Lead AI & Automation Engineer

Lead AI & Automation Engineer £85,000 - £100,000 Base Salary + Bonus + Equity London (Hybrid) Joining a company at the right stage of growth can define a career. Our client has grown into a global leader in DMARC and email security, helping organisations protect one of their most critical business assets - the inbox. Serving customers ranging from family-run businesses to global enterprises, the company has established itself as one of the most trusted names in email authentication and protection. Backed by a successful $54 million Series B funding round and operating as a pre-IPO business, they are now focused on scaling their operations through automation, AI, and intelligent process design. As part of that investment, they are looking to appoint a Lead AI & Automation Engineer to identify opportunities to improve how the business operates and build the technology to make it happen. Sitting at the intersection of software engineering, AI, data, and business operations, this is a hands-on technical leadership role for someone who can identify process gaps, challenge inefficient ways of working, and turn ideas into working solutions. What You'll Be Doing Identifying Automation Opportunities Work with teams across the business to understand how processes work today and identify opportunities to remove manual effort, improve efficiency, and solve operational pain points. You'll look for repetitive tasks, process gaps, manual data handling, disconnected systems, and areas where AI or automation could fundamentally improve how work gets done. Prototyping & Building Solutions This is a hands-on engineering role. You'll be expected to take identified opportunities and build proofs of concept, prototypes and production solutions. This could involve developing bespoke software, APIs and integrations, internal applications, automated workflows, AI-powered tools, or other technology solutions depending on the problem. Driving AI Adoption Identify opportunities to apply AI, LLMs, agents and other emerging technologies to real business challenges. You'll experiment with new approaches, build POCs and evaluate where AI can genuinely improve processes rather than simply applying technology for its own sake. Working Cross-Functionally Work closely with stakeholders across Sales, Finance, Marketing, Customer Success, HR and other functions to uncover pain points and translate operational challenges into practical technical solutions. You'll need to be comfortable working with senior stakeholders, challenging existing processes and communicating technical concepts clearly. Delivering Business Impact Create solutions that improve efficiency, reduce manual effort, enhance visibility, and support better decision-making across the organisation. You'll focus on measurable outcomes and be able to demonstrate the impact of the solutions you build. Technical Leadership Provide technical leadership across AI and automation initiatives while remaining hands-on. You'll help shape engineering approaches, mentor others where appropriate, and establish scalable and reliable approaches to building automation and AI solutions. What You Should Have: Strong Software Engineering Background A proven track record in software engineering, application development, technical architecture, or a similar engineering-led environment. We're looking for someone who can build software themselves and has the technical depth to design, prototype and implement solutions rather than simply identify automation opportunities. Strong Technical Capability Hands-on experience working with: Software development and modern engineering practices.APIs and systems integrations.Cloud technologies and data platforms.AI-powered tools including LLMs, agents, analytics platforms, and document processing technologies.Workflow automation platforms such as Zapier, Make, n8n, Workato, or similar solutions.The specific tools are less important than having the engineering capability to understand a problem, identify the right technical approach and build the solution. Technical Leadership & Stakeholder Experience Experience operating at Senior, Lead, Staff, Principal or equivalent engineering level, with the ability to influence stakeholders and drive change. You'll be comfortable working with senior leaders, understanding business problems, challenging existing approaches and turning ambiguous requirements into practical solutions. Business & Technical Fluency The ability to comfortably operate across business and technical domains, identifying process inefficiencies and translating them into scalable technology solutions. AI-First Mindset Someone who naturally asks, "How should AI change this process?" rather than simply improving existing workflows. You should have hands-on experience experimenting with or building AI-enabled solutions. Outcome-Focused Approach A pragmatic mindset focused on value delivered rather than tools used. You're motivated by measurable impact, not activity. Ownership & Initiative You're proactive, comfortable working with ambiguity, and don't wait to be told where improvements need to be made. Nice to Have Experience working within high-growth SaaS or cybersecurity businesses.Experience in AI-first organisations.Background in Software Engineering, Engineering, Product, Operations, Analytics, or Business Transformation.Experience building internal software, automation platforms or business applications.Experience with AI agents, LLM applications or AI-powered workflows.Experience with Salesforce integrations. What You'll Get Up to £100,000 base salary DOEBonus planEquity participation25 days annual leave plus public holidaysSelf-development budget for coaching, training courses, and industry eventsPrivate health insuranceGym membershipMaternity and paternity leaveCycle-to-work schemeOne volunteer day each year to give backHybrid working modelGenuine ownership and influence across the businessOpportunity to shape how AI, software engineering and automation support the future growth of a global cybersecurity company