Lead Software Engineer - AI Products

Location: Leeds preferred; also consider Manchester

Working pattern: Flexible hybrid working, with one day per week in the office

Lead an engineering team, shape technical solutions with the business and stay hands-on building AI-enabled products.

A leading professional services firm is building a new centralised engineering function as part of a major digital transformation. They’re looking for a Lead Software Engineer to provide technical leadership and help turn business ideas into production-ready AI products.

You’ll lead the team’s engineering work, set technical direction and mentor engineers, while formal HR and line-management responsibilities are handled separately.

The role

Working closely with Product Managers and senior business stakeholders, you’ll understand what they’re trying to achieve and translate their needs into practical technical solutions. You’ll challenge assumptions, assess feasibility and help shape the technical roadmap, explaining the options and trade-offs along the way.

You won’t simply receive a finished specification. You’ll help define the solution and lead the engineering team in building it, remaining hands-on from early prototypes through to production.

The work will include AI-enabled products and the integrations, APIs and supporting infrastructure around the firm’s GenAI platform. You’ll take ownership of technical decisions and delivery quality, keeping engineering standards high and technical debt visible.

Team leadership is central to the position. You’ll guide engineers through complex problems, mentor them on engineering practice and help them make better technical decisions. You’ll also shape how the team uses AI throughout development, ensuring AI-generated output is properly reviewed and validated.

What you’ll bring

• Strong full-stack engineering experience , ideally with C#/.NET or Python and a modern front-end framework such as Angular or React. Engineering depth matters more than matching every technology.
• Hands-on technical leadership , with experience guiding an engineering team, making technical decisions and delivering production-grade software.
• Confidence working with the business , turning ambiguous requirements into clear technical options and communicating effectively with non-technical stakeholders.
• AI engineering judgement , understanding where AI tools can accelerate development and how to maintain quality, reliability and sound engineering fundamentals.

You’ll join while the central engineering function is taking shape, with the opportunity to influence the products being built, the technical roadmap and how the team approaches software delivery.

This role would suit an established Lead Software Engineer who enjoys combining team leadership with hands-on development, or a Senior Engineer already leading technical work who is ready for broader responsibility.