Senior AI Technical Architect (Azure Cognitive Services)

📍 Hybrid (Edinburgh)
⏳ 6-12 Month Contract + Extension Opportunity

Our main public sector client is delivering a major programme to introduce AI and automation across core services. They are seeking a hands-on Senior AI Technical Architect to lead the design, implementation, and strategic direction of enterprise-wide AI capabilities.

This is a highly influential role for a technical leader with deep experience across Azure Cognitive Services, Python, C#, React, and modern AI/ML architectures.

Key Responsibilities

• Define the organisation's AI architecture approach and ensure alignment with strategy, standards, and compliance requirements.
• Evaluate and integrate a wide range of AI technologies across cloud, on‑prem, hybrid, open‑source, and vendor ecosystems.
• Design and implement scalable AI solutions using Azure AI Services, including Document Intelligence, Speech, Translator, and Azure AI Search.
• Lead multiple proof‑of‑concept (PoC) projects in areas such as multilingual transcription, intelligent document processing, and cognitive search.
• Set architecture patterns, API contracts, and integration models with enterprise systems.
• Provide technical leadership, mentoring, and guidance across development teams.
• Work closely with product owners, analysts, and governance teams to ensure ethical, accessible, and compliant AI delivery.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Demonstrable experience shaping end‑to‑end AI capabilities aligned to business and technical strategy.
• Strong background designing AI/ML solutions with Azure Cognitive Services.
• Hands‑on expertise in:
  • Python (data workflows, Azure SDKs)
  • C#/.NET (enterprise integration)
  • React (front‑end for PoCs and demos)
• Deep knowledge of:
  • RESTful API design
  • Azure AI pipelines & orchestration
  • Cognitive Search (keyword, semantic, hybrid)
  • OCR, key‑value extraction, document layout analysis
• Experience delivering AI solutions including transcription, document intelligence, and multilingual translation.