Manager of Data Engineering

Director of Data Engineering: AI & Data Platforms

Location: London (Hybrid – 1–2 days per week onsite)

This is a rare opportunity to shape and lead the evolution of a next-generation, AI-native data platform within a high-growth, well-funded scale-up.

As Director of Data Engineering, you will operate at the intersection of strategy and execution partnering closely with the CTO to define the long-term architecture, build a high-performing team, and transition the organisation from a traditional data platform to an agentic, AI-driven ecosystem .

Partner with the CTO to define and execute the AI and data platform strategy , including critical build vs buy decisions

Establish a clear approach to partner vs upskill , ensuring the team leverages external innovation while building core internal capability

Shape the long-term vision for an agentic, AI-native data ecosystem

AI-Driven Data Platform Development

Lead the design of a unified AI search layer , combining vector, keyword, and graph-based approaches (e.g. Oversee the development of a knowledge graph and data enrichment pipelines to unlock proprietary data value

Drive AI/ML Ops maturity , including LLM deployment, RAG pipelines, and evaluation frameworks

Engineering & Architecture

Define scalable, cloud-native architectures across GCP (preferred) and AWS

Lead cross-cloud data orchestration , ensuring seamless data flow from ingestion to intelligence layers

Lead and develop a team of data and AI engineers, including senior and staff-level contributors

Build a culture of engineering excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement

Ensure engineering effort is focused on high-value, domain-specific problems

Improve velocity through modern engineering practices and AI-assisted development

Proven experience as a Director or Senior Engineering Manager leading data/platform teams

Data Platform & Cloud Expertise

Experience building and scaling high-volume data platforms

Strong knowledge of GCP (BigQuery preferred) and exposure to AWS

Expertise in data pipelines, distributed processing, and Python-based data services

AI & Emerging Technologies

Exposure to or strong interest in agentic systems, LLMs, and AI-driven architectures

Experience with AI search (vector databases, hybrid search, GraphRAG) is highly desirable

Familiarity with knowledge graphs, ontologies, or complex data modelling

Strategic & Commercial Thinking

Hybrid (1–2 days per week in London office)

Salary: Up to £140,000 + equity + benefits (private healthcare, pension)

Career Progression: Clear path towards VP Engineering / CTO

Strong investment in modern AI tooling and practices

This role is ideal for a senior engineering leader who wants to build, shape, and scale —not just maintain. If you’re motivated by cutting-edge AI, complex data challenges, and genuine strategic influence , this is an opportunity to make a lasting impact.