Lead AI Engineer, AI Lab

Who we are

Since 1843, The Economist Group has championed independence, excellence and openness, helping people understand and tackle the critical challenges shaping the world. Today, we are building on that legacy as a global media and information-services company powered by digital innovation, analytical rigour and evidence-based insight.

Across our three businesses - The Economist, Economist Enterprise and Economist Education - we deliver trusted analysis and insights to individuals and organisations in more than 170 countries. United by a shared purpose to drive progress, we empower decision-makers to make sense of change and chart a course through an increasingly complex world.

As a colleague, you will be part of a culture that values ideas, encourages ownership and holds itself to high standards. We invest in people who are curious, thoughtful and adaptable, whether they are launching new products, reporting on global events or harnessing emerging technologies such as AI to improve how we work. Here, fresh thinking is taken seriously, ambition is matched by integrity, and great work is recognised. Working across disciplines, geographies and perspectives, we are united by a commitment to innovation, excellence and creating meaningful impact.

We are now hiring a Lead AI Engineer to join this work. This is a permanent, senior role within the AI Lab that will help shape and build the next generation of AI-powered Economist experiences. This is a unique opportunity to work with a small team that is shaping how one of the world's most respected media brands adapts to advances in AI.

This hire will play an especially important role over the next 6 to 12 months, providing senior technical leadership and continuity while our current Technical Lead is on maternity leave. After that period, they will remain a core senior member of the Lab, helping shape its technical direction and lead the development of future prototypes and AI innovation.

This is a hands-on role for someone who combines strong engineering judgement with deep familiarity with modern AI systems. You will help turn promising ideas into working prototypes, assess emerging technologies, and guide technical decisions across the AI Lab's work. You should be comfortable operating in an exploratory environment where not every question has a clear answer, but where disciplined experimentation and practical delivery matter.

This role will be based in our London headquarters.

Responsibilities

Provide senior technical leadership for the AI Lab's work, ensuring continuity and momentum during a period of maternity cover

Design, build and iterate on prototypes and experimental concepts using frontier AI capabilities across areas such as text, audio, voice, video and multimodal experiences

Lead technical investigation and experimentation, including testing new models, methods and workflows

Partner with commercial, editorial and other technology teams to support the testing, scaling and launch of concepts developed by the AI Lab

Shape and implement the right technical architectures for AI Lab prototypes and experiments - balancing speed, quality, flexibility and longer-term scalability

Help the Lab identify where advances in AI could create distinctive value for Economist audiences and products

Contribute to the Lab's longer-term technical direction, helping decide what capabilities to build, test or scale over time

Support and, where appropriate, mentor other technical contributors working on Lab initiatives

What sort of person we are looking for

A strong technical builder with deep curiosity who enjoys turning emerging ideas into tangible products and prototypes

Comfortable taking ownership and being autonomous in an uncertain, fast-moving environment

Works well in a small team with the freedom to make decisions and communicate clearly with others

Combines technical knowledge with business sense to ensure that research supports company goals and editorial standards

Able to switch between hands-on engineering, technical strategy and clear communication with non-technical colleagues

Understands The Economist's core values of classical liberalism, intellectual rigour and editorial independence

Specific skills and expertise

Significant experience building with modern generative AI models and systems in production or advanced prototype settings

Strong software engineering skills, with the ability to design and implement robust prototypes quickly and thoughtfully

Experience working across multiple modalities such as text, audio, voice, video or conversational interfaces

Good judgement in selecting and evaluating models, tooling and system architectures for different use cases

Ability to explain technical concepts, opportunities and constraints clearly to non-technical audiences

Experience defining practical evaluation approaches for AI systems, including quality, reliability and usability

Strong candidates might also have

Experience in a startup, innovation, advanced product or R&D environment

Experience in building B2C customer-facing AI products or features in content-rich or editorial domains

Interest or experience in media, journalism, information products or knowledge-rich domains

Familiarity with fine-tuning, benchmarking, model evaluation and experimentation workflows

Experience with orchestration frameworks, tool-using systems and agentic patterns

Experience leading senior technical work during periods of ambiguity, change or team transition

How to submit an application

Candidates should submit a CV and optional cover letter.

More about the Economist AI Lab:

We believe AI will fundamentally change both our business and the world around us, making our mission more vital than ever. While we already use AI across The Economist Group, we think the changes to come in the next few years could be even more far-reaching.

This is why we have established the Economist AI Lab–to reimagine Economist journalism for an AI-driven world. It is a deliberately ambitious project, exploring new ideas and possibilities beyond our existing AI initiatives and engineering roadmap.

A small, dedicated team, the AI Lab serves as an innovation engine for The Economist –investigating bold new ideas that will shape how we serve our global audience in the future

#LI-Hybrid

Working Arrangements

The majority of our roles operate on a hybrid working pattern, with 3+ days office attendance required.

AI usage for your application

We are an innovative organisation that encourages the use of technology. We recognise that candidates may utilise AI tools to support with their job application process. However, it is essential that all information you provide truthfully and accurately reflects your own experience, skills, and qualifications.

What we offer

Our benefits package is designed to support your wellbeing, growth, and work-life balance. It includes a highly competitive pension or 401(k) plan, private health insurance, and 24/7 access to counselling and wellbeing resources through our Employee Assistance Program.

We also offer a range of lifestyle benefits, including our Work From Anywhere program, which allows you to work from any location where you have the legal right to do so for up to 25 days per year. In addition, we provide generous annual and parental leave, as well as dedicated days off for volunteering and even for moving home.

You will also be given free access to all The Economist content, including an online subscription, our range of apps, podcasts and more.