The mission
inCall is an AI-powered receptionist for NHS GP practices. Patients call in, the AI verifies their identity against NHS records, understands their reason for calling, and handles the conversation. Ladybird is running a three-month cloud-based proof of concept to validate the full architecture before committing to permanent infrastructure.
You are not building the POC. You are accountable for its successful delivery.
As senior engineer you sit above a small team of two specialist contractors - an AI Engineer building a fine-tuned LLaMA model and an AWS Cloud Engineer building the 3CX/AWS/OpenAI infrastructure. You own the architecture, manage the Jira backlog across both contractors, review their monthly output against agreed acceptance criteria, resolve cross-workstream blockers, and act as the primary technical escalation point for Ladybird throughout the engagement.
What you'll own
Month 1 - Establish and document the overall POC architecture: 3CX as the telephony layer, dual-AZ AWS environment, OpenAI as interim AI model, LLaMA 3 8B as the target. Set up and prioritise the Jira backlog for both contractors. Agree Month 1 deliverables and acceptance criteria. Document all architecture decisions in Confluence.
Month 2 - Oversee build-out of the full 3CX IVR, NHS PDS FHIR error handling, OpenAI GPT integration, and AWS Transcribe connection. Review and sign off the CloudWatch/S3 audit logging schema for NHS compliance. Resolve cross-workstream blockers between the AI and Cloud Engineer. Review Month 2 deliverables from both contractors and issue written approval or raise concerns.
Month 3 - Lead the full end-to-end POC demonstration for Ladybird management. Review and sign off the CTI event layer and mock EMIS integration. Own the documented POC-to-production migration plan. Review and sign off final technical documentation from both contractors.
What you bring
Senior-level engineering background spanning cloud infrastructure (AWS) and SIP/telephony architectures. Experience leading or coordinating delivery across a small technical team including Jira-based backlog management. Ability to review and constructively challenge the output of both an AI/ML engineer and a cloud infrastructure engineer. Comfortable acting as the primary technical point of contact for a client. Understanding of NHS data handling requirements and regulated environment standards. Available for daily 12:00 GMT standups, weekly worksheet submissions, and responsive within 4 hours on Working Days.
The contract
Self-employed, IR35 to be assessed. £700/month inclusive of VAT, paid monthly on written acceptance of deliverables via a weekly worksheet review process. Any extension beyond the initial term requires your written consent and is entirely at your discretion.
The bigger picture
This is Stage 1 of a four-stage inCall product.
Stage 2 adds AI triage and auto-routing.
Stage 3 adds clinical routing support.
Stage 4 is a fully autonomous AI call handler. Commercial model is cost-per-call licensing across GP practices. A Senior Engineer who delivers a clean, well-documented POC is well-placed for the technical lead role on the next contract.
Don't apply if
You want a hands-on build role - this is oversight and delivery management. You have never managed delivery across multiple specialist contractors simultaneously. You cannot commit to the daily standup, weekly worksheet, and monthly acceptance review rhythm.
How we hire
We receive far more applications than we can interview.
- Application form - personal information, professional screening, and five written responses. Answered thoroughly, not quickly.
- Video submission - if selected you will receive an email within 5 working days with specific requirements. 48 hours to submit.
- Group interview - live Google Meet session with other candidates.
- One-to-one - deep technical and delivery interview covering your approach to managing the AI and Cloud Engineer contractors, your AWS and SIP architecture knowledge, and your specific plan for the inCall POC oversight.
- Offer and contract - full contract with Key Contract Information summary included.
To apply
Submit your CV above, then complete our full application form at:
https://ladybirdltd.jp.larksuite.com/share/base/form/shrjpoAIWRWokjOrao9nhaSoRYe.
Your Indeed application alone is not sufficient - applications without the completed form will not progress.
Pay: £700.00-£3,000.00 per month
Work Location: Remote
