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AI Specialist

Job details
Posting date: 14 May 2026
Salary: Not specified
Additional salary information: Competitive Salary, Hybrid/Remote
Hours: Full time
Closing date: 13 June 2026
Location: LS12 6LL
Company: thebigword
Job type: Contract
Job reference: 49f964e831384419b484

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Summary

The role is expected to last up to 12-months on either a Fixed Term Contract, or via engagement on a Freelance/ Consultant Basis.

Your Role in Action

We are seeking an experienced AI Specialist on a short-term basis to design and deliver an AI-powered, voice-enabled chatbot solution to automate key customer service processes via telephone. Working closely with our technical and operations teams, you will take ownership of the end-to-end implementation — from solution architecture through to deployment and handover.

A key element of this engagement is working alongside our in-house Architects, actively upskilling them in AI tooling and approaches as part of the delivery process. Experience with Azure AI Foundry is preferred. This is a hands-on role with the opportunity to make a real impact on how we serve our customers.

What You’ll Be Responsible For

  • Design and implement a customer service chatbot using Azure AI services, with a preference for Azure AI Foundry.
  • Analyse existing customer service workflows and identify high-value automation opportunities.
  • Develop and configure conversational AI flows, intent recognition, and integration with back-end systems.
  • Integrate the chatbot with existing platforms (booking system, ticketing systems, web/mobile channels) via APIs.
  • Ensure robust testing, quality assurance, and performance benchmarking of the solution.
  • Provide documentation and knowledge transfer to internal teams to support ongoing maintenance.
  • Work collaboratively with stakeholders to iterate on the solution based on feedback and evolving requirements.
  • Adhere to data security, privacy, and compliance requirements throughout the engagement.
  • Design and implement voice recognition capabilities to support phone-based customer interactions, including speech-to-text, intent detection, and natural spoken dialogue flows.
  • Actively upskill our in-house Architects throughout the engagement — sharing knowledge of AI tooling, patterns, and best practices through pairing, workshops, or informal coaching as appropriate.

The Perfect Match: Your Skills & Talents

AI & Machine Learning

  • Proven experience building and deploying conversational AI or chatbot solutions in a production environment.
  • Hands-on experience with large language models (LLMs) and prompt engineering.
  • Familiarity with RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) patterns and vector search.
  • Strong understanding of NLP concepts including intent classification, entity extraction, and dialogue management.

Voice & Telephony

  • Hands-on experience with speech-to-text and text-to-speech technologies, such as Azure Speech Services or equivalent.
  • Experience building voice-driven dialogue flows, including handling interruptions, silence detection, DTMF fallback, and spoken error recovery.
  • Familiarity with telephony integration patterns, such as SIP trunking, IVR replacement, or contact centre platform APIs (e.g. Azure Communication Services, Twilio, or similar).

Azure & Cloud

  • Experience with Azure AI services (Azure OpenAI, Azure Bot Service, Azure Cognitive Services).
  • Azure AI Foundry experience is preferred — familiarity with model catalogues, AI project management, and responsible AI tooling.
  • Comfortable with Azure infrastructure including App Services, Functions, API Management, and storage.

Development

  • Proficiency in C# / .NET and/or Python for backend integration and service development.
  • Experience integrating AI solutions with REST APIs and third-party systems.
  • Understanding of CI/CD practices and DevOps tooling (e.g. Azure DevOps).

Soft Skills

  • Strong communication skills — able to present solutions and trade-offs clearly to non-technical stakeholders.
  • Self-directed and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
  • Collaborative approach with a focus on knowledge sharing and handover.
  • Confident in a mentoring or coaching capacity — able to bring technical colleagues along on the journey and build lasting capability within the team.

Desirable Experience

  • Previous experience in customer service automation or contact centre technology.
  • Experience replacing or augmenting traditional IVR systems with AI-driven voice agents.
  • Prior experience upskilling or mentoring technical teams in AI/ML tooling within a consultancy or contractor setting.
  • Familiarity with Power Virtual Agents / Microsoft Copilot Studio.
  • Experience with multi-channel deployment (web chat, Teams, telephony integrations).
  • Understanding of responsible AI principles and GDPR/data privacy considerations.
  • Azure AI Engineer Associate certification (AI-102) or equivalent.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.

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