VP Engineering, AI-First Transformation

VP Engineering – AI-First Engineering Leadership Remote (UK) | £130,000–£140,000 + bonus + equity participation Our client is a global, private equity-backed leader in risk management and assurance. It operates in more than 50 countries and is entering its next five-year growth phase, with major investment committed and a significant technology-focused M&A pipeline. They're hiring a VP Engineering to change how their software is built. This is a new role, created to take a talented engineering team of around 30 and turn it into an AI-first function. It comes with the autonomy, budget and executive backing to do it properly. You'll start with a focused team. With large acquisitions in the pipeline, including a sizeable US-based engineering organisation, the function is expected to grow significantly over the next 12 to 24 months. They are ideally looking for passionate & ambitious leaders who are looking for a step up and living/ breathing the world of AI! What you'll do Lead the move to AI-first engineering: agentic AI embedded across the full development lifecycle, from requirements through to build, test and release.Put the right foundations in place (standards, golden paths, MD files, stage gates, reusable scaffolding) so engineers and AI tooling move fast without sacrificing quality.Restructure the engineering function for a product-led operating model, moving from project-based delivery to long-lived, product-aligned teams.Set a modern, pragmatic architecture direction: event-driven patterns and "just enough" governance, replacing heavyweight design documentation.Build and develop a strong leadership layer, reshaping structure and roles as you see fit.Define how engineering performance is measured (DORA, cycle time, time to release) and deliver a clear step-change.Shape the engineering side of a multi-year programme to digitise the client experience end to end.Integrate and scale engineering teams joining through acquisition.Act as the senior engineering voice to the CEO and the executive team. What you'll bring Hands-on engineering leadership: you've led teams of 20 or more engineers through leads, and you're still close to the technology.Personal, current AI experience. You build with AI tooling yourself, you're across the latest models, and you have recent examples of what worked, what broke and what changed.Experience moving a team to AI-assisted or agentic development, with the structure to make it stick.A track record of changing how a function builds, not just running or inheriting one.A background in product-led environments. Scale-up, startup or high-growth product businesses would be particularly relevant.A strong grounding in modern software architecture, cloud and continuous delivery. The stack is Microsoft (Azure, C#, .NET, React), but adaptability matters more than stack.Energy, pace and the ability to bring people with you, from engineers to the boardroom. This role suits someone on the way up: an ambitious Head of Engineering or Engineering Director who is ready for a bigger stage. What's on offer Base salary up to £140,000, with a 10–15% bonus (potential flex)The opportunity to participate in a management incentive plan.Fully remote within the UK, with occasional office visits in London or Birmingham.Direct access to the CEO and board-level mentorship from an experienced AI and technology founder.Real autonomy over structure, ways of working and technical direction.A role that will scale significantly through acquisition.