AI Programme Director

AI Programme Director (AI, Product \& Engineering) 12-Month Contract | London | Hybrid | £1000 per day A leading international payments and financial technology organisation is seeking an experienced Technology Transformation Programme Director to lead a strategic, enterprise-wide transformation across Product, Engineering and Architecture. Operating within a fast-paced, highly regulated payments environment, this role will be instrumental in modernising the organisation's technology operating model and transforming how software is designed, built and delivered. This is not a traditional AI implementation programme. AI will be the catalyst for change, enabling the organisation to transform engineering productivity, software delivery, architecture, platform capabilities and organisational effectiveness while maintaining the resilience, security and regulatory standards expected within the payments industry. The Role The Programme Director will lead the design and implementation of a future AI-enabled technology operating model, bringing together Product, Engineering, Architecture and Delivery into a more integrated, product-led organisation. Working closely with executive technology leadership, the successful candidate will establish new ways of working, embed AI-assisted software engineering practices and drive lasting organisational change across multiple technology domains supporting critical payments platforms and customer-facing products. Key Responsibilities * Lead a major technology transformation programme across Product, Engineering, Architecture and Delivery. * Design and implement a modern technology operating model aligned to a product-centric organisation. * Define and embed an AI-enabled software delivery lifecycle. * Improve engineering productivity through platform engineering, automation and AI adoption. * Enhance software quality, resilience, security and operational excellence across payment systems. * Assess engineering maturity and define a roadmap for continuous improvement. * Modernise the Solution Architecture function through AI-assisted design and governance. * Develop enterprise knowledge management capabilities to support AI-assisted engineering and architecture. * Establish governance, executive reporting and measurable business outcomes for the transformation. * Lead organisational change, stakeholder engagement and leadership coaching to drive adoption across the technology function. Candidate Profile The successful candidate will be an accomplished technology transformation leader with a strong track record of delivering complex enterprise change programmes within financial services, payments or similarly regulated environments. Essential Experience * Experience within payments, banking, fintech or financial services. * AI-enabled software engineering and engineering productivity transformation. * Agentic AI or AI-assisted software delivery. * Leading enterprise-scale technology transformation programmes. * Transforming Product and Engineering organisations. * Designing technology operating models and organisational structures. * Strong understanding of modern software engineering, Agile, DevOps and Platform Engineering. * Experience improving engineering productivity and software delivery performance. * Excellent executive stakeholder management and influencing skills. * Programme governance, organisational change and benefits realisation expertise. * Experience operating within highly regulated technology environments. This is an exceptional opportunity to shape the future of technology delivery within a leading payments organisation, delivering transformational change across critical platforms that process millions of customer transactions while establishing the foundations for the next generation of AI-enabled software engineering.