AI Architect - Public Sector - Outside IR35 - Edinburgh (Hybrid) Day Rate - Market Rates Duration - 12 months Harvey Nash's Public Sector Client are looking to bring in a contract AI Architect, you will be responsible for the development and ongoing maintenance of the enterprise-wide AI technology approach alongside the delivery of the AI strategic roadmap. Key Responsibilities Define the enterprise-wide approach to AI delivery, ensuring alignment with organisational strategy, architecture principles, compliance requirements - driving innovation and informing strategic decisions. Evaluate and integrate diverse AI technologies and platforms (cloud, on-premises, hybrid, open-source, and vendor solutions) to meet different business needs. Collaborate with enterprise, data, principle and solution architects to ensure AI capabilities are seamlessly embedded within the broader technology ecosystem. Architect, design, and implement scalable AI solutions using Azure AI Services, including: Azure AI Document Intelligence Azure AI Speech (speech-to-text, text-to-speech, speaker recognition) Azure AI Translator Azure AI Search Lead technical PoCs in areas such as: Multilingual speech transcription and translation Intelligent document parsing and metadata extraction Cognitive search across structured and unstructured documents Technical Requirements Essential: Demonstrable experience of shaping AI capabilities to ensure they are designed, implemented, and integrated in alignment with business objectives, technology strategy, and architecture principles Proven track record designing AI/ML solutions with Azure Cognitive Services Strong hands-on experience in: Python (data workflows, Azure SDKs) C#/.NET (integration with enterprise systems) React (frontend POC/demo apps) Deep understanding of: RESTful API design & consumption Azure AI service orchestration & pipelines Cognitive Search (keyword, semantic & hybrid modes) OCR, key-value pair extraction, and document layout analysis Experience building or deploying: Speech transcription pipelines Document intelligence models Multilingual translation solutions Desirable: Familiarity with: Azure OpenAI Service Azure Content Safety and governance policies Azure DevOps CI/CD pipelines Knowledge of court or legal systems (highly advantageous but not essential) Please note that you must be eligible for BPSS clearance.