AI Engineer Lead

Job Description:

Lead AI innovation by designing scalable, secure GenAI solutions. Drive transformation, mentor teams, and collaborate with stakeholders to deliver measurable business value. Shape the future of AI at a global scale-where technology meets strategic impact. About the job Job purpose As an AI Engineering Lead, your main objective is to lead the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of production-grade AI and GenAI solutions that support AXA Group's strategic priorities. Working at the forefront of GenAI and Agentic AI technologies, you will help transform innovation into strategic business value across AXA entities. This is a unique opportunity to grow at the heart of AXA's AI transformation, contributing to high-visibility initiatives and engaging directly with AXA Group and entity executive leaders. You will provide technical leadership across a broad portfolio of AI engineering topics, including GenAI evaluation and AI usage and cost governance, while working closely with business and technology stakeholders to deliver scalable, reliable, secure, and measurable AI capabilities. Main missions Your responsibilities include: Engage proactively with AXA entities and business units, facilitating ongoing dialogue, co-constructing AI solutions, and guiding stakeholders through complex decisions to ensure alignment, adoption, and shared success. Lead the design, development, deployment, and operation of AI and GenAI solutions that deliver measurable value for AXA entities. Contribute to the evolution of shared AI engineering practices, including evaluation, observability, performance, cost efficiency, safety, and lifecycle governance. Support key topics such as GenAI application evaluation and AI consumption optimisation, while maintaining flexibility to take ownership of new AI engineering priorities over time. Collaborate with cross-functional teams including data scientists, data engineers, product managers, platform teams, and business stakeholders to identify opportunities and translate them into robust technical solutions. Define reusable patterns, standards, and guardrails for scalable, reliable, secure, and responsible AI systems across the organisation. Lead and mentor AI engineers, fostering engineering excellence, pragmatism, curiosity, and continuous improvement. Expected skills & experience We are looking for someone with the following experience and skills: Experience 5+ years delivering AI/ML-enabled products, GenAI applications, or AI platforms in production environments, with experience across the full lifecycle from design and implementation to monitoring and continuous improvement. Experience contributing to evaluation, observability, reliability, or optimisation practices for GenAI applications such as RAG, conversational assistants, workflow automation, or agentic systems. Good understanding of AI operational drivers, including quality, latency, cost, usage, safety, privacy, and business value, with the ability to balance them pragmatically. Demonstrated leadership experience in managing engineering teams or cross-functional project teams. Experience working in the insurance, financial services, or another regulated industry is a plus. Technical skills Strong software engineering foundations for production-grade AI systems, including Python or similar languages, APIs, integration patterns, monitoring, and automation. Solid understanding of GenAI application patterns, including RAG, conversational assistants, workflow automation, and agentic or tool-using systems. Ability to define and operate evaluation approaches for GenAI systems, covering quality criteria, regression testing, human feedback, performance measurement, reliability, and risk controls. Understanding AI consumption and cost drivers, such as model selection, context management, prompt design, caching, routing, orchestration, infrastructure choices, and usage governance. Experience with observability and operational monitoring for AI applications, including tracing, latency, reliability, usage, cost efficiency, and continuous improvement indicators. Ability to establish practical guardrails for responsible AI engineering, balancing performance, cost, safety, security, privacy, sustainability, and compliance requirements. Soft skills / transversal skills Team management: experience in leading, coaching junior team members Project management: lead end-to-end GenAI initiatives, define scope, milestones, timelines, budgets, resource planning, risk management, and ensure on-time, on-budget delivery. Stakeholder management: partner with product, business units, compliance, security, legal, and operations; translate business needs into concrete requirements; manage expectations; maintain governance artifacts and transparent status updates. Storytelling and communication: craft compelling narratives around GenAI initiatives, translate complex concepts into clear executive summaries and user stories, and present results effectively to technical and non-technical audiences; develop metrics dashboards and impact narratives. Agile mindset with a commitment to continuous improvement, iterative delivery, backlog prioritization, and value-driven outcomes. Collaboration and adaptability: strong teamwork across cross-functional and multicultural environments; excellent English communication and interpersonal skills. Passion for solving challenging problems with cutting-edge GenAI technologies, coupled with curiosity and a proven ability to learn and apply new techniques and research advances. What we offer We bring together the expertise, cultural diversity and creativity of over 8,000 employees worldwide and we're committed to equal opportunities in all aspects of employment (gender, LGBT+, disabled persons, or people of different origins) and to promoting Diversity & Inclusion by creating a work environment where all employees are treated with dignity and respect, and where individual differences are valued. About the entity AXA is becoming a sustainable tech-led company and at AXA Group Operations we are one of the major catalysts for this transformation. We set the tone by triggering and empowering the evolution of our insurance business model through technology and innovation, driving its concrete implementation globally at speed, with a high quality of advisory and execution. We are present across 17 countries with committed, highly qualified teams. We leverage technology, data, sourcing, security and investment allocation in a global way, but also achieve economies of scale and synergies when necessary. At AXA Group Operations, we want to be recognized in three fields of action: State-of-the-art Data Technology to drive customer experience State-of-the-art Procurement & Sourcing to drive efficiency and better manage risks High-Performing Global Team for stronger partnerships with AXA entities About AXA As a world-leading insurance company, we act for human progress by protecting what matters. With 153,000 employees in 54 countries working for 105 million customers, we've created a truly dynamic and vibrant community. Inclusion and diversity link closely with our values, and together we're nurturing a culture of respect, for each other, for our customers and the communities around us. Join AXA and you'll feel like you belong, are included and can thrive. You'll be able to shape the way you work and truly grow your potential as you seek out new opportunities, push boundaries and benefit people in critical moments of their lives. This is your chance to build the tomorrow you want. Know you can. #LI-OA1 #LI-Hybrid