Senior Pre-Sales Engineer

A forward-deployed pre-sales engineer who partners with the strategy and sales teams to design, build, and present AI-powered proof of concepts for clients.

The client

You will own the full technical arc of each POC — from brief to build to client demo — and establish a reusable, scalable framework that compounds in value with every engagement.

Who are they?

They are looking for a Pre-Sales Engineer to be their forward-deployed technical force in the sales cycle. This is a hands-on, client-facing role : you will rapidly design and build proof of concepts that demonstrate what is possible with AI, and you will be the technical voice in the room when clients need to see it to believe it.

You will report directly to the CTO and work closely with strategy and sales teams across every stage of the pre-sales journey.

The role

What you’ll deliver

1. Build proof of concepts that win clients

• Take a brief from the strategy team and independently design, architect, and build a working POC within a 3–4 week sprint.
• Translate real client problems (surfaced through Launchpad engagements) into credible, demonstrable AI-powered solutions.
• Ensure every POC communicates the &above point of view: what we believe, what we can do, and what the solution could become.
• Maintain a high output velocity using AI-assisted development tooling — you are the 10× engineer.

2. Own the client-facing technical narrative

• Prepare and support all technical resources for sales calls: demos, slide narratives, technical Q&A docs, and deep-dive presentations.
• Join first calls, technical discovery sessions, and demo calls to provide credible technical support to the salesperson.
• Translate complex AI and engineering concepts into clear commercial language for Product, Marketing, and Sales VP stakeholders.
• Build confidence in the client that &above can deliver — not just pitch.

3. Create a scalable, reusable POC framework

• After each engagement, produce a clean handover: a client-facing presentation of what was built, what shortcuts were taken, and what hardening would be required for production.
• Maintain and evolve a library of reusable repo templates, demo environments, and slide narratives so each POC builds on the last.
• Document technical shortcuts explicitly so they can be tracked and addressed in future delivery phases.
• Define and refine the repeatable process for scoping, building, and presenting a POC.

4. Stay at the frontier of AI and shape our offering

• Maintain a close watch on the AI landscape: new models, tools, frameworks, and use cases.
• Proactively suggest new POC formats, tooling improvements, and solution patterns that keep &above ahead of the market.
• Feed insights back into the strategy and sales teams to sharpen how we position our capabilities.

5. Be a reliable, autonomous operator

• Manage your own time and priorities across concurrent POC sprints with minimal overhead.
• Report clearly and consistently to the CTO on progress, blockers, and decisions throughout the week.
• Operate with the decisiveness and resourcefulness of a founder — you are comfortable with ambiguity and move fast.

What we’re looking for

Must have

• Senior or lead-level engineering experience, with a proven track record of shipping production-quality work independently.
• Full-stack capability: strong React / TypeScript frontend fundamentals with solid backend experience (language is not a constraint).
• Practical, hands-on knowledge of AI application development: LLMs, RAG architectures, AI agents, and evaluation approaches.
• Excellent client-facing communication skills — comfortable in a room with VP-level stakeholders, able to translate technical depth into commercial clarity.
• A 50/50 builder-communicator profile: no trade-off between engineering quality and presentation quality.
• Demonstrable ability to ship fast and make pragmatic architectural decisions under time pressure.
• Comfortable working solo, managing time independently, and operating with minimal direction.

Nice to have

• Previous founder experience, or a background operating as a one-person engineering function.
• Experience in a product studio, agency, or consultancy working across multiple clients and problem domains.
• Familiarity with a broad range of AI tooling, model providers, and deployment approaches.
• Experience building and presenting technical demos to non-technical enterprise audiences.
• Contribution to sales processes, technical proposals, or RFP responses.

The candidate

Why join them?

This is a rare role for someone who wants to operate at the intersection of deep technical craft and commercial impact. As Pre-Sales Engineer, you will:

• Have direct influence over how &above wins new business and demonstrates what AI can do.
• Work on a genuinely diverse range of problems across industries, use cases, and technologies.
• Build a compounding library of POCs and frameworks that define how the studio scales.
• Report directly to the CTO with high visibility and real autonomy from day one.

This is a permanent role with the full &above benefits, including:

• 32 days’ holiday (including bank holidays).
• 8-weeks working-away allowance each year.
• Birthday off.
• Health and wellbeing budget including Vitality private healthcare and WellHub unlimited gym access and wellbeing apps.
• Cycle-to-work scheme and quarterly team socials.
• Quarterly OKRs and bonus opportunities, with monthly check-ins to support your growth.
• A genuinely supportive culture in an innovative and inspiring workspace.

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