Future Tech Jobs Future Tech Jobs

AI Architect

HAYS Specialist Recruitment
Manchester, United Kingdom
Yesterday
£850 – £950 pa

Salary

£850 – £950 pa

Job Type
Contract
Work Pattern
Flexible
Work Location
On-site
Seniority
Senior
Posted
4 Jun 2026 (Yesterday)

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements Competitive day rate
Share
Save job
Create job alert

AI Architect (Contract)

Duration: Initial 6 months (with strong extension potential)


About the Role

We're working with a forward-thinking organisation looking to engage an experienced AI Architect on a contract basis to drive the design and delivery of enterprise-grade AI solutions.This role is ideal for a highly skilled consultant who can operate at both a strategic and hands-on level, helping shape AI capability while delivering real, production-ready outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

  • Define and implement the AI architecture strategy and roadmap
  • Design scalable, secure, and high-performance AI/ML solutions
  • Translate business requirements into end-to-end AI architectures
  • Lead the design of data pipelines, model training environments, and deployment frameworks
  • Implement best practices for MLOps, CI/CD, and model life cycle management
  • Evaluate and recommend AI tools, platforms, and frameworks
  • Ensure alignment with data governance, security, and regulatory requirements (e.g. GDPR)
  • Collaborate with key stakeholders across data, engineering, and business teams
  • Provide technical leadership and architectural oversight across AI initiatives

Experience Required

  • Extensive experience (typically 8-12+ years) in technology, with a strong focus on AI, machine learning, and data architecture
  • Proven track record of delivering enterprise-scale AI/ML solutions in complex environments
  • Experience defining and implementing AI architecture strategies and roadmaps
  • Strong hands-on experience building end-to-end AI systems (data pipelines, model development, deployment, monitoring)
  • Deep experience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP) and cloud-native architecture
  • Strong background in data engineering and large-scale data platforms (e.g., Spark, Databricks)
  • Experience implementing MLOps frameworks, including CI/CD and model governance
  • Experience integrating AI into microservices, APIs, and enterprise systems
  • Exposure to advanced AI techniques such as NLP, deep learning, and Generative AI / LLMs
  • Strong understanding of AI governance, ethics, and compliance requirements
  • Proven ability to work in cross-functional, stakeholder-heavy environments
  • Experience in a senior or architect-level role, with strong technical leadership capability

Key Skills

  • Python (or similar programming languages)
  • TensorFlow, PyTorch, or similar ML frameworks
  • Cloud AI services (Azure AI, AWS SageMaker, GCP AI Platform)
  • Data technologies (SQL/NoSQL, Spark, Databricks)
  • API and microservices architecture
  • DevOps / MLOps tooling

Desirable Experience

  • Experience with Generative AI solutions (e.g. Azure OpenAI, GPT-based models)
  • Microsoft stack experience (Azure, Fabric, Synapse)
  • Previous consulting or contract experience in enterprise environments
  • Industry experience in [Finance / Retail / Healthcare - tailor if needed]

What's on Offer

  • Opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI initiatives
  • High-impact role shaping AI strategy and delivery
  • Flexible working arrangements
  • Competitive day rate with long-term extension potential

Apply Now

If you're an experienced AI Architect available for your next contract and ready to deliver impactful AI solutions, we'd love to hear from you.

Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job you accept the T&C's, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers which can be found at hays.co.uk

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Principal AI & Data Architect

Tenth Revolution Group London, United Kingdom
£80,000 – £110,000 pa Hybrid

AI Engineer - Cardiff

Circle Recruitment Cardiff, Cymru / Wales, CF10 2AF, United Kingdom
£40,000 – £55,000 pa Hybrid

Solutions Architect (Retail/CPG)

Databricks London, United Kingdom

Head of AI

Morgan Hunt Recruitment E18Aa, E1 8AA, United Kingdom
£70,000 – £80,000 pa Hybrid

Lead Data Scientist

Talent Locker Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 7JT, United Kingdom
£550 – £650 pd Hybrid Clearance Required

AI Technical Architect

Randstad Technologies Recruitment London, City And County Of the City Of London, United Kingdom
£500 – £600 pd Remote Clearance Required

Industry Insights

Discover insightful articles, industry insights, expert tips, and curated resources.

Products

Where to Advertise Data Science Jobs in the UK (2026 Guide)

Where to advertise data science jobs UK in 2026: the specialist boards, communities and channels that actually reach senior and lead data science talent. Data science spans a broad and often misunderstood spectrum — from statistical modelling and experimental design through to machine learning engineering, product analytics and AI research. The strongest candidates identify firmly with specific subdisciplines and are frustrated by adverts that conflate data scientist with data analyst, business intelligence developer or machine learning engineer. General job boards produce high application volumes for data roles but consistently fail to match specialist data science profiles with the right opportunities. This guide, published by DataScienceJobs.co.uk, covers where to advertise data science roles in the UK in 2026, how the main platforms compare, what employers should expect to pay, and what the data says about hiring across different role types.

Jobs

Data Science Jobs UK 2026: What to Expect Over the Next 3 Years

Data Science Jobs UK 2026: roles, salaries and the trends shaping UK data science hiring over the next three years — from MLE crossover to GenAI workflows. Data science has spent the past decade being described as the sexiest job of the twenty-first century. By 2026, the reality is both more nuanced and more interesting than that label ever suggested. The discipline has matured, fragmented, deepened, and in some respects reinvented itself — and the jobs market has changed with it in ways that create genuine opportunity for those who understand what employers actually want, and genuine difficulty for those still operating on assumptions formed five years ago. The data science jobs market of 2026 is not simply a larger version of what it was three years ago. The generalist data scientist — equally comfortable wrangling data, building models, and presenting insights to the board — is giving way to a more specialised landscape where employers know exactly what problem they are trying to solve and are looking for candidates with the specific depth to solve it. Machine learning engineering, causal inference, experimentation, AI product development, and domain-specific applied science have all emerged as distinct career tracks within what was previously a single, loosely defined profession. At the same time, the arrival of large language models and the broader AI capability wave has both threatened and created data science roles in equal measure. Some of the work that junior data scientists spent their early careers doing — data cleaning, exploratory analysis, basic model building — is being partially automated by AI tooling. But the demand for practitioners who can evaluate AI systems rigorously, apply statistical thinking to complex business problems, and build the data foundations on which AI depends has grown considerably. The candidates who will thrive over the next three years are those who understand where the discipline is heading — which specialisms are attracting the most investment, which technologies are reshaping what data scientists are expected to build and know, and how to position a data science career that will remain valuable as the field continues to evolve around them. This article breaks down what the UK data science jobs market is likely to look like through to 2028 — covering the titles emerging right now, the technologies driving employer demand, the skills that will matter most, and how to position your career ahead of the curve.

🍪 Basic, anonymous analytics (aggregate counts only, never shared) are always on. Accept to also enable third-party tools — Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, Mixpanel, Leadfeeder — which help us match you with relevant Data Science roles. We never sell your data or use it for cross-site advertising. See our Cookie Policy.