Job Description
AI Models LeadHybrid: Midlands-based 2-3 days in the office or remote contracts for candidates outside of 35 milesPaying up to £120,000 + bonus + bensPermanentExperis are delighted to be partnering with a highly successful and growing software organisation as they invest heavily in building a cutting-edge AI capability at the heart of their product suite.We are supporting them in the search for an AI Models Lead, a key foundational hire who will own the development, fine-tuning, and production delivery of domain-specific AI models within a large-scale programme.This is a rare opportunity to join at an early stage and build a fine-tuning capability from first principles, shaping how AI models are developed, evaluated, and deployed in real-world, regulated environments.What You'll Be DoingDesigning and leading the end-to-end model fine-tuning strategy, including SFT, LoRA / QLoRA, and optimisation approachesSelecting and evaluating base models (e.g. Mistral, Qwen, Phi, Falcon) based on performance, cost, and use caseDefining evaluation frameworks and standards to ensure models meet production-grade quality and reliabilityBuilding and scaling a suite of fine-tuned models to support multiple product use casesOwning experiment design and reproducibility, including tracking, benchmarking, and iteration cyclesWorking closely with data, domain and product teams to translate real-world requirements into model behaviourLeading, mentoring, and growing a team of ML Engineers while remaining hands-on technicallyDriving models through to production environments, ensuring robustness, scalability, and performanceExperience RequiredProven experience fine-tuning machine learning / LLM models in production environmentsStrong track record of deploying AI models at scale and understanding real-world failure modesHands-on experience with Generative AI / LLM architectures and frameworksStrong Python engineering capability and familiarity with ML tooling (e.g. HuggingFace, PEFT, TRL, W&B)Experience working in cloud environments (AWS preferred)Ability to operate as a player-coach, combining deep technical expertise with leadershipPragmatic mindset, comfortable working in ambiguous, evolving environmentsExcellent communication skills, with the ability to engage senior stakeholders and influence directionWhy JoinOpportunity to build and shape a core AI capability from the ground upWork on real-world AI use cases where accuracy and trust genuinely matterHighly visible role with direct exposure to senior leadership and strategic initiativesJoin a business making significant long-term investment in AI-driven innovationIf you're interested in learning more, please reach out to Jacob Ferdinand atIf you receive suspicious outreach claiming to be from us, please contact us via the ManpowerGroup website.TPBN1_UKTJ