Lead AI Platform Engineer

M&T Bank; Buffalo (NY); On-site; USD 116,000 - 194,000; Full time

Job summary

M&T Bank is seeking a Lead AI Platform Engineer to design, develop, and integrate Generative AI capabilities within its secure enterprise environment. You will work cross-functionally with product, architecture, and engineering teams to deliver scalable, reliable, and responsible AI solutions.

The role combines hands-on software engineering with GenAI expertise, including building API integrations, agent-based workflows, and multi-step LLM interactions, while mentoring peers and upholding

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher with 5+ years of systems analysis and/or application development; or Associate’s degree with 7+ years; or equivalent mix of education and experience.
• Strong foundations in software engineering, data structures, and algorithms.
• Hands-on production experience with Java, Python, or C#; REST APIs and Git version control.
• Experience with enterprise SDLC, security, and compliance standards.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and support GenAI-enabling features including AI-assisted coding, documentation, testing, analysis, and workflow automation.
• Implement and maintain retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) solutions with data ingestion, embeddings, and vector stores.
• Design and build agent-based GenAI workflows with multi-step LLM interactions in enterprise platforms.
• Develop and integrate APIs and backend services connecting LLMs to internal systems and approved tools.
• Lead prompt design, testing, and iteration to improve output quality, relevance, and safety.
• Participate in model testing, evaluation, and performance analysis using enterprise frameworks.
• Collaborate with Product Managers, Architects, and Engineers to translate requirements into technical solutions.
• Provide technical guidance and mentoring to less experienced engineers.
• Follow and promote SDLC, security, and responsible AI standards.

Skills

GenAI basics

SDLC compliance

Mentoring

Algorithms

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Associate’s degree

Tools

Java

Python

C#

REST APIs

Git

Job description

Role Summary

The Lead AI Platform Engineer is a hands‑on technical contributor responsible for designing, developing, and integrating Generative AI–enabled capabilities within M&T Bank’s secure, governed enterprise environment. This role combines strong software engineering fundamentals with applied GenAI experience and partners closely with product, architecture, and engineering teams to deliver scalable, reliable, and responsible AI solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and support GenAI‑enabled features including AI‑assisted coding, documentation, testing, analysis, and workflow automation


• Implement and maintain retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) solutions, including data ingestion, embeddings, vector stores, and search pipelines


• Design and build agent‑based and tool‑invoking GenAI workflows, including multi‑step LLM interactions using approved enterprise platforms


• Develop and integrate APIs and backend services connecting LLMs to internal systems and approved third‑party tools


• Lead prompt design, testing, and iteration to improve output quality, relevance, and safety


• Participate in model testing, evaluation, and performance analysis using established enterprise frameworks


• Contribute hands‑on development using modern languages and frameworks (e.g., Java, Python, C#)


• Collaborate with Product Managers, Architects, and Engineers to translate requirements into technical solutions


• Provide technical guidance and mentoring to less experienced engineers


• Follow and promote M&T Bank SDLC, security, and responsible AI standards

Required Qualifications

• Associate’s degree and a minimum of 7 years’ systems analysis and/or application development work experience or Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 5 years’ systems analysis and/or application development work experience. In lieu of a degree, a combined minimum of 9 year’s education and/or relevant work experience, including a minimum of 5 years’ system analysis and/or application development work experience.


• Strong foundation in software engineering principles, data structures, and algorithms


• Hands‑on experience with Java, Python, or C# in production environments


• Experience with RESTful APIs, API‑driven development, and Git‑based version control


• Working knowledge of machine learning and large language model (LLM) fundamentals


• Experience working within enterprise SDLC, security, and compliance standards

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience implementing Generative AI solutions in enterprise or regulated environments


• Hands‑on experience with RAG architectures, embeddings, and vector databases


• Familiarity with Transformer‑based models, attention mechanisms, and tokenization


• Experience with Microsoft Azure, including Azure‑based AI services and GenAI platforms


• Exposure to CI/CD pipelines, DevOps tooling, and automated testing


• Understanding of responsible AI, data privacy, and model governance principles

M&T Bank is committed to fair, competitive, and market-informed pay for our employees. The pay range for this position is $116,400.00 - $194,000.00 Annual (USD). The successful candidate’s particular combination of knowledge, skills, and experience will inform their specific compensation.

Location

Buffalo, New York, United States of America