2 days ago Be among the first 25 applicants
Get AI-powered advice on this job and more exclusive features.
Company: Early-stage funded tech startup
What we need: Founding AI engineer
Type: Fractional to full-time
Location: Remote (UK preferred)
Why You'd Care
We're building something real for a customer group that's genuinely underserved. Not solving a nice-to-have problem, but something people actually want. We've got runway, we're funded, and we're not in survival mode. You'd be part of the technical direction, not inherit it.
What We're Building
A system that combines computer vision, natural language processing, and semantic search to solve a real problem in the healthcare industry. You'd architect the whole thing from scratch, not just optimising models, but designing how all the pieces talk to each other, how we serve it at scale, how we know when it's working.
We're thinking about safety from day one because we must. In this space, you can't just ship and hope. You'd be defining what good looks like and building the systems to measure it.
Who We Need
10+ years experience shipping software. Five of those in production ML systems (actual deployed releases, not research). Two years at an early-stage startup where things changed and you had to figure it out.
* Python at an expert level
* Five years AWS hands‑on (SageMaker, Lambda, ECS, you know when to use each)
* Built retrieval systems with embeddings (Weaviate, Pinecone, Faiss)
* NLP and document understanding (parsing, OCR, transformers)
* You understand batch vs real‑time inference and tradeoffs
The Stuff That Matters
* You've shipped under pressure with incomplete info and it doesn't scare you
* You raise concerns about safety and data quality without needing permission
* You mentor people because you care about team quality
* You genuinely think about responsible AI and edge cases
* You'd rather ship something that works than spend months perfecting it
Nice Additions
* Healthcare or regulated industry experience
* Built products for underserved demographics
* Managed engineers before
What You'd Actually Do
Build the core AI system, architecture, model selection, inference optimisation, deployment. Get AWS infrastructure right so it scales and doesn't break. Work with the CTO on safety frameworks and evaluation. Set patterns that the next AI engineers follow. Help interview and onboard people as we build the team.
Basically: own the technical direction with input from the CTO. You're not reporting every decision up the chain, you're making calls and shipping things.
Why We're Different
You're not fixing someone else's mess. You're architecting from close to zero. Your technical decisions stick around.
We've thought about responsible AI. It's not a box we'll tick later, it's how we think. You'd be establishing practices that become industry‑standard as we scale.
The company has runway. We're not in permanent fundraising mode. You can actually think long‑term.
Fractional with a clear path. Three clear stages: trial, scoped project, then full engagement. If it works, and the signals are good, you move to full‑time.
Compensation
* Fractional rate: £700‑900 per day
* Equivalent full‑time salary range: £122,000‑£184,000 per annum
* Full‑time package (salary, equity, benefits) gets discussed during offer conversations
Timeline
We want someone starting soon. The entire process should move quickly, from initial chat through to decision.
Recruitment Process
Three‑Day Trial
Candidates get hands‑on with our prototype and help us chart a development plan. Over these three days, you'll put together initial system diagrams and frameworks, working closely with our DevOps team on the AI Ops side. This is where we see how you think and how you collaborate, no pressure, just real work.
Three‑Week Project
If things click during the trial, we'll extend you to a three‑week engagement to tackle a scoped project. This gives us both a clearer picture of working together at a slightly larger scale and proves out whether the technical direction is sound.
Three‑Month Contract
Assuming all goes well, we'll bring you on for a three‑month contract to work on the larger AI roadmap. This is where you're really embedded with the team, setting architecture patterns, and building the foundation that scales as we grow.
The Initial Interview
Round 1 (30 min)
Just a chat. Background, motivation, what you're looking for. You ask questions too. Mutual fit assessment.
Round 2 (90 min)
Talk about projects you've shipped. What did you build? What tradeoffs did you make? We sketch out architecture, not whiteboard performance, just how you think.
Round 3 (60 min)
CTO conversation. Technical vision, safety, what early‑stage really means. This is where we figure out if we'll actually work well together.
Honest feedback at each stage. If we're both interested, we move straight to the three‑day trial. The whole interview process should take a couple weeks max.
What We Believe
You don't have to be the smartest. You have to care about building something real. You think about users. You want to establish good practices early because it's harder to change them later.
You're comfortable with ambiguity but you move through it, you don't get stuck. You ask for help and you're okay being the person people ask for help.
You'd rather ship something that works than spend months getting it perfect.
One More Thing
If you're from a group that's underrepresented in tech, we'd genuinely like to hear from you. We're not just saying that, we actively try to build diverse teams and we're serious about evaluating people fairly.
In this spirit, if this resonates with you, let's talk.
How to Apply
Send your CV and more importantly, write a few paragraphs about why you want to work on this. What appeals to you about the problem? The role? The company approach?
Show us work you're proud of, repositories, case studies, published stuff. If you've solved interesting problems that feel relevant, mention them.
And if you're reading this thinking "yeah I've done most of this but not literally everything," apply anyway. We're not looking for perfect, we're looking for solid builders who care about quality.
Seniority level
Mid‑Senior level
Employment type
Full‑time
Job function
Engineering and Information Technology
Industries
Software Development
#J-18808-Ljbffr