Lead AI Engineer – Pricing & Machine Learning

About Us We are the clear market leader in our sector and one of the fastest-growing car buying companies in the world. In the UK we generate over 100,000 customer enquiries each month and book in tens of thousands of vehicles over the same period through our high-traffic websites and nationwide operations. We have now launched across the United States, with multiple states already live and an ambitious plan to expand nationwide. Our rapid expansion and success have been driven by outstanding people, a strong culture, and our ability to lean into the advantages of cutting-edge technology. We are not a speculative startup. We have been established for over 15 years, are highly profitable, and have achieved this scale without external funding. That gives us both security and momentum – and yet, despite our size, we have kept the energy, excitement and ambition of a startup. We are scaling rapidly in the US market, and the opportunity ahead is enormous. Our aim is to build one of the largest and most respected international automotive buying groups over the next five years. As part of that growth, there will also be opportunities to contribute to our expanding US collector network and support the rollout of our systems across new states. We offer strong base salary and bonus potential, but the real game changer lies in the long-term opportunity. With the pace of our growth in both the UK and the US, we are exploring ways to provide equity-style participation for individuals who make an exceptional impact in driving our success. Those who help us achieve our most ambitious goals will share directly in the value they create. This can result in genuinely life-changing benefits as the company continues its growth journey. The Role Location > Flexible (UK based) with regular in-person collaboration Salary > £90,000 to £140,000 depending on experience \& Significant performance-related bonus + long-term growth equity potential Every day we make thousands of pricing decisions. Every decision is a prediction. Every prediction affects profit. We are looking for an exceptional Lead AI Engineer to build and continually improve the machine learning models that power our vehicle pricing engine across both the UK and US. This is not a reporting, BI or traditional data role. It is a hands-on engineering position for someone who enjoys solving complex commercial problems using AI and Machine Learning. Working directly with our Directors and software engineers, you will design, build, deploy and optimise production-grade ML models that improve pricing accuracy, increase conversion and maximise profitability. If you enjoy turning messy, real-world data into intelligent commercial decisions and want to build AI systems that make an immediate impact on a fast-growing business, we'd love to hear from you. Core Responsibilities * Design, build and deploy production machine learning models for vehicle pricing. * Develop AI-driven pricing models that continually learn from new data. * Engineer feature pipelines and improve prediction accuracy. * Monitor model performance, identify drift and continually retrain models. * Research and apply modern AI techniques where they deliver genuine commercial value. * Work closely with developers to integrate models into live production systems. * Translate commercial challenges into intelligent AI solutions. * Help shape the future AI capability of the business as we continue international expansion. What We're Looking For * Extensive commercial experience building production ML models. * Excellent Python and SQL skills. * Experience with TensorFlow, PyTorch, XGBoost, LightGBM or similar. * Strong understanding of predictive modelling and feature engineering. * Experience deploying ML solutions into live production environments. * Commercial mindset focused on measurable business outcomes. * Comfortable working independently with significant autonomy. * Passion for staying at the forefront of AI and Machine Learning. * Why Join Apex8? * Work directly with an ambitious founder and leadership team. * Solve genuinely difficult AI and pricing problems at scale. * See your models making real commercial decisions every day. * Influence multi-million-pound revenue streams. * Opportunity for long-term equity based on impact. * Help shape the future of AI within a rapidly expanding international business. Benefits \& Perks * Contributory pension package. * Wellbeing and employee support programme. * Discounted gym memberships and GP service. * Retail and leisure discounts. * Regular social events. * Free Food Fridays and fresh fruit for onsite employees * Free on-site parking. * Discounted garage services. * Counselling and financial assistance helplines.