Principal Engineer (Gen AI and MACH Architecture) at AKQA Ltd
AKQA Ltd · London
- Occupation group: Engineering & Construction
- Licensed sponsor: AKQA Ltd
Employer on register 23 October 2026
From the advert
At AKQA (part of WPP), we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful ideas, products and services. With an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach, we design and build adaptive digital products, services and experiences that capture the imagination and deliver impressive returns for our clients.
We are looking for a senior, architecture-led Principal Engineer to join our London Technology team. This is a hands-on engineering role, not a strategy-only or evangelism position. You will spend the majority of your time designing, building and shipping enterprise-grade systems, with roughly 65 to 70% hands-on delivery and 30 to 35% technical leadership, architecture and team guidance.
You will lead the technical direction of complex client programmes across MACH architectures and production Generative AI; spanning Design to Code workflows, solution design and API contracts through to cloud infrastructure, deployment and ongoing operation. You will own architecture decisions, write and review production code, and mentor engineers, while remaining accountable for what ships, not just what is proposed.
Production Generative AI experience is essential. You must have at least three years' experience working with Generative AI, and have delivered at least one AI capability into a live, enterprise environment; not limited to prototypes, proofs of concept or demo builds. We need engineers who understand retrieval pipelines, evaluation, cost, governance and operational reliability at scale; including where custom model creation, fine-tuning or adaptation is required for production delivery.
AKQA is advanced in Design Systems and Design to Code practice; from Figma design systems through to UI development and application delivery. Generative AI is increasingly embedded across this design-to-application workflow, accelerating the path from design intent to production-ready code and experiences.
The Principal Engineer (Tech Lead) is a key…
Advert text as supplied by the employer's job board; it may be a shortened extract.
Summary
Principal Engineer (Gen AI and MACH Architecture) at AKQA Ltd in London. AKQA Ltd is listed on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors (23 October 2026). Read the full job advert and apply on the employer's or job board's site. A sponsor licence means the employer is on the Home Office register. It does not mean this role is sponsored. Check with the employer. This is not immigration advice.
Read the full advert and apply
A sponsor licence means the employer is on the Home Office register. It does not mean this role is sponsored. Check with the employer. This is not immigration advice.