Lead AI Architect

About the Role

National Energy System Operator (NESO) recognises the potential of bright and talented individuals, and we encourage you to join us as Great Britain’s energy system undergoes an ambitious, exciting, and vital transformation. Together with industry, we are creating a cleaner, more sustainable energy future.

2026 continues to be an exciting year for NESO, where we are progressing with the execution of our strategy. Data & AI Architecture and Governance are key to our strategy. We are seeking an experienced AI Architect for our Strategy & Architecture function.

This role requires extensive expertise in AI architecture, including requirement analysis, solution design, technology selection, implementation, and monitoring and maintenance. Additionally, the AI Architect will play a crucial role in AI Governance, ensuring responsible and ethical use of AI technologies, establishing policies for data management, model transparency, and compliance with regulatory standards.

This role can be based from Warwick or Wokingham, and we continue to offer hybrid working from office and home. We are open to full time and part time applicants, as well as flexible working arrangements.

This role is designated as requiring a National Security Vetting (NSV) clearance. The level of clearance associated with the role is Security Check (SC). You will usually need to have been a resident in the UK for the last five years to apply for an SC clearance. We would invite any applicants who do not currently meet this residency requirement to still express an interest in the role.

Key Accountabilities

• Lead the end-to-end design and architecture of AI, generative AI and agentic solutions from concept to production, developing high and low level design blueprints and driving technical implementation.
• Define the target AI architecture and reference patterns across the AI estate – spanning custom solutions, AI capabilities embedded in SaaS applications, and third-party AI services – making informed build-versus-buy and integration decisions, with Microsoft Azure as the primary delivery platform.
• Partner with stakeholders across the business to translate ambitious ideas into production-ready features and measurable outcomes.
• Ensure AI solutions are scalable, secure, resilient and compliant with relevant industry and regulatory standards.
• Establish evaluation and monitoring frameworks (including evaluation-driven development) so that AI solutions remain robust, accurate, observable and trustworthy in production.
• Embed AI governance and Responsible AI practices, defining policies for data management, model transparency, fairness, content safety and regulatory compliance.
• Serve as the technical subject-matter expert for AI solution architecture and implementation across the organisation.
• Develop AI implementation roadmaps, validate architectural designs and lead architecture workshops and technical discovery sessions.
• Guide the development of MLOps and LLMOps pipelines for continuous training, testing, deployment and monitoring in cloud environments, and oversee infrastructure decisions to guarantee scalability, security and maintainability.
• Support delivery teams, uphold architectural standards, and document solutions, lessons learned and reusable patterns.
• Stay current with AI trends, technologies and the competitive landscape, and bring emerging practices into the organisation.

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK by the start of employment. Visa sponsorship may not be available for this role and will be considered in line with business requirements.

About You

We’re forging the path, and we know we can’t do it alone. That’s why we need visionary minds like yours to join us on this transformative journey. In this case, we’re looking for someone who:

• Proven experience architecting and deploying AI/ML and agentic solutions, with a strong focus on generative AI in production environments.
• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Azure as the primary cloud platform, ideally including Azure AI Foundry, Azure Machine Learning, Azure OpenAI and Azure AI Search (experience with AWS or GCP also considered).
• Deep understanding of AI/ML and agentic frameworks (e.g., LangChain, Semantic Kernel / Microsoft Agent Framework, Hugging Face) and of the full model lifecycle.
• Strong programming skills in Python or similar languages commonly used in AI/ML.
• Experience with LLMOps, MLOps, CI/CD for AI, evaluation-driven development and model monitoring in production.
• Strong grasp of enterprise integration patterns (APIs, event-driven, data integration) and of securing AI workloads end to end – identity and access, network isolation, secrets management, and data protection.
• Sound understanding of AI governance and Responsible AI, including data privacy, security, model transparency and regulatory compliance.
• Extensive enterprise and solution architecture experience, with the ability to architect complex enterprise solutions and translate business requirements into technical designs.
• Excellent communication, cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to mentor others, lead initiatives and bring teams together around bold, AI-driven goals.

What You'll Get

A competitive salary of £75,000 - £85,000 (possible flex) dependent on experience and capabilityAs well as your base salary, you will receive a bonus of up to 15% of your salary for stretch performance, 28 days annual leave as standard, and a competitive contributory pension scheme where we will double match your contribution to a maximum company contribution of 12%.

NESO's flexible benefits programme provides you with more flexibility around your health, lifestyle and protection benefits, here's just a few available:
- Flexible Bank Holidays & Holiday Trading
- Additional Birthday Day Off
- Cycle to Work Scheme, Retail & Gym Discounts
- Private Medical Insurance, Critical Illness Insurance & Personal Accident Insurance

About Us

At the National Energy System Operator (NESO), we play a vital role in tackling climate change and securing Great Britain's energy future. We already operate the world's fastest decarbonising electricity system and are working towards our ambition to run it carbon-free for a short period this year - provided the market supplies electricity exclusively from renewable sources. Alongside this, we provide expert advice to government on how to deliver a clean power system by 2030.

In autumn 2024, the Electricity System Operator (ESO) transitioned to become NESO - an independent, expert public corporation with a whole-system view across electricity, gas, and hydrogen. NESO operates independently and transparently, always acting in the best interests of all energy users.

Licensed and regulated by Ofgem, we make impartial decisions that balance sustainability, affordability and security. Our organisation is fully independent from government, the regulator and all commercial interests, with a clear focus on system-wide benefit, long term thing and public value.

The time to deliver is now. Join the energy transformation and help shape the future.
Your energy. Our future. Together

National Energy System Operator (NESO) recognises the potential of bright and talented individuals, and we encourage you to join us as Great Britain’s energy system undergoes an ambitious, exciting, and vital transformation. Together with industry, we are creating a cleaner, more sustainable energy future.

More Information

This role closes at 23:59, on the day before date shown above, however we encourage candidates to submit their application as early as possible and not wait until the published closing date as this can vary.

Research shows that some people may hesitate to apply unless they meet every single requirement. At NESO, we believe potential comes in many forms and we're committed to a fair, inclusive recruitment

We're committed to building a workforce that represents the communities we serve, and a working environment in which each individual feels valued, respected, fairly treated, and able to reach their full potential. If this role sparks your interest but you're not sure you tick every box, we still want to hear from you. process where everyone has the opportunity to show their talents. We celebrate the difference people can bring into our organisation, and welcome and encourage applicants with diverse experiences and backgrounds.