Distinguished Principal Engineer - AI Science

MSCI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 225,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

MSCI is seeking a Principal AI Scientist/Engineer in San Francisco to lead development of production-grade ML models and AI pipelines for a multi-billion-dollar financial platform. You will embed generative AI agents to optimize financial workflows and guide product teams through scalable ML architectures.

You will mentor engineers, define roadmaps, and establish guardrails for responsible AI while staying ahead of evolving research.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in data science or ML.
• 3+ years as technical lead or similar leadership role.
• Deep mathematics and ML core expertise in optimization and ML foundations.
• Proficient in Python/Scala/Java/R and strong SQL skills.
• Advanced degree in a quantitative field (CS/Stats/Math/OR/Econ).

Responsibilities

• Apply NLP, causal-ML, DL, RL, and Generative AI to financial problems.
• Design rapid experiments and MVPs with engineers, PMs, and designers.
• Lead the tech roadmap and end-to-end architectures; enforce code quality and production readiness.
• Build evaluation methodologies for accuracy, explainability, fairness and responsible AI.
• Architect end-to-end reusable pipelines to production-grade services.
• Translate ML concepts into business insights for leadership.
• Track academia and tech trends to integrate AI paradigms into MSCI products.
• Mentor junior engineers and foster technical excellence.

Skills

ML leadership

NLP & Generative AI

Deep learning

Optimization & math

Big data programming

SQL proficiency

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD in quantitative discipline

Tools

Python/Scala/Java/R

Job description

Your Team Responsibilities

The Principal AI Scientist / Principal AI Engineer at MSCI is a high-impact, individual contributor role that sits at the intersection of advanced data science, machine learning, and product engineering. Operating within the core product teams, this leader directly shapes the algorithms powering the company’s multi-billion-dollar financial platform and products at MSCI.

The role focuses on building production-grade machine learning models, scaling AI pipelines, and embedding generative AI agents to solve financial workflows for clients worldwide.

Your Key Responsibilities

Algorithm & Model Development

• Advanced ML Application: Apply cutting edge techniques in Natural Language Processing (NLP), Causal-ML, Deep Learning, Reinforcement Learning, and Generative AI (LLMs) to solve real-world financial problems.
• Experimentation & Prototyping: Partner directly with software engineers, product managers, and designers to design rapid experiments and build Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) to test out 0 → 1 AI-driven experiences.

Technical Leadership & Technical Rigor

• Team Stewardship: Lead the technical roadmap for a product area or domain. You will drive end-to-end architecture designs for the team’s data science solutions and enforce best practices in code quality, algorithm development, experiencesand agentic engineering.
• AI Guardrails & Evaluation: Build and standardize evaluation methodologies to strictly validate model accuracy, explainability (XAI), and fairness, ensuring compliant and responsible AI practices.
• Reusable Pipeline Infrastructure: Architect robust, end-to-end reusable pipelines that smoothly transition algorithmic models from standalone research prototypes directly into stable production-level services.

Cross-Functional Influence & Mentorship

• Evangelism: Translate complex statistical and algorithmic logic into digestible, business-focused insights for senior leadership and non-technical stakeholders.
• Industry & Academic Connection: Actively track the latest developments in academia and broader tech sectors to proactively integrate emerging AI paradigms into MSCI Products.
• Talent Growth: Provide technical mentorship to junior engineers, fostering a collaborative culture of continuous technical excellence.

Your skills and experience that will help you excel

• Experience: 10+ years of cumulative industry experience in a dedicated data science or machine learning capacity.
• Leadership Track Record: 3+ years acting as a technical lead, steering data scienceinitiativesor managing delivery of mission-critical ML workflows.
• Deep Math & ML Core: Expert-levelproficiencyacross optimization paradigms (e.g., gradient methods, Bayesian optimization) and foundational ML frameworks.
• Technical Stack: Deep hands-on coding experience in big data environments using general-purpose languages like Python, Scala, Java, or R, alongside strong SQL capabilities.
• Education: Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. in a highly quantitative discipline (such as Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Operations Research, or Economics).

About MSCI

What we offer you

• Salary range: $225,000 - $250,000 / year, plus eligible for annual bonus
• Transparent compensation schemes and comprehensive employee benefits, tailored to your location, ensuring your financial security, health, and overall wellbeing.
• Flexible working arrangements, advanced technology, and collaborative workspaces.
• A culture of high performance and innovation where we experiment with new ideas and take responsibility for achieving results.
• A global network of talented colleagues, who inspire, support, and share their expertise to innovate and deliver for our clients.
• Global Orientation program to kickstart your journey, followed by access to our Learning@MSCI platform, AI Learning Center , LinkedIn Learning Pro and tailored learning opportunities for ongoing skills development.
• Multi-directional career paths that offer professional growth and development through new challenges, internal mobility and expanded roles.
• We actively nurture an environment that builds a sense of inclusion belonging and connection, including eight Employee Resource Groups. All Abilities, Asian Support Network, Black Leadership Network, Climate Action Network, Hola! MSCI, Pride & Allies, Women in Tech, and Women’s Leadership Forum.

At MSCI we are passionate about what we do, and we are inspired by our vision – to power better decisions. You’ll be part of an industry-leading network of creative, curious, and entrepreneurial pioneers. This is a space where you can challenge yourself, set new standards and perform beyond expectations for yourself, our clients, and our industry.

MSCI strengthens global markets by connecting participants across the financial ecosystem with a common language. Our research-based data, analytics and indexes, supported by advanced technology, set standards for global investors and help our clients understand risks and opportunities so they can make better decisions and unlock innovation. We serve asset managers and owners, private-market sponsors and investors, hedge funds, wealth managers, banks, insurers and corporates.

MSCI Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of the firm to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, disability, marital and civil partnership/union status, pregnancy (including unlawful discrimination on the basis of a legally protected parental leave), veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. MSCI is also committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, please email [e-mail] and indicate the specifics of the assistance needed. Please note, this e-mail is intended only for individuals who are requesting a reasonable workplace accommodation; it is not intended for other inquiries.