The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has a hiring problem most employers would happily trade for. Hundreds of people have applied for its senior artificial intelligence jobs.
The interest was disclosed by Jessica Rusu, the FCA’s chief data, information, and artificial intelligence officer. According to Rusu, applicants keep coming even though the private sector offers bigger paychecks.
The roles are not entry-level. Recent openings include positions such as Head of Agentic AI and Data Science Research.
Agentic AI is the term for systems that do more than answer questions. They can plan and carry out multi-step tasks with limited human direction.
Salaries for those senior positions run from approximately £129,400 to £194,100. Across the FCA’s broader set of AI roles, pay ranges from £59,200 to £194,100, depending on seniority.
One LinkedIn posting stands out. The listing for Head of Agentic AI drew more than 200 applicants within a few days of going up in September 2026.
Over the past few months, the regulator has been recruiting for a mix of director-level and technical AI positions. Some of those LinkedIn listings attracted more than 200 applications shortly after they were posted.
Why a regulator wants an AI bench
The FCA wants to become a more data-driven organization, and Rusu has been a public advocate of that shift.
In a recent speech at Bloomberg’s UK Policy Series, she laid out how the regulator plans to use AI in financial supervision and in detecting financial crime.
Rusu framed the new hires as central to that plan. In her telling, they would strengthen governance and sharpen what she described as regulatory intelligence.
What this means
A caveat is worth keeping in mind. Applicant volume is not the same as hiring quality, and a crowded inbox does not guarantee the FCA lands the people it most wants.
LinkedIn listings in particular can attract large numbers of applications with relatively low effort per candidate.
The focus on agentic AI is especially telling. Hiring a dedicated head for the area signals that the FCA sees autonomous systems as something it needs to understand on its own terms.
Financial crime detection is another area to watch. Rusu specifically linked the regulator’s AI strategy to spotting wrongdoing, which suggests enforcement and supervision teams could be among the earliest internal users of the new capabilities.
Rusu’s emphasis on governance points to a regulator thinking not only about using AI, but about setting expectations for how others deploy it responsibly.
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