Leads Colibri’s applied AI capability, setting technical direction, engineering standards, propositions, and team strategy. Guides AI discovery, solution design, client conversations, pre-sales, delivery, and commercial growth. Oversees production AI, architecture, MLOps/LLMOps, testing, evaluation, security, governance, and reusable intellectual property. Mentors senior engineers, develops the practice, builds market presence, and ensures AI solutions are secure, scalable, commercially viable, and production-ready.
Remote, UK (travel required) | Permanent | Delivery | Reports to the Chief Services Officer
Shape how Colibri takes AI from possibility to productionColibri Digital is looking for a Head of Applied AI to lead and grow our AI engineering capability.
This is a senior leadership role sitting at the intersection of AI engineering, consulting, commercial growth and technical delivery. You'll help shape where we take our AI capability next, lead senior conversations with clients and remain close enough to the technology to challenge architecture, guide engineers and influence how solutions are built.
Our focus is very much on applied AI. We're interested in what happens beyond the demo: taking Generative AI, Agentic AI and predictive AI into secure, governed production environments where they solve real business problems.
You'll inherit strong technical capability, but there's plenty still to build. You'll have the opportunity to shape the team, our propositions, how we go to market and how we turn emerging AI technology into solutions clients can actually use.
Why this role is worth a conversationYou get to build, not just inherit. There is an established technical capability here, but the AI market is moving quickly and we're still shaping what comes next. You'll have genuine influence over the direction of the practice, the team we build and the propositions we take to market.
You'll stay close to the technology. This isn't a role where you step completely away from engineering. We want someone who can hold an executive-level conversation about the business application of AI and then switch into a detailed discussion with engineers about architecture, RAG, agents, evaluation or how a solution will operate in production.
You'll be involved before the solution is sold. You'll work closely with our sales, pre-sales and consulting teams from discovery onwards – identifying where AI can create genuine value, shaping credible solutions and making sure what we commit to is technically achievable and commercially sound.
You'll help turn innovation into revenue. Part of the opportunity is taking what works for clients and turning it into repeatable propositions, accelerators and reusable assets that help Colibri grow.
What you'll ownYou'll stay close to the technology. This isn't a role where you step completely away from engineering. We want someone who can hold an executive-level conversation about the business application of AI and then switch into a detailed discussion with engineers about architecture, RAG, agents, evaluation or how a solution will operate in production.
You'll be involved before the solution is sold. You'll work closely with our sales, pre-sales and consulting teams from discovery onwards – identifying where AI can create genuine value, shaping credible solutions and making sure what we commit to is technically achievable and commercially sound.
You'll help turn innovation into revenue. Part of the opportunity is taking what works for clients and turning it into repeatable propositions, accelerators and reusable assets that help Colibri grow.
- The Applied AI capability. Its technical direction, standards, people, propositions and continued growth.
- Senior client conversations. Leading AI discovery, consulting and solution conversations from initial opportunity through to delivery.
- AI engineering excellence. Setting high standards across architecture, engineering, testing, CI/CD, MLOps/LLMOps, evaluation, security and AI governance.
- Production AI. Ensuring solutions move beyond experimentation into reliable, scalable and governed production environments.
- Solution design. Challenging architecture, estimates and delivery approaches before commitments are made.
- The team. Leading, mentoring and developing AI engineers and senior technical specialists while helping us build the capability we need for the future.
- Commercial growth. Working alongside sales and pre-sales to build pipeline, win new work and expand existing client relationships.
- Propositions and IP. Turning successful client solutions into repeatable offerings, accelerators and reusable assets.
- Capability performance. Helping manage revenue, utilisation, capacity and margin across the practice.
- Our presence in the AI market. Building visibility through clients, partners, events, content and thought leadership.
What we’re looking for
There isn't one particular career path into this role.
You may already be leading an AI practice or capability, or you could be an exceptional Principal or Director-level AI leader ready to take the next step.
What matters more is the combination of technical depth, client credibility, commercial awareness and a genuine appetite to build something.
We're particularly interested in evidence that you have:
- Deep technical expertise in modern AI engineering, particularly LLM-based systems, RAG, agentic or multi-agent architectures, vector databases/embeddings and AI evaluation.
- Taken AI or ML solutions from prototype through to reliable production use.
- Strong software engineering fundamentals including system design, APIs, version control, automated testing and CI/CD.
- Experience of MLOps/LLMOps and operating AI systems in production.
- Experience with modern cloud AI technologies and platforms.
- Led engineers building AI systems while retaining strong technical credibility yourself.
- Worked directly with senior clients, ideally within consulting, professional services or another client-led technology environment.
- Been involved in pre-sales – whether through discovery, solution shaping, proposals, pitches or helping win and expand client work.
- Led, mentored and developed technical people.
- A strong understanding of responsible AI, governance, evaluation and the challenges of deploying AI safely at scale.
- The ability to move comfortably between conversations about business value and commercial outcomes and detailed conversations about how an AI solution should actually work.
- You'll probably be naturally entrepreneurial and curious.
- AI is moving too quickly for us to have a playbook for everything. You'll be comfortable operating where the answer isn't always known upfront, experimenting with emerging technologies and making informed decisions about what's genuinely useful versus what's simply generating hype.
- You don't need to come from a small consultancy. Experience within a larger consulting organisation can be equally relevant. What matters is that you're comfortable operating without layers of infrastructure around you, taking ownership and turning ideas into action.
- We're looking for someone who wants to build the playbook, not wait for one.
What you'll get
- A highly competitive salary, depending on experience
- Salary Sacrifice Pension plan of 5+3
- 25 days' annual leave + 1 birthday day
- Private Medical and wider benefits
- Remote-first within the UK
This is a senior client-facing leadership role, so there will be travel to client sites, partner events and Colibri/Nasstar offices, including central London, when required.
How the process runs
- Talent conversation – an initial conversation with our Talent team to explore the role and your background.
- Leadership conversation – focused on your AI leadership, consulting and commercial experience.
- Technical/working session – an opportunity to explore how you approach Applied AI, architecture and taking solutions into production.
- Practice/peer conversations – meet some of the leaders and technical people you'll work alongside.
- Executive conversation – time with senior leadership to understand Colibri's strategy, growth ambitions and expectations for the role.
Depending on availability, some stages may be combined. We'll keep you informed throughout the process.
About
We are passionate about helping businesses navigate the rapidly changing and complex world of emerging technologies. We create well-structured, secure, scalable solutions at speed to provide the foundation for groundbreaking change.
Similar Jobs
HR Tech • Information Technology • Professional Services • Sales • Software
Lead HiBob’s global revenue marketing organization, owning pipeline strategy, demand generation, regional and field marketing, lifecycle growth, website optimization, segmentation, budget allocation, attribution, and Sales alignment. The role requires building a predictable, efficient revenue engine across eight geographies, leading senior marketing teams, optimizing acquisition and conversion, and driving AI-enabled marketing innovation. The VP will partner with executive leadership and own marketing’s contribution to new business, regional pipeline, customer expansion, and company-wide growth outcomes.
Top Skills:
Aeo/GeoAi/LlmAttribution AnalyticsConversion Rate OptimizationIntent SignalsLead ScoringLifecycle MarketingMarketing Automation
Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • HR Tech • Information Technology • Productivity • Software • Automation
Build and deploy production-grade, LLM-enabled applications for strategic enterprise customers. Own backend services, frontend integrations, data orchestration, vector databases, and AI pipelines while working onsite with customer teams. Develop reusable libraries, prompts, SDKs, scaffolds, and documentation; integrate legacy systems; debug distributed systems; optimize performance and observability; and influence the AI platform roadmap. Requires extensive software engineering experience, strong AI/ML tooling knowledge, cloud and DevOps fluency, and travel up to 30%.
Top Skills:
AirflowAmazon SagemakerAngularSparkAWSAzureAzure Machine LearningCi/CdContainersGoogle Cloud PlatformGraphQLInfrastructure As CodeJavaKubeflowLangchainLimeLoraMlflowNode.jsPandasPeftPrefectPythonReactRestSemantic KernelShapSQLTorchserveTritonVector DatabasesVertex AiVllmWeights & Biases
Information Technology • Productivity • Professional Services • Software • Business Intelligence
Supports revenue operations by enabling sales teams and partners, reviewing quotes, coordinating contract reviews, validating orders, and resolving sales-process issues. Ensures orders contain the information needed for invoicing and booking, supports partner incentive programs, and improves workflows through documentation, automation, and AI-assisted tools. The role also provides training, ticket-based support, sales order entry, and cross-functional coordination with Sales, Legal, Finance, and other stakeholders.
Top Skills:
Ai-Assisted WorkflowsCpqExcelSalesforceZuora
What you need to know about the Edinburgh Tech Scene
From traditional pubs and centuries-old universities to sleek shopping malls and glass-paneled office buildings, Edinburgh's architecture reflects its unique blend of history and modernity. But the fusion of past and future isn't just visible in its buildings; it's also shaping the city's economy. Named the United Kingdom's leading technology ecosystem outside of London, Edinburgh plays host to major global companies like Apple and Adobe, as well as a growing number of innovative startups in fields like cybersecurity, finance and healthcare.
