Lead Software Engineer, AI

Thomson Reuters; Eagan (MN); Hybrid; USD 127,400 - 236,600; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid Work Model

Competitive Benefits

Mental Health Days

Job summary

Thomson Reuters seeks a Lead Software Engineer, AI, to architect and deliver AI-driven software for investigators using CLEAR. Lead multi-component pipelines, RAG architectures, and autonomous AI agents while mentoring teams and shaping technical strategy.

You will work with AI researchers, engineers, and product partners to optimize latency, cost, and user experience, ensuring secure, scalable deployments across cloud-native platforms.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or higher in CS/Engineering or equivalent experience. Master’s preferred.
• Strong AI/ML foundation with experience in Generative AI, RAG, LLMs, deployment lifecycle and metrics.
• Proven backend services and API craftsmanship with distributed systems understanding.
• Expertise in AWS and orchestration tools; experience integrating AI models into production.

Responsibilities

• Build and architect AI-driven systems at enterprise scale including multi-component pipelines and RAG architectures.
• Drive innovation, evaluate cutting-edge AI techniques, and translate insights into technical roadmaps.
• Provide senior technical leadership, mentor engineers, and enforce governance for model lifecycle.

Skills

AI/ML leadership

Backend APIs

Leadership & mentoring

AWS cloud

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Engineering or equivalent

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

PyTorch

TensorFlow

JAX

Job description

Lead Software Engineer, AI

Are you passionate about building AI-driven software that transforms how professionals work? Join our fast-moving, forward-thinking group that is creating AI-driven software for professionals through our investigative platform, CLEAR (Consolidated Lead Evaluation and Reporting), which empowers users to search and analyze billions of public and proprietary records from a unified interface. We invest deeply in AI technologies and explore emerging fields with the backing of Thomson Reuters, a global leader.

About the Role

• Build and architect AI-driven systems – Design and lead the implementation of enterprise-scale AI systems, including multi-component pipelines, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) architectures, and autonomous AI agents with multi-step reasoning; lead full-stack development from AI orchestration and RAG through API gateways, microservices, and modern web UIs.
• Drive innovation and technical strategy – Lead evaluation and adoption of cutting‑edge AI techniques; oversee proof‑of‑concept work and technical feasibility for new AI-driven features; stay current with AI research and translate insights into technical roadmaps; represent the organization at industry conferences and events.
• Provide senior technical leadership – Lead architecture decisions and translate business requirements into scalable technical specifications; mentor senior and junior software engineers; champion MLOps and LLMOps practices and governance for the AI model lifecycle.
• Ensure quality, security, and operational excellence – Design and implement testing, monitoring, and observability for AI systems at scale; lead compliance with ethical AI principles, security standards, and regulatory requirements; establish governance for AI model lifecycle management.
• Lead cross‑functional collaboration – Partner with AI researchers, engineering leadership, design, and product to turn AI capabilities into market‑leading applications; optimize performance for latency, cost, and user experience; influence product strategy through deep technical expertise.

About You

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience (Master’s degree preferred), and 8+ years of software engineering experience with at least 4 years in senior or lead roles focused on AI/ML.
• Proven track record as a software engineer with AI expertise (not primarily a data scientist or ML researcher), with experience in Generative AI or RAG or LLMs – including solution discovery, architecture, agentic tools, evaluation, deployment, lifecycle, and metrics.
• Strong proficiency in backend services and APIs.
• Expert‑level proficiency in an object‑oriented programming language and extensive experience with AI/ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX); deep understanding of ML principles, evaluation methodologies, and distributed systems; and the full lifecycle of enterprise AI applications.
• Advanced experience with AWS and orchestration tools (Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform); demonstrated ability to integrate AI models into large‑scale production systems via APIs, data pipelines, and cloud‑native architectures.
• Strong leadership and mentoring experience; excellent strategic thinking and problem‑solving; outstanding communication and presentation skills with experience influencing senior stakeholders.

Additional Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading teams building AI‑driven systems, agent‑based architectures, or enterprise integrations with AI APIs (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic).
• Advanced knowledge of vector databases, embeddings, semantic search, and information retrieval; domain expertise in legal, tax, accounting, or regulated industries (e.g., investigative or large‑scale search platforms).
• Track record of successful AI product launches and scaling AI systems to enterprise customers; experience with AI governance, model risk management, and regulatory compliance; publications, patents, or speaking experience in AI/ML.

What’s in it for You?

• Hybrid Work Model: Flexible hybrid working environment (2–3 days a week in the office depending on the role) for office‑based roles while delivering a seamless digitally and physically connected experience.
• Flexibility & Work‑Life Balance: Flex My Way is a set of supportive workplace policies designed to help manage personal and professional responsibilities, including work from anywhere for up to 8 weeks per year.
• Career Development and Growth: Culture of continuous learning and skill development with Grow My Way programming and skills‑first approach to grow, lead, and thrive in an AI‑enabled future.
• Industry Competitive Benefits: Comprehensive benefit plans include flexible vacation, two company‑wide Mental Health Days off, access to the Headspace app, retirement savings, tuition reimbursement, employee incentive programs, and resources for mental, physical, and financial wellbeing.
• Culture: Globally recognized, award‑winning reputation for inclusion and belonging, flexibility, work‑life balance, and more, guided by values: Obsess over our Customers, Compete to Win, Challenge Your Thinking, Act Fast / Learn Fast, and Stronger Together.
• Social Impact: Make an impact in your community with our Social Impact Institute, two paid volunteer days off annually, and pro‑bono consulting projects and ESG initiatives.
• Making a Real‑World Impact: Help uphold the rule of law, catch bad actors, and provide trusted, unbiased information to people worldwide.

Benefits

In the United States, Thomson Reuters offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes market‑competitive health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance programs, a competitive 401(k) plan with company match, flexible and supportive work‑life benefits, competitive vacation, sick and paid time off, paid holidays (including two company mental health days off), parental leave, sabbatical leave, optional hospital and accident insurance, flexible spending and health savings accounts, fitness reimbursement, Employee Assistance Program, legal identity theft protection, 529 plan, commuter benefits, adoption & surrogacy assistance, tuition reimbursement, and employee stock purchase plan.

Base compensation for this role ranges from $127,400 USD to $236,600 USD, with additional eligibility for an annual bonus based on enterprise and individual performance.

Equal Employment Opportunity

As a global business, we rely on the unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences of all employees to deliver on our business goals. To ensure we can do that, we seek talented, qualified employees in all our operations around the world regardless of race, color, sex/gender, pregnancy, gender identity and expression, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, citizen status, veteran status, or any other protected classification under applicable law. Thomson Reuters is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer providing a drug‑free workplace.

Thomson Reuters makes reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities, and for sincerely held religious beliefs in accordance with applicable law.