Principal AI Data Engineer
Contract role: Principal AI Data Engineer
Contract Location: London, 5 days onsite weekly
Contract Start Date: August 2026
Contract Duration: 4 months
Payroll provider: Rockford Payroll Info for Contingent Workers – Rockford Pay
Job Description:
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and evaluate AI/GenAI/AgenticAI prototypes
using tools like Copilot Studio, AI Foundry and Copilot Analyst Agent, Mosiac
AI, Genie, AgentBricks, MLflow with a focus on quick wins and enterprise
integration.
- Build and tune Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
systems, including embedding model selection, prompt engineering, and traceable
evaluation.
- Design and deploy basic AI agents using frameworks
such as LangChain, AutoGen, and smolagents
- Communicate complex AI concepts clearly to business
stakeholders and cross-functional teams.
- Collaborate on E platform enhancements and work within
its current limitations.
- Deploy models and applications using Azure OpenAI, Azure
AI Foundry, Databricks Mosaic Gateway, and Docker.
- Follow DevOps best practices including CI/CD
pipelines, testing, linting, and GitHub workflows.
- Write modular, reusable code using OOP design patterns
in Python (Pydantic, PyTorch, etc.).
- Operate in agile teams and contribute to sprint
planning, reviews, and retrospectives.
- Deliver hands on GenAI/AgenticAI systems used directly
by commercial teams within Trading & Supply, taking solutions from
prototype to production
- Apply engineering skills (emphasis on Databricks) and
research skills across experimentation, rapid prototyping, and iterative
delivery. Someone who puts emphasis on reproducibility and open source, manages
large-scale text and structured datasets on Databricks.
- Build AI capability, manage stakeholders and
communicate effectively to ensure alignment between business needs and AI
solutions, and a quick understanding of commercial operations that happen in
T&S
- Design and run evaluation and testing frameworks for
GenAI systems, including benchmarking, reproducibility checks, and structured
model assessments
- Build solutions using Databricks infrastructure,
Genie, MLflow (deployment and tracing and evaluations), LangChain, and
LangGraph, and integrate them into scalable AI workflows and architectures
- Contribute to system planning, architectural design,
and structured testing to ensure long term reliability, performance, and
maintainability
- Preferably also someone who can set the building
blocks and lead building out the backlog
Required Skills
- Bachelor or Master or equivalent in Statistics,
Mathematics, Econometrics or similar discipline with at least 8-12 years’
experience on data science/AI projects.
- Deep understanding of LLM families (GPT, Llama,
Claude, Mistral) and their reasoning capabilities.
- Strong experience with Databricks- DLT,
Delta Lake concepts, UC governance.
- Solid understanding of streaming
technologies (e.g., Spark Structured Streaming, Autoloader)
- Programming skills in Python, SQL, or Scala.
- Proficiency in data modelling,
ETL/ELT processes, and data architecture.
- Strong analytical background with problem-solving
skills.
- Performance tuning concepts like watermarking, late
data handling, parallelism & checkpointing.
- Hands-on expertise in ADF, and Qlik
Replicate for data ingestion and replication.
- Experience working in Azure cloud
environments.
- Experience with GenAI evaluation frameworks and benchmarking
methodologies.
- Experience in MS Copilot, AI Foundry , Databricks
(MosiacAI, MLflow, Agentbricks, Genie)
- Strong Git practices and collaborative coding
standards.
- A passion for and expertise in practicing data science
to solve real-world problems.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Strong interpersonal skills and enthusiasm for
teamwork, as well as the ability to work independently.
- Familiarity with the enterprise AI platforms and
governance models is a plus.
- Strong decision-making abilities, using data-driven
insights to make informed choices that align with organizational goals.
- Skills in managing conflicts and facilitating
effective resolutions to maintain a positive and productive team dynamic.
- Ability to engage with and manage expectations of
various stakeholders, including executives, project managers, and other teams.
- Proficiency in identifying potential risks in data
projects and implementing strategies to mitigate them.
- Strong commitment and ownership of project delivery.