AI Engineer – Trading Analytics & Data Platforms

AI Engineer – Trading Analytics & Data Platforms London (Hybrid – 3 days/week onsite) 6 Month Contract Role (Inside IR35 – Competitive Day Rate About The Role We are seeking an experienced AI Engineer with a strong data engineering foundation and a passion for solving real-world trading problems. You will work directly with traders and analysts, building AI-powered analytics and data solutions that deliver actionable insights from market pricing and fundamental data—often in near real-time. This role sits at the intersection of AI, data engineering, and trading, with a focus on rapid prototyping, stakeholder collaboration, and production-grade delivery using modern Azure and Databricks ecosystems. What You’ll Do • Design and deliver AI-driven analytics for front-office use, including forecasting, seasonality, correlation, regression, and scenario modelling • Build scalable, reusable data pipelines using Databricks (PySpark/Spark, Delta, Unity Catalog), optimizing performance, cost, and reliability • Develop real-time and near real-time data solutions to support trading and reporting needs • Translate complex trading problems into prototypes and MVPs, iterating rapidly based on feedback • Partner closely with traders and analysts to understand requirements and communicate insights effectively • Implement LLM and agent-based workflows (prompt engineering, orchestration, retrieval, tool usage, and guardrails) • Perform statistical and econometric analysis on large-scale time-series datasets • Productionize solutions with robust testing, observability, CI/CD pipelines, and documentation • Enable reporting and data access via tools such as Power BI and similar platforms What You’ll Bring • Strong hands-on experience with Databricks and Spark (PySpark, SQL, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog) • Proven data engineering expertise (data ingestion, modelling, orchestration, performance tuning) • Solid foundation in statistics, econometrics, or data science—particularly with market time-series data • Experience building AI/ML and LLM-based solutions (prompting, retrieval, agent workflows) • Proficiency in Python and modern data/ML tooling (e.g., MLflow, feature stores, vector databases) • Familiarity with CI/CD, Terraform, and production-grade engineering practices • Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work directly with front-office users Nice to Have • Experience in commodity or financial trading environments • Understanding of market fundamentals, derivatives, P&L, contracts, and trading lifecycle • Knowledge of market micro structure, supply-demand dynamics, and risk management concepts Ways of Working • Hybrid model with close collaboration alongside trading teams • Fast-paced, iterative delivery: prototype quickly, refine with users, and scale to production • Strong focus on engineering excellence, including automated testing, governance, and operational reliability • Ability to work independently while leveraging support from a broader data and engineering team Who You Are • A pragmatic problem-solver who thrives in ambiguous, high-impact environments • Comfortable bridging the gap between technical solutions and trading needs • Driven to deliver measurable value through AI and data If you’re excited about applying AI and advanced analytics in a trading environment and working directly with front-office stakeholders, we’d love to hear from you.