Lead AI Engineer

DeepLight AI is a specialist AI and data consultancy dedicated to transforming the regional corporate landscape through bespoke, high-impact intelligent systems. We combine deep quantitative expertise, cutting-edge cloud architecture, and modern MLOps to engineer secure, scalable, and resilient platforms designed to power enterprise AI at scale.

With deep roots across the financial services and banking sectors in the UAE, we help major institutions bridge the gap between experimental models and production-grade AI platforms. We don't build temporary fixes or isolated prototypes—we engineer bulletproof, banking-grade AI solutions for high-stakes enterprise transformations.

The Opportunity

We are seeking an exceptional Lead AI Engineer to serve as a technical authority, client principal, and line manager across our enterprise engagements in the UAE.

This role sits at the intersection of quantitative science, agentic AI architectures, modern MLOps, and strategic consulting. Beyond technical leadership, you will hold direct line management responsibility for a squad of 5–10 AI Engineers, Data Scientists, and MLOps specialists—taking ownership of 1-on-1 coaching, career pathways, performance appraisals, and team wellbeing while fostering high technical standards and psychological safety under project commitments.

What You’ll Do

• Direct Line Management & Mentorship: Act as line manager for a dedicated squad of AI engineers and data scientists. Own regular 1-on-1s, performance reviews, career growth frameworks, and pair-programming sessions to elevate engineering craft and team morale.
• Architect Autonomous & Agentic Workflows: Design, build, and deploy enterprise-grade LLM agents, multi-step agentic workflows, RAG pipelines, and machine learning models on modern cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure).
• Lead Client Strategy & Technical Execution: Act as a primary technical advisor to client C-suite, Chief AI Officers, and Engineering Leads. Translate complex business challenges into clear technical execution blueprints, evaluation harnesses, and delivery roadmaps.
• Navigate Complex Stakeholder Environments: Use high EQ to de-escalate project friction, align disparate business and IT agendas, and defend technical choices, explainability models, and AI ethics before architecture review boards (ARBs) and risk committees.
• Enforce Banking-Grade Security & MLOps: Design zero-trust AI security frameworks, prompt injection defenses, PII masking protocols, and automated CI/CD pipelines compliant with regional regulatory frameworks (such as UAE PDPL and Central Bank rules).As an AI consultancy, our greatest asset is the expertise of our people.
While technical mastery is the foundation of what we do, the ability to bridge the gap between complex data science and actionable business value is what defines your success with Deeplight.
We're looking for individuals who are not only world-class in their fields of specialism, but also compelling communicators and persuasive advocates for their own skills.
You will be the face of our firm, tasked with building trust, articulating the "why" behind your technical decisions, and effectively "selling" your vision to high-level stakeholders.
If you thrive on the challenge of presenting cutting-edge solutions as much as you do on building them, you will fit right in.

What We’re Looking For

• Line Management Record: 3+ years of formal line management experience directly managing, coaching, and developing engineers, data scientists, and technical specialists.
• Academic Foundation: A Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, Theoretical Physics, Physics, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related quantitative field.
• Consulting & Technical Leadership: 8+ years in software engineering, machine learning, and AI platform development, with substantial experience leading teams inside top-tier technology or management consultancies.
• Hands-on Agentic & Python Skills: Advanced proficiency in Python and demonstrable experience personally implementing autonomous AI agents, tool calling, state management, and multi-agent workflows.
• High Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Exceptional interpersonal awareness, active listening skills, and social grace to navigate enterprise politics, build authentic client trust, and lead teams with empathy.
• Production Focus: Proven track record of taking complex AI/ML systems out of experimental notebooks and into secure, high-concurrency production cloud environments.

What Gives You an Edge

• Fine-Tuning & Self-Hosted LLMs: Practical experience with parameter-efficient fine-tuning (LoRA, QLoRA), quantization, and serving open-weight LLMs (vLLM, Ollama, TGI).
• Sector Background: Prior experience building and deploying AI models within financial services, banking, or capital markets.
• GCC / UAE Market Exposure: Experience navigating enterprise procurement, client dynamics, and local regulatory frameworks across the UAE or broader GCC region.

Why Deeplight AI?

At Deeplight AI, you won't be building isolated proofs of concept—you will be designing and deploying foundational AI engines while building and nurturing the talent that powers them. You will work alongside sharp, collaborative peers, lead high-impact client engagements, and help shape the future of a rapidly growing consultancy.

The benefits you'll enjoy as part of this role include:

• Competitive salary
• Comprehensive 'Gold Level' personal health insurance
• Individual Visa Sponsorship
• Professional development and certification support
• Subscription reimbursement relating to your role
• Opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI projects
• Monthly Employee Incentive program
• Career advancement opportunities in a rapidly growing AI company
This position offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of AI implementation while working with a talented team of professionals at the forefront of technological innovation. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in driving our company's success in delivering transformative AI solutions to our clients.

At DeepLight AI, we recognise that diversity drives innovation. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where individuals with different thinking styles can thrive and contribute their unique strengths to our specialised AI and data solutions.

Our goal is to ensure our application and interview process is accessible, predictable, and fair for all candidates.

If you require any specific adjustments to the application process, or if you require any reasonable adjustments should you be successful in being processed to the interview stage, please do let us know. This information will be kept strictly confidential and will not impact hiring decisions.