Senior AI Engineer / Systems Architect – AI-Powered Business Development Platform

Senior AI Engineer / Systems Architect - AI-Powered Business Development Platform About the Project We are a Dubai-based corporate finance advisory firm looking for an experienced AI Engineer / Software Architect to design and build an AI-powered business development, financial origination and relationship management platform. Our objective is to develop an intelligent system capable of continuously researching businesses, identifying potential financing and investment opportunities, discovering relevant decision-makers, managing relationships and integrating these activities with our CRM. We want to build a reliable, scalable system that operates continuously in the cloud, rather than a basic chatbot or simple automation workflow. We will begin with a paid prototype/MVP before committing to full development. We are looking for someone who can take technical ownership of the project and potentially work with us long-term. Full Platform Vision The platform will eventually support six interconnected business functions: 1. Debt Providers Research banks, financial institutions, private credit funds and alternative lenders. Collect verified information on financing products, lending criteria, target sectors, geographic coverage, ticket sizes and relevant contacts. 2. Equity Providers Identify family offices, private equity funds, institutional investors and strategic investors, including their investment strategies, target sectors, investment sizes and preferences. 3. Debt Origination Discover businesses and projects that may require corporate financing by analysing contract awards, expansion announcements, capital expenditure, refinancing activity and other commercial signals. 4. Equity Origination Identify companies, developers and projects potentially seeking equity investment, joint ventures or strategic investors. 5. Financial Advisory Identify businesses that may require financial modelling, business valuations, feasibility studies, financing readiness or other corporate financial advisory services. 6. Strategic & Referral Partnerships Identify potential referral partners, including accounting firms, legal advisers, business consultants, corporate advisers and other professional service providers. The objective is to connect all six functions within a single platform, allowing information and relationships to be shared across departments without unnecessary duplication. Initial Engagement – Paid Prototype / MVP Rather than committing immediately to the full platform, we intend to validate the technical and commercial feasibility through an initial development phase. The initial focus will be on Debt Origination and Debt Providers. We want to demonstrate the following capabilities: - Automated research of UAE businesses using approved data sources, APIs, company websites and relevant publications. - Identification of potential financing opportunities based on commercial activity and business signals. - AI-assisted extraction, classification and qualification of company information. - Source verification, confidence scoring and duplicate prevention. - Identification of relevant corporate decision-makers where reliable information is available. - HubSpot CRM integration to create, update and manage approved company and contact records. - Generation of personalised outreach messages for human review and approval. - Research and organisation of lenders, financial institutions and private credit providers. - Basic matching between confirmed financing requirements and suitable lenders based on relevant criteria. - A simple interface or dashboard to review findings, approve records and monitor workflow activity. A key requirement is distinguishing between confirmed financing needs and commercial signals that merely suggest potential demand. For instance, a company securing a significant contract may represent a financing opportunity, but this does not establish that the company is actively seeking a loan. We refer to this verification-first approach internally as **Project Keystone**. Please begin your proposal with the word Keystone before introducing yourself or your relevant experience. The initial system should prioritise accuracy, traceable information and commercial relevance over simply generating large quantities of leads. Technical Requirements We are looking for strong experience in: - Python and backend development (FastAPI or equivalent). - AI/LLM integrations using OpenAI, Claude or similar models. - AI agents, tool calling and workflow orchestration (LangGraph or equivalent). - Automated web research and data engineering. - API integrations and third-party data providers. - HubSpot CRM APIs and workflow integrations. - PostgreSQL or similar relational databases. - n8n or equivalent automation technologies. - Cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure or Google Cloud). - Background processing, scheduling, queues and monitoring. - Data validation, error handling, security and cost optimisation. Experience in B2B intelligence platforms, financial technology, corporate finance, investment research, lead generation or sales automation would be advantageous. What We Are Looking For: We are not simply looking for someone who can connect existing AI tools together. We need an experienced engineer who can assess our requirements, recommend the right technology stack, design a scalable architecture and implement reliable AI-powered workflows. You should have experience deploying production applications, not just developing demonstrations or proof-of-concept chatbots. We are open to different technologies and approaches, including custom development, existing AI frameworks and hybrid solutions. The selected engineer should be able to explain the advantages, limitations, costs and scalability of their proposed architecture. Project Phases Phase 1 – Technical Prototype (2–4 weeks) Build a working demonstration of automated company research, financing-signal identification, data verification and CRM integration using real UAE business data. Deliver a proposed system architecture, development roadmap and estimated ongoing operating costs. Phase 2 – Operational MVP (approximately 8–12 weeks, subject to successful prototype) Develop the prototype into a reliable, cloud-hosted application capable of conducting ongoing research, qualifying opportunities, maintaining CRM records and supporting approved outreach and basic lender matching. Phase 3 – Full Platform Development Expand the system across all six business functions, introduce advanced matching, relationship intelligence, additional workflows and improved automation. The longer-term development scope and budget will be agreed after validating the initial stages. Deliverables & Working Arrangements We expect: - A clear technical architecture and implementation plan. - Working, demonstrable software. - Documented source code and database structure. - Secure, appropriately authorised integrations. - Testing, error handling and monitoring. - Transparent reporting on development progress. - Clearly defined milestones and acceptance criteria. - Deployment documentation and handover. Development should take place in company-controlled repositories and infrastructure. Source-code ownership, intellectual property rights and access arrangements will be clearly defined contractually. We are comfortable working remotely and prefer regular progress updates with working demonstrations rather than lengthy status reports. Application Requirements Please provide: 1. Examples of AI-powered research, commercial intelligence, data engineering or business automation platforms you have personally developed and deployed. 2. Your recommended high-level technical approach and technology stack for this project. 3. Your experience with HubSpot, AI agents, external data APIs and cloud-based automation. 4. One major technical challenge you anticipate with this project and how you would address it. 5. What you could realistically deliver within a 2–4-week paid prototype. 6. Your estimated timeline, hourly rate and indicative budget for the prototype and subsequent MVP. Please clarify whether you would personally lead development or work with additional engineers. We value practical experience, clear communication and independently considered technical recommendations. We are particularly interested in candidates who can demonstrate similar systems they have built and explain the architecture behind them. A detailed project requirements document will be made available to shortlisted candidates. We are looking for a reliable, technically strong engineer who can help us develop this platform from initial prototype through to a scalable, production-ready system.