Senior AI Research Engineer

United States Digital Space LLC; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

This is the company in Amsterdam, San Francisco, and Madrid, seeking a Senior AI Research Engineer to advance GenAI initiatives in finance and deliver production-ready solutions at scale. The role combines deep AI research with practical software engineering and cross-team collaboration.

You will own the AI strategy, mentor engineers, and translate research into robust production systems while navigating safety and regulatory considerations.

Qualifications

• Deeply embedded in the scientific AI research community.
• Significant experience with Generative AI and Large Language Models.
• Strong engineering mindset with production-grade code.
• Experience translating cutting-edge AI research into production-quality software.

Responsibilities

• Innovate and deploy AI strategies focusing on GenAI in finance.
• Bridge research and production by turning papers into robust code.
• Define long-term vision for AI interaction with humans and finance.
• Mentor cross-team collaborations and foster knowledge sharing.
• Pair with other teams and contribute to hands-on coding.
• Engage with the broader AI community to stay updated.

Skills

GenAI

LLMs

Production code

AI research

Mentorship

Job description

This is the company

the company provides payments, data, and financial products in a single solution for customers like Meta, Uber, H&M, and Microsoft - making us the financial technology platform of choice. At the company, everything we do is engineered for ambition.

For our teams, we create an environment with opportunities for our people to succeed, backed by the culture and support to ensure they are enabled to truly own their careers. We are motivated individuals who tackle unique technical challenges at scale and solve them as a team. Together, we deliver innovative and ethical solutions that help businesses achieve their ambitions faster.

The Opportunity

the company is building a top-tier AI engineering organization in Amsterdam, San Francisco and Madrid to drive our next chapter of innovation using AI globally across the entire company. This is a highly technical, hands‑on role focused on the exploration and application of cutting‑edge AI research within the financial technology sector. As a Senior AI Research Engineer, you will operate with a high degree of autonomy and responsibility, delivering strategic, high‑impact outcomes that bridge the gap between advanced AI research and production‑grade applications at a global scale, potentially impacting trillions of dollars in transactions annually.

What You’ll Do:

• Innovate and Deploy: Drive the execution of the company’s AI strategy, focusing on the practical application of Generative AI (GenAI) and other AI methodologies in finance. This includes contributing to the company’s efforts in key research areas such as AI agents for data analysis and operational workflows, human‑in‑the‑loop for integrity risk, and development of foundation models. For instance, you might contribute to initiatives like the Data Agent Benchmark for Multi‑step Reasoning (DABStep), which evaluates AI agents on real‑world data analysis tasks, including those from the financial sector.

• Build Production‑grade Applications: Bridge the gap between cutting‑edge AI research and production by implementing research papers into robust, scalable, and production‑ready code. Reduce complexity and dependencies across teams by championing engineering and scientific alignment by setting high quality standards.

• Optimize and Scale: Contribute to defining the long‑term vision for AI at the company, specifically how AI will interact with humans and finance, including consumers, merchants, and financial institutions. This also includes understanding regulation and advocating for safe innovation in the field.

• Think Outside the Box: Drive innovation by challenging the status quo, introducing transformative ideas and implementing creative solutions to solve real‑world problems. Carry out flexible, value‑driven assignments, proactively unblocking teams to maximize organizational impact and drive strategic initiatives.

• Force Multiplier: Provide mentorship and horizontal sponsorship across the organization, fostering collaboration to share knowledge and best practices, and cultivating a culture of continuous improvement. This includes deeply engaging them in problem‑solving processes and guiding them through execution, fostering their growth through hands‑on involvement.

• Team Player: Actively pair with other engineering teams to solve deep‑rooted technical challenges and be fully capable of being hands‑on with the code, whether creating proof‑of‑concepts or fixing critical performance issues.

• Learn and Lead: Connect with the broader AI community (including startups, VCs, and AI labs) to stay informed of the latest advancements and identify potential partnership opportunities.

Who You Are:

• You are deeply embedded in the scientific AI research community and have a strong understanding of the latest SOTA advancements.

• You have significant experience and a strong understanding of Generative AI (GenAI) and Large Language Models (LLMs).

• You demonstrate a strong engineering mindset with a track record of writing clean, efficient, and scalable code suitable for production environments.

• You have demonstrated experience taking cutting‑edge AI research papers and implementing them into production‑quality code.

• You demonstrate the ability to think critically and deliver simple and elegant solutions to complex, cross‑team problems, influencing strategic direction and fostering innovation across the organization.

• You excel at translating complex technical concepts into clear, understandable terms for diverse audiences, including engineers, executives, and during public events. You adapt your communication style to effectively engage with diverse audiences.

• You thrive in leveraging empathy, influence, negotiation, relationship building, and conflict resolution to foster strong, trust‑based collaborations.

Nice to Haves:

• A strong product sense and the ability to identify impactful AI use cases.

• Experience in AI‑enabled fintech companies.

• Familiarity with classical machine learning concepts.

• Experience with external visibility activities such as conferences and publications.

• Experience working with on‑premise infrastructure.

Why the company?

This is an exceptional opportunity to join a solid, established company with a startup mindset, characterized by small teams, direct communication, and work on important challenges. You’ll have direct access to massive global datasets (e.g., payments, identity data) and the ability to see your team’s work have an immediate impact at scale. We offer an environment of ownership and speed, where a focused research team can make a significant difference. You will be at the front‑end of bridging AI and fintech, shaping how these two critical areas intersect.

Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion commitments

Our unique approach is a product of our diverse perspectives. This diversity of backgrounds and cultures is essential in helping us maintain our momentum. Our business and technical challenges are unique, and we need as many different voices as possible to join us in solving them - voices like yours. No matter who you are or where you’re from, we welcome you to be your true self at the company.

Studies show that women and members of underrepresented communities apply for jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. Does this sound like you? If so, the company encourages you to reconsider and apply. We look forward to your application!

What’s next?

Ensuring a smooth and enjoyable candidate experience is critical for us. We aim to get back to you regarding your application within 5 business days. Our interview process tends to take about 4 weeks to complete, but may fluctuate depending