Head of Engineering (Data, ML and AI Tools)

Help us use technology to make a big green dent in the universe!

Kraken powers some of the most innovative global developments in energy.

We're a technology company focused on creating a smart, sustainable energy system. From optimising renewable generation, creating a more intelligent grid and enabling utilities to provide excellent customer experiences, our operating system for energy is transforming the industry around the world in a way that benefits everyone.

It's a really exciting time in energy. Help us make a real impact on shaping a better, more sustainable future.

Kraken Utilities

Our tech platform 'Kraken' is already licensed to support 55 million customer accounts globally, and we aim to serve 100 million by 2027. Kraken is the most AI-driven, innovative, forward-thinking platform for energy management. From optimising resources to delivering cost-effective, exceptional customer experiences through advanced Customer Information Systems (CIS), billing, meter data management, CRM, and AI-driven communications.

We're now charging the Kraken platform to other utility industries (Water and Broadband) and have created a new team called - Kraken Utilities. Over the last 3 years we have built this team from scratch to re-architect, design, and develop our Kraken software platform to solve complex industry wide problems within the water and broadband sectors (such as customer experience & water leak detection).

The Kraken Utilities team is in a very exciting growth phase, and has already signed 5 clients; Severn Trent, Leep, Portsmouth Water, TalkTalk and Cuckoo. We are currently 120+ people (engineers, product, implementation, strategy) along with 1800+ people in the overall Kraken world.

As Head of Engineering for Data, ML & AI Tools, your main responsibility will be to lead multiple high-impact teams building AI-powered tools, voice interfaces, analytics products, and machine learning models that support utility clients and internal teams. You'll manage a group of Engineering Leads and collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to define technical strategy, deliver production-grade systems, and drive innovation across LLM, data, and ML domains. Your teams will be responsible for delivering agent-assist tools like AnswerBots, customer-facing VoiceBots, predictive models for utility use cases (e.g., water leakage detection, churn), and client dashboards that turn data into actionable insights.

What you'll do

• Lead and scale our cross-functional ML and data engineering teams, including machine learning engineers, LLM/AI engineers, data analysts, and Software engineers.
• Drive the development of intelligent tools for customer agents (e.g., LLM-based AnswerBots) and end-users (e.g., VoiceBots) that improve service efficiency and experience.
• Guide the team delivering predictive ML models for utility clients in areas like water leak detection and churn prediction, ensuring robustness, explainability, and client value.
• Oversee the development of data analytics products - including dashboards and data pipelines - that deliver actionable intelligence to utility clients.
• Set the long-term technical vision for our AI & analytics products while being hands-on in system design, architecture reviews, and high-impact technical decisions.
• Partner closely with cross-functional stakeholders, including product managers, customer teams, and delivery leads, to align technical solutions with business goals.
• Champion experimentation, prototyping, and fast iteration to explore new use cases with GenAI and classic ML across business domains.
• Build systems that combine structured data, unstructured customer interactions, and real-time operational signals, powering the next generation of intelligent decision support.
• Stay on the forefront of emerging technologies in LLMs, RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), reinforcement learning, and agentic workflows - and translate them into practical, scalable products.

What you'll need

• Proven leadership experience in managing multi-disciplinary engineering teams (20+ engineers), including ML, LLM, data engineering, and platform engineering.
• Understanding of ML lifecycle - from data ingestion and feature engineering to model training, evaluation, and deployment in production.
• Hands-on experience deploying LLM-based systems (e.g., RAG pipelines, tool calling, fine-tuning, RLHF) and integrating them into real-world applications.
• Experience developing customer-facing AI tools, voice-based interfaces, or agent augmentation systems is highly desirable.
• Strong architectural skills and the ability to make pragmatic decisions between prototypes and production-grade systems.
• Experience building and operating robust data pipelines, ETL frameworks, and analytics dashboards that serve clients in regulated industries like water or telco.
• Familiarity with modern AI/ML stacks: Python, Kubernetes, PyTorch, LangChain, vector databases, etc.
• Demonstrated ability to align AI and analytics initiatives with business outcomes and customer value.
• Inspirational leadership style with a strong product sense and ability to lead through ambiguity. Experience managing teams of teams (20+ engineers is desired)

Kraken is a certified Great Place to Work in France, Germany, Spain, Japan and Australia. In the UK we are one of the Best Workplaces on Glassdoor with a score of 4.7. Check out our Welcome to the Jungle site ( FR / EN ) to learn more about our teams and culture.

Are you ready for a career with us? We want to ensure you have all the tools and environment you need to unleash your potential. If you have any specific accommodations or a unique preference, please contact us at [email protected] and we'll do what we can to customise your interview process for comfort and maximum magic!

Studies have shown that some groups of people, like women, are less likely to apply to a role unless they meet 100% of the job requirements. Whoever you are, if you like one of our jobs, we encourage you to apply as you might just be the candidate we hire. Across Kraken, we're looking for genuinely decent people who are honest and empathetic. Our people are our strongest asset and the unique skills and perspectives people bring to the team are the driving force of our success. As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected attribute. We consider all applicants without regard to race, colour, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. U.S. based candidates can learn more about their EEO rights here.

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