AI & data search · UK and EMEA
AI and data teams for industries where getting it right matters.
We help banks, insurers and fintechs hire the ML engineers, data leaders and AI governance specialists who build systems that ship and stand up to regulatory scrutiny.
23 years
placing technology talent in financial services
10 days
to a screened, technically vetted shortlist
UK & EMEA
London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris, Zurich, Madrid
For clients
The roles we hire, and the context we understand.
AI roles in regulated firms are taking months to fill. We shorten that by knowing the market, knowing the people, and understanding the regulatory and business context each hire walks into.
ML & AI engineering
ML engineers, LLM engineers, applied scientists and AI engineers building production systems.
Data engineering & platforms
Data engineers, analytics engineers and data platform leads across streaming, lakehouse and cloud.
MLOps & AI infrastructure
ML platform and MLOps engineers who deploy, monitor and scale models safely.
AI governance & model risk
Model risk managers, AI governance and Responsible AI leads, AI assurance and validation specialists.
Quant & data science
Quant developers, quant researchers and pricing data scientists in markets and insurance.
AI & data leadership
Heads of AI, Heads of Data Science and Chief Data Officers building and leading teams.
Three ways to work with us
01
Contingency
For mid-level and individual hires. You pay only when someone starts.
02
Engaged search
For priority roles. A small engagement fee, credited in full against the final fee, buys exclusivity and a dedicated search.
03
Retained search
For senior, confidential or team-build mandates. A full market map, a shortlist in 10 working days, weekly reporting and an extended guarantee.
We also place interim and contract specialists for project and transformation work.
How a search runs
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1
Brief
A 45-minute call on the role, the team, the must-haves and the timeline.
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2
Map the market
We identify everyone relevant, including people not actively looking.
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3
Shortlist in 10 days
Three to five screened candidates, each with a clear written case for fit.
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4
Close and aftercare
We manage interviews, offers and counter-offers, then stay in touch after the start.
About me
I’m Alexandra Schawilje, founder of Lovelace Partners.
Recruitment, for me, has always been about people first. For 23 years, I’ve helped investment banks, hedge funds and asset managers hire the technologists who keep their trading businesses running, from analysts and developers to heads of department. I’ve learned that the right hire can change a team, and the wrong one costs far more than a fee. That’s why many of my client relationships have lasted for years, well beyond a single search.
Over those years I watched data and AI move from the edge of the trading floor to the centre of every decision. Today the firms I know best need people who can build, run and govern AI systems, in a market where those people are scarce and regulators are watching closely. That’s why I founded Lovelace Partners.
I work with a small number of clients at a time, so every search gets my full attention, from the first brief to the first day in the job and beyond. If you’re hiring, or thinking about your next move, I’d like to hear from you.
23 years
in technology recruitment
Capital markets
my roots, from trading tech to leadership
AI & data
my focus today, across the UK and EMEA
Our name
Why Lovelace.
In 1843, Ada Lovelace wrote what is widely seen as the first computer program, for Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, a machine that was never built in her lifetime. She saw further than anyone around her: that a machine working on numbers could one day work with music, images and ideas. Nearly two centuries later, that is what AI does.
We named the firm after her because she combined deep technical understanding with imagination about what technology could become. That is the combination we look for in every candidate, and the standard we hold ourselves to.
Today we focus on the people financial services, insurance and healthtech need most: those who build, run and govern AI and data systems. Clients get a specialist who understands both the technology and the regulated world it has to work in.
Hiring for AI or data? Let's talk.
Tell us about the role. We'll come back within one working day with an honest view of the market and how we'd run the search.