AI Engineering Lead

Definity Financial Corporation; Toronto; On-site; CAD 150,034 - 219,047; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company share ownership program

Incentive Program

Pension and savings programs

Paid volunteer days

Educational resources and tuition assistance

Wellness and recognition programs

Discounts on products and services

Job summary

A leading insurance firm in Toronto seeks an AI Engineering Lead to drive advanced fraud detection. This role demands expertise in AI and machine learning, focusing on developing real-time fraud detection systems. The ideal candidate will have over 8 years of experience in tech roles, exceptional leadership skills, and a strong foundation in Python and cloud architectures. A hybrid work model is offered, alongside opportunities for career growth and technical mentorship.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in a technology-focused role.
• Proven track record in building production-grade fraud use cases.
• Exceptional communication and leadership skills.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute technical strategy for AI-driven fraud detection.
• Lead development of scalable, real-time fraud detection systems.
• Collaborate with senior leadership on aligning AI initiatives.

Skills

Python programming

AI/ML frameworks

Anomaly detection

Data modeling

Cloud architecture

Microservice architecture

Dev/MLOps

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science, Data Science, AI or related

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Google Cloud

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Definity is the parent company to some of Canada’s most long-standing and innovative insurance brands, including Economical Insurance, Sonnet Insurance, Family Insurance Solutions, and Petline Insurance. Our ambition is to be one of Canada’s leading and most innovative property and casualty insurers. We can’t do that without our people, so we embrace and encourage a culture that’s collaborative, ambitious, rewarding, and empowering.

We offer a flexible, hybrid work experience where employees work from the office and virtually depending on the type of work they are doing and who they are working with. Bring your true self and be a part of our journey. It’s better here.

We are seeking a forward-thinking AI Engineering Lead to join our innovative team and drive the future of Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance. As an AI Engineering Lead specializing in Fraud and Risk Intelligence, you will serve as a technical authority and strategic leader in developing and deploying sophisticated AI-powered solutions to combat fraud across our Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance landscape. This lead role demands a visionary approach to identifying and mitigating emerging fraud trends through the strategic application of advanced AI. You will be instrumental in solutioning and leading the implementation of our next‑generation fraud detection systems, mentoring a team of talented engineers, and setting technical directions for AI in this critical domain. You will be at the forefront of technological innovation, leveraging your expertise in data, AI models, and responsible AI to create impactful and scalable applications.

What to expect

Strategic Fraud AI Leadership:Define and execute the long-term technical strategy for AI‑driven fraud detection and prevention. Lead the solutions and development of scalable, real‑time fraud detection systems, from conceptualization to production.

Advanced AI Enablement & Integration:Spearhead the design and implementation of cutting‑edge AI applications by integrating machine learning models (including LLMs, graph neural networks, and anomaly detection algorithms) tailored for complex fraud scenarios.

System Architecture & Ownership:As the tech owner of our AI fraud prevention platform, you will oversee the entire workflow from collecting and preparing data to putting models into production.

Mentorship & Technical Guidance:Act as a lead and mentor to other AI engineers and data scientists. Provide expert technical guidance on complex projects, foster a culture of innovation, and elevate the team's capabilities in building robust AI solutions.

Cross‑Functional Strategy & Influence:Collaborate with senior leadership, underwriting, claims, and legal teams to align AI fraud initiatives with overarching business goals. Translate complex fraud‑related business problems into actionable technical strategies.

Responsible AI in Fraud Detection:Champion and enforce the highest standards of Responsible AI, ensuring all fraud models and systems are fair, transparent, explainable, and fully compliant with regulatory requirements. You will lead agentic red‑teaming practices to identify and mitigate model vulnerabilities.

Innovation & Research:Stay at the forefront of academic and industry advancements in AI for fraud detection. Drive innovation by prototyping and integrating novel techniques and technologies to stay ahead of fraudulent actors.

What you bring

• Expert Programming Skills: Mastery of Python and deep experience with AI/ML frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, …). Proven ability to write clean, high‑performance, and maintainable code in Python, Java, SQL, and Spark.
• AI & Machine Learning Mastery: Deep expertise in a wide range of AI/ML techniques, with a specialization in anomaly detection, pattern recognition, and predictive modeling in adversarial contexts. Extensive, hands‑on experience building and deploying LLM applications, RAG pipelines, and agent‑based workflows for fraud detection.
• Data Expertise: A profound understanding of complex data structures, advanced data modeling, and the management of both structured (e.g., claims history, policy data) and unstructured (e.g., investigation notes, documents, images, audio) data at scale.
• Cloud Architecture: Extensive hands‑on experience architecting and deploying scalable AI solutions on a major cloud platform (Google Cloud or AWS). Deep experience with Google Cloud, including Vertex AI and Gemini, is a significant asset.
• AI, API & Microservice Architecture: Proven experience designing and implementing sophisticated AI integration patterns, implementing scalable, event‑driven microservice ecosystems. Expert‑level proficiency in designing and governing API‑first strategies to ensure seamless, secure, and high‑performance integration between AI services and core enterprise platforms. Experience in building MCP and A2A servers/protocols.
• Advanced Dev/MLOps: Expertise in Dev/MLOps best practices and tools, including advanced containerization with Docker and Kubernetes, CI/CD for machine learning, and AI observability.
• Responsible AI: Authoritative knowledge of the principles and best practices for building ethical, fair, and transparent AI systems, with specific experience in applying these to fraud detection.

Soft Skills

• Strategic Problem‑Solving: Ability to analyze multifaceted business problems within the insurance fraud domain and architect innovative, effective AI‑driven solutions.
• Leadership & Communication: Exceptional communication and collaboration skills, with a proven ability to mentor team members and articulate complex technical strategies to executive‑level stakeholders.
• Innovation & Vision: A passion for staying ahead of the curve in AI and a demonstrated ability to identify and champion opportunities for innovation that provide a competitive advantage.

Experience

• A bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field; a Ph.D. is a plus.
• 8+ years of experience in a technology‑focused role, with a minimum of 3 years of proven, hands‑on experience in building and deploying production‑grade fraud use cases.
• Significant experience leading the design and implementation of large‑scale AI projects from start to finish.
• P&C Insurance and Fraud Domain Expertise: Deep familiarity with core insurance processes, particularly claims management and underwriting, and extensive knowledge of fraud detection techniques is highly desirable.

Salary Range: $108,700 - $158,700

Actual salary for the role may vary depending on work location of the successful candidate and other factors including but not limited to, skills, education, experience, working conditions and the local labour market.

What’s in it for you

• Company share ownership program
• Incentive Program – Eligible employees may participate in various incentive plans which are paid out at the discretion of the company and subject to individual and company performance.
• Pension and savings programs, with company‑matched RRSP contributions
• Paid volunteer days and company matching on charitable donations
• Educational resources, tuition assistance, and paid time off to study for exams
• Focus on inclusion with employee groups, support for gender affirmation surgery, access to BIPOC counsellors, access to programs for working parents
• Wellness and recognition programs
• Discounts on products and services

Our inclusive work environment welcomes diversity and supports accessibility. If you require accommodation at any time during the recruitment process, please let us know by contacting [e-mail].

Background checks

This role requires successful clearance of background checks (including criminal checks and leadership references).