Principal Engineering Lead, AI Enabled Solutions

Job Details We're the world's leading data, insights, and consulting company; we shape the brands of tomorrow by better understanding people everywhere. About The Job We are looking for a talented Principal Engineering Lead, AI Enabled Solutions to join our engineering community. Together we are building, enhancing and supporting the next generation of our platform. This role is perfect for a highly experienced software engineer or software architect who loves to work as a team whilst building elegant and simple solutions that scale. Job Goals The Principal Engineering Lead, AI Enabled Solutions, plays a crucial role in driving Kantar's technology transformation by architecting and delivering scalable AI solutions. Your expertise in machine learning, generative AI, and cloud-native engineering will directly impact how we unlock insights for clients, enhancing our platform's capability and maintaining Kantar's market leadership. You will be responsible for leading the technical direction of AI projects, mentoring engineers, and fostering innovation within the team. By collaborating with Data Science, Product Management, and wider technology groups, you will translate complex AI concepts into actionable business strategies, ensuring our solutions are robust, secure, and aligned with organisational goals. Ideal Skills & Capabilities Core AI and Technical Skills Proven experience in AI engineering, including building, deploying, and maintaining machine learning and generative AI solutions (e.g., LLMs, embeddings, RAG, vector search, model fine-tuning). Strong knowledge of MLOps practices for continuous integration, deployment, and monitoring of ML/AI models. Experience with AI-specific infrastructure, such as model orchestration pipelines, GPU-based compute, and AI model hosting services. Understanding of vector databases, semantic search, and scalable data structures for AI applications. Familiarity with AI governance, responsible AI principles, and model evaluation techniques. Software Engineering Skills Deep expertise in Microsoft .NET Core, C#, and modern back-end technologies, with the ability to code across multiple languages such as Python, Go, or TypeScript. Strong understanding of microservices architecture, distributed systems, and cloud-native design patterns. Experience with SQL databases (e.g., Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL) and NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB, CosmosDB). Proficiency in synchronous and asynchronous APIs, messaging frameworks, and event-driven systems. Secure coding practices with a strong grasp of cybersecurity threats, especially in the context of AI and data privacy. Cloud & Infrastructure Experience deploying large-scale AI and software solutions on Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud. Familiarity with containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes). Knowledge of cloud-native data pipelines and serverless computing environments. Leadership & Collaboration 2–4 years in a principal engineer, technical lead, or software architect role, demonstrating strong technical leadership in both AI and software engineering. Experience mentoring teams and fostering a culture of continuous learning and technical excellence. Ability to translate complex AI concepts into actionable strategies for technical and business stakeholders. Strong communication skills with proven success collaborating across diverse teams, including Data Science and Product Management. Front-End and User Experience (Optional) Experience with UI development technologies such as Angular, TypeScript, JavaScript, HTML5, and modern frameworks to build AI-driven user interfaces. Please be aware, the majority of our roles are hybrid, working three days a week in our office. We're not able to offer visa sponsorship or help with relocation support for this role. Please make sure you've got the right to work in the country where this role is located before applying. What part of Kantar might I be joining? You'll be joining our technology team, right in the middle of our tech revolution. We're undergoing the largest technology transformation Kantar has ever seen, investing in new AI and cloud technologies. By modernizing all our tech systems, we can respond our clients' needs faster and more efficiently – and keep Kantar as a market leader for insights. Why join Kantar? We shape the brands of tomorrow by better understanding people everywhere. By understanding people, we can understand what drives their decisions, actions, and aspirations on a global scale. And if we combine the expertise of our people with the latest AI technology, we can really help brands discover some amazing insights. And because we know people, we like to make sure our own people are being looked after as well. Equality of opportunity for everyone is our highest priority and we support our colleagues to work in a way works for them. We encourage applications from all backgrounds and sections of society. Even if you feel like you're not an exact match, we'd love to receive your application and talk to you about this job or others at Kantar. Privacy and Legal Statement At Kantar, the diversity of our employees provides a richer environment for our employees and broader depth and breadth of thinking for our clients. Kantar is committed to inclusion and diversity; therefore, we welcome applications from all sections of society and do not discriminate based on age, race, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, marital status, or any other legally protected characteristics. PRIVACY DISCLOSURE: Please note that by applying to this opportunity you consent to the personal data you provide to us to be processed and retained by The Kantar Group Limited ("Kantar"). Your details will be kept on our Internal ATS (Applicant Tracking System) for as long as is necessary for the purposes of recruitment, which may include your details being shared with the hiring manager.