Lead AI Engineer - Enterprise AI Products

Citigroup; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

27 days leave

Private medical & life insurance

Employee assistance program

Pension plan

Parental leave

Staff discounts

Competitive base salary

Job summary

Citi is seeking a seasoned Lead AI Engineer to merge hands-on development with architectural leadership in an enterprise AI context. You will partner with business teams to translate problems into scalable AI platforms, shaping strategy and roadmap while mentoring others.

The role focuses on Generative AI, AI Agents and modern AI engineering, with a hybrid London work model and exposure to real business impact across the bank.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering or related.
• Strong experience in OO programming and system design.
• Hands-on development in Python and/or Java; both is a plus.
• Experience with Generative AI and AI Agents, Google ADK preferred.
• Experience with MCP and AI/data/service integration desirable.
• Strong REST, databases and CLI tooling knowledge.
• CI/CD mastery with modern DevOps tools.

Responsibilities

• Own and lead technical components end-to-end aligned with business goals.
• Collaborate with senior stakeholders to translate problems into solutions.
• Shape roadmaps and technical strategy with team leads.
• Build scalable, production-grade AI solutions following best practices.
• Develop AI Agents and work with MCP servers and protocols.
• Provide technical leadership, mentoring and code reviews.
• Ensure security, risk, and compliance in solutions.

Skills

Python

Java

Generative AI

AI Agents

MCP

REST APIs

CI/CD

DevOps tooling

Technical leadership

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

Jenkins

uDeploy

Tekton

Harness

Neo4j

Job description

About the Team

Join Citi's Enterprise AI Products team, a small, high-impact global team building innovative AI solutions for the wider bank. We are at the forefront of Agentic AI, developing capabilities that enable data sharing across agent ecosystems, support new Agentic AI use cases and shape modern AI architecture through purpose-built tooling. This is an opportunity to work at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and real business impact.

The Role

We are looking for a seasoned Lead AI Engineer to combine hands-on engineering and architecture with strong business engagement. You will work directly with business partners to understand real-world problems, translate them into technical solutions and support successful delivery and adoption of our AI platforms. This is a senior role within a deliberately flat team where you will have significant ownership and influence. You will help shape the platform strategy and roadmap, while gaining exposure to Generative AI, AI Agents and modern AI engineering in a fast-moving environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and lead technical components end-to-end, ensuring alignment with business and product objectives.
• Work directly with senior business and technology stakeholders to understand problems and translate them into technical solutions.
• Shape product roadmaps, technical strategy and priorities alongside the team lead and wider stakeholders.
• Design, develop and implement scalable, production-quality solutions using sound engineering and architectural principles.
• Build and develop AI solutions, including Generative AI and Agentic AI using Google ADK.
• Design, develop and test AI Agents and work with Model Context Protocol (MCP) and MCP servers.
• Write high-quality code in Python and/or Java, working across modern AI and platform technologies.
• Provide technical leadership, mentoring and guidance to other engineers and contribute to team development.
• Drive engineering quality through code reviews, technical design reviews, testing and robust CI/CD practices.
• Ensure solutions meet Citi's risk, security and compliance requirements while integrating effectively with wider technology platforms.

Key Skills & Experience

• Proven experience as a Senior Developer, Technical Lead, Lead Engineer or similar senior engineering role.
• Strong expertise in object-oriented programming, software architecture and technical design.
• Strong hands-on development experience in Python and/or Java; experience with both is highly desirable.
• Experience with Generative AI and AI Agents, ideally including Google ADK.
• Practical experience with Model Context Protocol (MCP) and AI/data/service integration is highly desirable.
• Strong understanding of REST APIs, networking, databases and CLI tooling, with Postgres/Oracle experience preferred.
• Experience with CI/CD and modern DevOps tooling such as Jenkins, uDeploy, Tekton, Harness or equivalent.
• Demonstrable ability to shape technical strategy and roadmaps and influence senior stakeholders.
• A genuine interest in understanding business problems and working closely with non-technical stakeholders – we are looking for engineers who are as comfortable in a conversation about business needs as they are in a code review.
• Strong problem-solving, communication and presentation skills, with the confidence to engage directly with business and technology leaders.
• Experience providing technical leadership, mentoring or line management within software engineering teams.
• Desirable: Experience with Neo4j or other graph databases, UX/front-end development, and broader AI platform technologies.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering or a related discipline preferred; graduate-level or continuing education is a plus.

What We Offer

• Competitive base salary (which is annually reviewed).
• 27 days annual leave (plus bank holidays).
• A discretional annual performance related bonus.
• Private Medical Care & Life Insurance.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Pension Plan.
• Paid Parental Leave.
• Special discounts for employees, family, and friends.

Visit our Global Benefits page to learn more.

Alongside these benefits Citi is committed to ensuring our workplace is where everyone feels comfortable coming to work as their whole self, every day. We want the best talent around the world to be energized to join us, motivated to stay and empowered to thrive.

Hybrid working model (up to 2 days working at home per week) in London.

Job Family Group: Technology

Job Family: Systems & Engineering

Time Type: Full time

Most Relevant Skills: Please see the requirements listed above.

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