Artificial Intelligence Analyst

ABOUT THE ROLE  

Norman Managed Services provides 24/7 IT support to over 40 partner institutions across the UK, serving tens of thousands of students and staff each year. With the launch of Ember, our pioneering conversational AI assistant, we’re redefining what IT service desks can deliver across the sector.

More than a traditional chatbot, Ember delivers a supportive and intuitive experience. From helping a student reset their password late at night to guiding staff through complex digital systems, Ember offers intelligent, human-like support anytime it’s needed.

As our Artificial Intelligence Analyst, you’ll play an important role in the ongoing development of Ember, supporting the transformation of digital support in higher education. Working with our Technical Operations Manager, who leads Ember’s strategic direction, you’ll be part of a supportive and innovative team focused on enhancing the user experience with conversational AI. You’ll contribute to prototyping and testing new features, as well as making ongoing tweaks and improvements based on live user data to ensure Ember continues to meet the needs of students and staff. Your work will span both user experience and technical elements, helping to deliver solutions that are robust, reliable, and ethically developed.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone with a passion for AI and digital service design to build experience in a growing area of technology while making a real difference to students and staff across the UK.

  Further information is available in the person specification. 
  If you would like an informal discussion about the role, please contact Dan Newton, Norman Technical Operations Manager, at d.newton@northumbria.ac.uk.   

ABOUT YOU

We’re looking for someone curious, technically minded and passionate about the potential of AI to improve user experiences. You understand that conversational support is about more than getting the right technical answer, it’s about making digital support feel intuitive, accessible, and human.

What you’ll bring:

• Hands-on experience with conversational AI tools and platforms such as Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Studio, or Microsoft Dynamics 365.
• A user-led approach to digital service design, with a strong awareness of how language, interface design and accessibility affect real-world experiences.
• A foundational understanding of UX design principles, especially for natural-language or voice interfaces.
• You’ll enjoy problem-solving, testing, iterating, and collaborating with both technical and non-technical colleagues.
• You’ll have interest in the ethical and inclusive design of AI, with awareness of data protection and governance such as GDPR.

  To apply for this vacancy please click 'Apply Now'.  Your application should include a covering letter and a CV.    

ABOUT US 

Join Northumbria University, a research-intensive institution unlocking potential and changing lives locally and globally. Named Times Higher Education's University of the Year in 2022 and Modern University of the Year in 2025, we rank top 25 in the UK for research power.  Discover more about us. 

With over 37,000 students from 140+ countries, we offer world-leading research, award-winning partnerships, and an outstanding student experience. We empower our exceptional staff, promoting a positive work-life balance and offering great benefits, including excellent pension schemes, flexible working, generous holiday entitlement and more. 

Our Northumbria Values, co-created by our team, define who we are: Academic Excellence, Innovation, Inclusivity, Collaboration, and Ambition. Our Behaviours shape our work culture: We listen and learn, support one another, respect everyone, trust each other, and are bold.   

Located in Newcastle upon Tyne and London, we are an on-campus organisation with flexibility in hours and location. We pride ourselves on diversity and inclusivity, holding numerous awards for gender and race equality, disability confidence, and research excellence.  We also hold the HR Excellence in Research award for implementing the concordat supporting the career Development of Researchers and are members of the Euraxess initiative to deliver information and support to professional researchers. The University has implemented a range of flexible working arrangements, and we are happy to explore candidate requirements as part of the recruitment process.   

Apply now and join a community committed to transforming society and the economy. Explore "Our Exceptional People, Our Values and Behaviours" page to learn more about our commitments and see our Privacy Policy for further details.