer excellent flexibility in working patterns and a companywide culture you can be proud to be part of.

Core skills were looking for to succeed in the role:

• Python & AI Frameworks: Advanced proficiency in Python with familiarity in AI frameworks such as LangChain.
• AI Ops & Cloud Production Environments: Skilled in designing and operationalising AI Ops frameworks within cloudbased production environments.
• Communication & Stakeholder Engagement: Exceptional communication skills with the ability to clearly articulate technical concepts to diverse stakeholders.
• Organisation & Time Management: Excellent organisational time management and prioritisation skills.
• Analytical & ProblemSolving Ability: Strong analytical and problemsolving skills capable of quickly diagnosing and resolving technical issues.

Whats involved:

• Youll design and implement scalable AI and Generative AI solutions using Azure OpenAI Cognitive Services RAG patterns and APIbased integrations.
• Youll integrate and configure offtheshelf Agentic AI components enabling autonomous task planning tooluse reasoning workflows and agentic orchestration.
• Youll develop robust agentic system patterns including memory structures actionloop orchestration tool integration and multiagent coordination.
• Youll lead development of secure auditable and productiongrade AI systems leveraging Azure networking infrastructure and cloud engineering best practices.
• Youll build and maintain CI/CD pipelines in Azure DevOps for automated deployment versioning and operationalisation of AI services and components.
• Youll develop automated testing validation and monitoring frameworks to ensure AI model performance reliability and ongoing optimisation.
• Youll establish and promote best practices for AI data pipelines MLOps/AIOps cloud infrastructure alignment and scalable architecture design.
• Youll collaborate with Data Science Data Engineering Software Engineering and Enterprise Architecture teams to deliver endtoend AI solutions from concept to production.
• Youll engage business stakeholders to identify opportunities for AI adoption build understanding and translate strategic needs into practical AI solutions.
• Youll promote organisational AI capability through training mentoring knowledgesharing and fostering a culture of innovation.
• Youll ensure compliance with the Group Code of Conduct company guidelines and relevant regulatory standards at all times.

Experience & knowledge:

• Proven experience designing developing deploying and managing production-grade AI and Generative AI systems.

• Extensive experience with Cloud-based AI and Cognitive Services and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures.
• Deep expertise in API integration preferably within the Azure ecosystem.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) across development testing and production environments.
• Solid understanding of Azure networking principles security frameworks and infrastructure best practices.
• Experience configuring and operationalising offtheshelf Agentic AI components (e.g. planners toolexecutors memory modules) within enterprise environments.
• Knowledge of agent orchestration frameworks and multistep autonomous workflow design.
• Practical experience integrating agentic systems with existing microservices and APIs to enable toolbased reasoning and action.
• Practical experience applying agile methodologies to AI and software development projects.
• Comprehensive knowledge of Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) practices and tools (Azure DevOps preferred).
• Experience with microservices architecture RESTful API development and system integration.
• Prior experience in financial services or insurance sectors advantageous.
• Familiarity with AzureML Databricks related Azure technologies Docker Kubernetes and containerization is advantageous.

Skills:

• Advanced proficiency in Python and familiarity with AI frameworks such as LangChain
• Skilled in designing and operationalising AI Ops frameworks within cloud-based production environments.
• Exceptional communication skills clearly articulating technical concepts to diverse stakeholders.
• Excellent organisational time management and prioritisation skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills capable of quickly diagnosing and resolving technical issues.

Behaviours:

• Embrace embed and incorporate the company values
• Self-motivated and enthusiastic
• An organised and proactive approach
• Strong stakeholder management
• Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team
• A flexible approach and positive attitude
• Strives to drive business improvements to contribute to the success of the business

1st Central isnt your average insurance business. Were tech-driven people-focused and always looking for smarter ways to do things. Youll have the space to innovate experiment and grow plus work with some genuinely brilliant minds. This is your chance to work on meaningful AI projects in a role where your ideas really matter! So what are you waiting for hit that Apply button!

Ready to join us

Were looking for talented people who want to make a real impact for our customers colleagues and business. Apply today and discover where a career at 1st Central could take you.

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