Head of AI Application - Banking or Fintech

KOS International Limited; Hong Kong Island; On-site; HKD 1,500,000 - 2,500,000; Full time

Job summary

KOS International Limited is seeking a Head of AI Application for a banking/fintech client in Hong Kong. You will lead a sizable, distributed engineering team responsible for end-to-end application delivery, setting standards for quality and operational stability.

You will drive a technology roadmap aligned with business priorities and advance AI-enabled capabilities across development and IT operations. The role requires deep Java/Spring Boot expertise and leadership in large-scale

Qualifications

• At least 10 years of software engineering experience, including 5+ years in senior technology leadership within banking, fintech or financial services.
• Track record of delivering platform modernization, complex application transformation or large-scale engineering change.
• Experience building and managing offshore or geographically distributed development teams.
• Strong technical depth in Java, Spring Boot, micro services and enterprise back-end architecture.
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure or GCP, alongside Kubernetes, Docker and CI/CD tooling.
• Sound understanding of REST APIs, event-driven architecture and technologies such as Kafka.
• Demonstrated experience in production incident management, high availability and disaster recovery for business-critical systems.
• Practical understanding of AI-assisted software development and responsible enterprise adoption; experience implementing relevant tools or use cases would be an advantage.
• Strong team leadership, cross-cultural communication and vendor management skills.
• Good command in Chinese both Cantonese and Mandarin

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop distributed engineering teams and end-to-end application delivery.
• Set standards for technical quality, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Translate commercial priorities into a technology roadmap that balances new capabilities with platform modernization and operational stability.
• Introduce practical AI capabilities across software development and technology operations.
• Partner with business, data and risk stakeholders to evaluate AI-enabled use cases and explore intelligent monitoring and incident analysis.

Skills

Leadership

Distributed teams

Java

Spring Boot

Microservices

Cloud platforms

Kubernetes

Docker

CI/CD

REST APIs

Event-driven

Kafka

Incident management

AI-assisted development

Vendor management

Cross-cultural communication

Cantonese

Mandarin

Job description

Head of AI Application - Banking or Fintech

About the Client

Our client is a financial institution and with an increasing growth and a vision to innovate their portfolio, hence, they are now seeking for Head of AI Application to join their team.

About the Role

Reporting to the IT Director and leading a sizeable team, you will lead and develop distributed engineering teams, taking ownership of end-to-end application delivery and setting clear standards for technical quality, accountability and continuous improvement. Working closely with business stakeholders, you will translate commercial priorities into a technology roadmap that balances new capabilities with platform modernization and operational stability. A key focus will be introducing practical AI capabilities across software development and technology operations. You will assess opportunities for AI-assisted coding, testing, documentation and code review, with appropriate security controls and human oversight. You will also partner with business, data and risk stakeholders to evaluate AI-enabled use cases and explore how intelligent monitoring and incident analysis can improve operational efficiency.

The successful Applicant

• At least 10 years of software engineering experience, including 5 or more years in senior technology leadership within banking, fintech or financial services.
• A track record of delivering platform modernization, complex application transformation or large-scale engineering change.
• Experience building and managing offshore or geographically distributed development teams.
• Strong technical depth in Java, Spring Boot, micro services and enterprise back-end architecture.
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure or GCP, alongside Kubernetes, Docker and CI/CD tooling.
• Sound understanding of REST APIs, event-driven architecture and technologies such as Kafka.
• Demonstrated experience in production incident management, high availability and disaster recovery for business-critical systems.
• Practical understanding of AI-assisted software development and responsible enterprise adoption; experience implementing relevant tools or use cases would be an advantage.
• Strong team leadership, cross-cultural communication and vendor management skills.
• Good command in Chinese both Cantonese and Mandarin