AI Enablement Engineer, EU ITO… at Vanguard · Manchester

AI Enablement Engineer, EU ITO (International Technology Organisation) Location: Manchester, United Kingdom The Role The AI Enablement Engineer is a hands-on engineering role within the loom team, Vanguard Europe’s AI Centre of Excellence (COE) within the ITO Organisation. Loom exists to accelerate AI adoption across European technology delivery, and the AI Enablement Engineer is central to making that happen. This role has two core dimensions. First, enabling AI platforms and services across EU technology in partnership with enterprise teams requiring building, integrating, and supporting production AI capabilities that delivery teams consume. Second, evangelising AI and agentic engineering across the organisation by helping engineering teams adopt an AI-powered software development lifecycle (SDLC) through tooling, education, and hands-on enablement. This is not a strategy or advisory role. The AI Enablement Engineer writes code, builds AI services, creates developer tools, and works directly with engineering teams to embed AI into how they work. You will be supported by an experienced AI & Data Architect who provides architectural direction, a Product Manager who coordinates delivery priorities, and the broader Architecture & CTO leadership team, but you are expected to be self-motivated, curious, and comfortable working at the pace AI demands. The ideal candidate brings solid software engineering foundations with emerging AI / large language model experience and a genuine enthusiasm for the space. You do not need to be a deep AI specialist, but you do need to have built something real with large language models and be excited about building more. In this role you will Build, integrate, and support production-grade AI platforms, services, and APIs for use by EU delivery teams Develop AI-enabled developer tooling, agentic workflows, and SDKs that embed AI into the software development lifecycle Partner directly with engineering teams to enable the adoption of AI-powered workflows through hands-on pairing, workshops, and embedded delivery support Collaborate with enterprise AI, platform, security, and compliance teams to ensure AI services meet regulatory, risk, and operational standards Contribute working code, proofs of concept, and reference implementations demonstrating best practices in applied AI engineering Continuously evaluate emerging AI tools, frameworks, and models, and translate them into pragmatic, production-ready capabilities Participate in architecture reviews, design discussions, and technical communities to shape AI adoption across Europe Ensure solutions comply with information security, data protection, and risk management requirements appropriate to a financial services environment Participate in special projects and perform other duties as assigned What it takes Strong software engineering experience with one or more modern programming languages and cloud-native development practices Hands-on experience building applications or services using large language models (e.g. prompt engineering, orchestration, evaluation) Familiarity with AI/ML platforms, APIs, and tooling within a production engineering context Experience working in cross-functional teams, partnering closely with engineers, architects, and product managers Comfortable operating in an ambiguous, fast-moving environment with evolving tools and requirements Strong communication skills and a willingness to teach, mentor, and evangelise new ways of working Experience working in financial services or another regulated industry is desirable but not essential Undergraduate degree or equivalent combination of training and experience Special Factors Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position This is a hybrid position and would require you to work in the office 3 days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday) Why Vanguard? Vanguard is a different kind of investment company. It was founded in the United States in 1975 on a simple but revolutionary idea: that an investment company should manage its funds solely in the interests of its clients. This is a philosophy that has helped millions of people around the world to achieve their goals with low-cost, uncomplicated investments. It's what we stand for: value to investors. Inclusion Statement Vanguard’s continued commitment to diversity and inclusion is firmly rooted in our culture. Every decision we make to best serve our clients, crew (internally employees are referred to as crew), and communities is guided by one simple statement: “Do the right thing.” We believe that a critical aspect of doing the right thing requires building diverse, inclusive, and highly effective teams of individuals who are as unique as the clients they serve. We empower our crew to contribute their distinct strengths to achieving Vanguard’s core purpose through our values. When all crew members feel valued and included, our ability to collaborate and innovate is amplified, and we are united in delivering on Vanguard's core purpose: to take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success. How We Work Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.