Digital Catapult is a technology innovation organisation. We accelerate the practical application of deep technologies to equip the UK to be future ready.
We partner with businesses, investors and academia to identify valuable opportunities and create market pathways, ensuring the UK is future ready, supporting economic growth. Digital Catapult helps deep tech businesses grow by showing what is possible, positive and productive with advanced technology including AI, Quantum, Advanced Connectivity Technologies, IoT, Immersive and distributed ledger technologies.
AI is one of the defining technologies of our age, a key part of the Digital Catapult strategy, and a great opportunity for the economy of the UK, with the thriving research and innovation ecosystem.
Reporting to the CTO, the Director of Technology AI will play a critical role in leading the AI portfolio of work, defining and driving the technology roadmap for AI and related areas, creating and delivering collaborative research, development and technology translation programmes with university and industry partners and innovators.
The role provides an opportunity to both investigate new and emerging AI technologies with academia and innovators, and also experiment with more practical adoption with end users and industry. To both experiment with new capabilities and understand the practical implications and limitations of AI technology and feed that back to the UK ecosystem, and policy makers.
WHAT YOU’LL DO (Duties)
- Be a collaborative and ambitious leader and expert in AI across Digital Catapult.
- Direct and enable a high quality programme of research and development in AI, securing funding via R&D projects and supporting commercial opportunities.
- Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including innovators, startups and scaleups, government, academic institutions, industry partners, building a productive network in support of our research ambitions and goals. Represent Digital Catapult at industry events, conferences, and public engagements.
- Be part of the Technology Research, Development and Innovation leadership team, overseeing the execution and evaluation of activities in programmes, projects and technology exploitation
- Lead and mentor a diverse team, coach and guide immediate reports, and the AI related team members across the wider organisation, building capability in AI
- Supervise and deliver horizon scanning, developing the technology roadmap and plans in AI and related areas, supporting other teams to enable their areas to be similarly well defined in relation to AI.
WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR (Experience)
- A visible and respected leader within AI, with a proven ability to represent an organisation through thought leadership, publications, conferences and industry events. Track record of building strategic partnerships across academia, industry and government.
- Demonstrable experience defining and delivering technology strategy, horizon scanning, roadmaps and research agendas.
- Strong understanding of contemporary AI technologies, including agentic AI, AI assurance, neuro-symbolic AI, post-LLM approaches.
- Experience securing collaborative research and innovation funding, including grant-funded programmes. Strong commercial awareness with experience identifying opportunities for technology translation and future commercialisation.
- Significant experience leading technology research, development and innovation programmes in AI, and leading multi-disciplinary technical teams within a research, innovation, technology or R&D environment.
- Track record in building teams and AI capability, promoting a culture of learning, excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement, and supporting early stage careers.