Job Title

Head of Data & AI – Global AI Innovation InitiativeLocation: Manchester (Hybrid - 2 times per week)Salary: £110K-£140K + Bonus + BenefitsWe’re working with a multi-£billion global leader in market insights and analytics, operating in over 90 countries, on a multi-million-pound AI transformation programme. This is a rare opportunity to join a build-phase initiative that has already developed advanced machine learning models and is now focused on productising these for real-world, high-impact internal use.You’ll be stepping into a Leading AI position, leading the engineering vision and hands-on delivery for a synthetic data platform that will be deployed to consultants globally. This is a strategic initiative with a budget in the tens of millions of pounds and direct accountability to the C-suite. The platform is expected to generate £5–10M in revenue in its first phase, scaling to £30–50M in the coming years.You’ll be working at the heart of an executive-backed programme, shaping a product that combines LLM agents, digital twins, synthetic data replicates, and agentic workflow modelling—all built on cutting-edge Python, GCP, and Vertex AI foundations.What You’ll Be DoingTaking full engineering and architectural ownership of a synthetic data platform already in the advanced build phase.Driving MLOps and production deployment workflows across GCP, Vertex AI, and model lifecycle management.Making critical design decisions—defending your technical strategy and knowing when to push back.Collaborating with data scientists, engineers, and external delivery partners to deliver at pace.Navigating complex political and organisational environments, influencing senior and executive stakeholders.Operating with direct C-suite engagement in a global organisation with a multi-£billion turnover.What We’re Looking ForSenior engineering authority with proven delivery of ML/MLOps platforms into production.Hands-on expertise in Python, Cloud and LLM solutions and model lifecycle management.Ability to operate in a high-visibility, high-stakes environment with resilience and confidence.Strong stakeholder influence skills, including C-suite interactions.Track record of owning large-scale, strategic engineering programmes from design to deployment.Why This Role?Impact & Scale: This is not R&D for R&D’s sake—this is a multi-million-pound, revenue-generating AI initiative.Innovation: Synthetic data, LLM agents, digital twins, and next-gen agentic workflows.Visibility: Direct exposure to the executive leadership team of a global market leader.Growth: Play a pivotal role in modernising a traditional industry through AI.