Join us as a AI Principal Engineer
Want to do work that really matters?
At Checkatrade, we’re building the UK’s go-to home improvement marketplace. Every day, we help millions of homeowners find the right tradesperson for the job, fast, fair, and without the faff.
AI is a core part of that mission. We believe AI can genuinely improve lives and livelihoods — helping trades automate admin, win more work, and deliver with confidence, while making it easier for homeowners to find, trust, and collaborate with the right professional. We’re building an AI-powered Checkatrade where intelligence sits at the heart of every product, workflow, and decision.
As our next AI Principal Engineer, based in Barcelona, you’ll play a senior technical leadership role at the intersection of AI and engineering. You’ll define how Checkatrade builds, integrates, and scales multi-agent systems and AI-powered APIs, turning research breakthroughs into production-grade systems that power real products. You’ll bridge the gap between innovation and reliability — ensuring our use of AI is bold, responsible, and built to scale.
Forget long lists, here’s what you’ll actually spend your time on:
Architecting large-scale AI systems — from orchestration frameworks to API integrations — that make intelligence a seamless part of our platform.
Guiding and mentoring engineering teams experimenting with multi-agent workflows and next-gen AI integrations.
Partnering closely with our R&D leadership and fellow AI Principals to translate research into scalable, maintainable systems.
Defining our AI engineering playbook — setting standards for evaluation, design patterns, and responsible AI implementation.
Providing hands-on technical direction while influencing strategy and decision-making across the wider engineering organisation.
It’s not about ticking every box. It’s about turning up curious, ready to crack on. You’ll do well here if you bring:
Deep experience designing and building distributed systems, ideally with exposure to LLMs, vector databases, or multi-agent orchestration frameworks.
The ability to move seamlessly from prototype to production, balancing experimentation with solid engineering discipline.
Strong architectural instincts — you care about how things work, but also why they matter.
A collaborative mindset and the confidence to guide technical direction across teams.
A passion for using AI in ways that drive meaningful impact for both businesses and users.
We believe great work deserves great rewards. Here’s just a taste:
Great salary for the impact you make
Annual bonus - get rewarded for your work
Work your way - flexible, remote-friendly setup
Lunch vouchers so you stay fuelled while you build
Learning support for courses, certs and books to level up
Real time off - generous annual leave plus local public holidays
Interviews will take place in Barcelona and you will be required to work in Barcelona 2 days per week.
If you require any reasonable adjustments during our interview process, please discuss them with your Talent Acquisition Partner.
If this sounds like the place where you can do your best work, we’d love to hear from you, even if you don’t tick every box
About us
We’re Checkatrade – the UK’s leading platform for finding a tradesperson. With more than 50,000 trades listed and over 6 million reviews, we help homeowners get jobs done right and help tradespeople grow their business.
We’re growing fast, with big plans to become the go-to brand for home improvements. If you care about great work, take pride in the details, and want to make an impact, you’ll fit right in.
Top Skills
What We Do
Checkatrade is one of the UK’s top online marketplaces for home improvements and repairs.
Our mission is to be the trusted foundation of every home by connecting people with trades and tools to make home improvements easy – because we believe safe and happy homes improve lives, support livelihoods, and build communities.
From our humble beginnings in 1998 to becoming a national household name, we’re on an exciting journey. For more than 25 years Checkatrade has stood for reputation and raising standards – whether that is for our trade members, consumers, or our colleagues. We think big and are passionate about changing the face of home improvements and repairs.
Today, we are a modern online marketplace and a force for good. We strive every day to support people to improve their homes and we don’t settle for the status quo – we are evolving, innovating, and growing.
With generous investment from private equity partners Brookfield, we have an ambitious growth plan and a robust roadmap to get there. Led by our values – Be All In, Always Customer Obsessed, Get It Done, Be Bold, and Do The Right Thing – we are 500 high-performing individuals working across the UK, with high-spec offices in London and Portsmouth.
We are here to be the best and inspire others to do the same, and to get there we need exceptionally talented, bright, and driven people – so if that sounds like you, you couldn’t join at a better time!
