SLR Consulting
AI Engineer

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AI Development Engineer
SLR is seeking an AI Development Engineer who enjoys building AI systems that operate reliably in the real world. This role sits at the intersection of AI engineering, software development, and infrastructure, focusing on designing and implementing production-grade systems powered by large language models (LLMs).
You will work hands-on across the full delivery lifecycle—moving quickly from concept to prototype to production. Working closely with product, engineering, and data teams, you will help deliver intelligent applications built on modern AI infrastructure.
We value practical builders over academic theory. Success in this role is defined by your ability to design, implement, deploy, and operate real systems that deliver business value.
What You Will Build
You will design and implement systems across the AI stack, including:
- LLM-powered applications and intelligent agents
- Model orchestration and tool-use frameworks
- Retrieval systems and knowledge layers (RAG)
- MCP-style integration layers connecting models to tools, APIs, and data sources
- Scalable infrastructure supporting AI workloads
Your work will progress rapidly from prototype to production, with real users and real constraints.
Key Responsibilities
Build AI Systems
- Design and implement production-grade systems powered by LLMs and modern AI frameworks
- Develop applications using technologies such as:
- OpenAI, Anthropic and other LLM APIs
- LLM gateway
- Vector databases
- Agent orchestration frameworks
Implement AI Infrastructure
- Build and operate the infrastructure required to run reliable AI services, including:
- API services supporting AI applications
- Orchestration layers between models and tools
- Retrieval pipelines and knowledge indexing
- Observability and monitoring for AI systems
- Scalable backend services
Reasons to use Rodeo
I’m in my final year doing Economics and I don’t know whether to apply for grad schemes now or do a masters first. What do you think?
Honest answer — it depends on where you want to end up. A lot of top grad schemes (Big 4, civil service, banking) don’t need a masters. Let’s look at the ones you’d be competitive for now, and we can decide if a masters actually adds anything.
Also worth knowing: most autumn 2026 applications are open now. Timing matters more than you think.
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Graduate Consultant — 2026 Scheme
Why you're a good match
StrongYour economics background and your summer at a regional bank line up with what PwC looks for on the consulting scheme. Applications close in four weeks.
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Why you're a good match
You’ve got the grades and the economics background, and your bank internship is exactly the experience this scheme looks for. Apply soon — deadlines close within the month.
Experience fit
Your summer at the bank plus your econometrics coursework map directly to the day-one responsibilities on this scheme — client modelling, market briefings, and deal support.
Only hits
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Develop MCP and Tool Integration Layers
- Design integration layers that enable models to interact with external systems, including:
- API integrations
- Tool-use systems for agents
- Connectors to databases, SaaS tools, or internal platforms
- Structured prompting and function-calling architectures
Ship Production Code
- Move quickly from concept to working product
- Write clean, maintainable backend code
- Build testable services
- Deploy systems in production environments
- Iterate based on real user feedback
Collaborate Across Teams
- Work closely with product managers, engineers, and designers to turn ideas into working solutions
Required Skills
Software Engineering Foundations
- Strong backend engineering experience
- Proficiency in Python (preferred) or TypeScript
- Experience building REST APIs and backend services
- Solid system design fundamentals
- Debugging and production troubleshooting skills
- Understand software development lifecycle
LLM Application Development
- Experience building applications using large language models
- Prompt engineering and structured prompting
- Tool use and function calling
- Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures
- LLM evaluation and iterative improvement
Infrastructure and Deployment
- Hands-on experience deploying production systems
- Docker and containerization
- Cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
- CI/CD pipelines
- Scalable service architecture


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Data and Retrieval Systems
- Experience building and operating knowledge layers
- Vector databases (e.g. Pinecone, Weaviate, pgvector)
- Document ingestion pipelines
- Embedding workflows
- Search and retrieval optimization
Nice to Have Experience with:
- MCP architectures or tool-connected AI systems
- Agent frameworks
- Knowledge graph systems
- Streaming or event-driven systems
- Distributed systems design
- Evaluation frameworks for AI systems
What we look for
We are looking for engineers who:
- Prefer building working systems over discussing them
- Move quickly while maintaining quality
- Enjoy solving messy, real-world problems
- Take ownership from prototype through to production
- Stay curious about emerging AI capabilities
You do not need to know everything—but you should be comfortable learning quickly and shipping continuously.
Experience
2–5 years of experience in software engineering, AI engineering, or ML systems
We value evidence of building, including:
- Shipped products
- Real systems running in production
- Open-source contributions
- Side projects and experimentation
Demonstrated delivery matters more than credentials.
Why Join SLR
You will help build real AI systems at a time when the AI stack is still rapidly evolving. This role offers:
- Meaningful ownership and autonomy
- Real engineering challenges
- The opportunity to shape how intelligent software is designed, built, and deployed across SLR
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