AI Agents in Engineering: Building Tools That Actually Work

Engineering has a data problem, but not the one you'd expect.

We're not short of data. We're sitting on years of it: design standards, calculation templates, failure mode libraries, lessons learned, drawing registers, project archives. The trouble is that most of it is locked away in PDFs, spreadsheets, network drives and people's heads, not in a form that engineers can easily reach for when they need it most.

AI agents change that. When you connect a well-designed agent to your structured business data, you get something genuinely new: a tool that performs repeatable engineering tasks with consistent quality, references the right standards every time, and frees your engineers to focus on the work that actually needs human judgement.

But, and this is the part most people skip, building agents that are safe, predictable and trustworthy in a regulated engineering environment is not the same as building a chatbot. It takes a deliberate approach.

That's what this evening is about.

What we'll cover

A year on from our last event, we're going much deeper. Last year we showcased what was possible. This year we'll show you what we've actually built, how it works, and most importantly, how you can build the same.

You'll leave understanding:

• How structured business data turns generic AI into a reliable engineering tool, and why most off-the-shelf AI tools fall short for technical work
• The agents we use day-to-day at Subco, including our drawing checker, FMECA reviewer, and calculation checker. What they do, what data they draw on, and what they've replaced
• The tech stack: the platforms, models, databases and orchestration tools that make agents possible without a team of ML engineers
• How to build agents safely, including evals, guardrails, human-in-the-loop checkpoints, and the practical safeguards that keep an agent from going off-piste in a regulated environment
• A live build, where we'll create a working agent from scratch in front of you, so you can see exactly what's involved

Live demos

We'll have several of our production agents running on the night, so you can see them in action against real engineering inputs, not curated demo data.

The format

• 17:00 Doors open, drinks and snacks
• 17:30 Talk: AI Agents in Engineering, what we've built and why
• Live build: an agent, from scratch, in front of you
• Q&A: bring your hardest questions
• Until 19:00 Networking, drinks, and the chance to dig into the detail with the team

Who should come

This event is for engineering leaders wondering where AI actually fits in their business, and for hands-on engineers who want to understand how these tools are built and how to use them well. No prior AI experience needed; we'll meet you wherever you are.

Practical details

📍 The Haylofts, Haymarket, Newcastle 🗓️ Wednesday 20th May 2026 🕔 17:00 to 19:00 🥂 Drinks and snacks included 🎟️ Limited spaces, registration required

[Reserve your place →]