Lead Software Engineer, AI - Clear

Thomson Reuters; Ann Arbor (MI); Hybrid; USD 127,000 - 237,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid Work Model

Flex My Way

Career Growth

Industry-leading Benefits

Job summary

Thomson Reuters is seeking a Lead Software Engineer, AI to drive AI-driven system design for enterprise-scale platforms. You will lead full-stack development from AI orchestration and RAG through API gateways and microservices, mentoring engineers and shaping technical roadmaps.

The role emphasizes governance of AI model lifecycles, MLOps practices, and collaboration with researchers, product, and design to deliver scalable, secure AI solutions for legal, tax, and compliance domains.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software engineering experience with at least 4 years in senior or lead roles focused on AI/ML.
• Proven track record with Generative AI, RAG, or LLMs—architecture, agentic tools, deployment, metrics.
• Strong proficiency in backend services and APIs.
• Expert-level proficiency in object-oriented programming and AI/ML frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture decisions and translate business requirements into scalable technical specs.
• Mentor senior and junior software engineers; champion MLOps and LLM governance.
• Oversee testing, monitoring, and observability for AI systems at scale; ensure security and regulatory compliance.
• Drive cross-functional collaboration with AI researchers, product, design, and engineering leadership.
• Represent the organization at industry conferences and translate AI insights into roadmaps.

Skills

AI/ML expertise

Backend APIs

Leadership

Cloud orchestration

AWS

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

PyTorch

TensorFlow

JAX

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/Engineering

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

AWS

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. As a Lead Software Engineer – AI, you will play a lead role in full-stack web development, focusing on AI solutions, agents, and RAG, as well as traditional application layers such as gateways, APIs, and user interfaces—developing intelligent systems that power the next generation of expert solutions across legal, tax, risk, and compliance domains.

About the Role

In this opportunity as a Lead Software Engineer, AI, you will:

• 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

You’re a fit for the role of Lead Software Engineer, AI if you have the following required qualifications:

• 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 orientated programming 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 include:

• 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: We’ve adopted a flexible hybrid working environment (2-3 days a week in the office depending on the role) for our office-based roles while delivering a seamless experience that is digitally and physically connected.

• Flexibility & Work-Life Balance: Flex My Way is a set of supportive workplace policies designed to help manage personal and professional responsibilities, whether caring for family, giving back to the community, or finding time to refresh and reset. This builds upon our flexible work arrangements, including work from anywhere for up to 8 weeks per year, empowering employees to achieve a better work-life balance.

• Career Development and Growth: By fostering a culture of continuous learning and skill development, we prepare our talent to tackle tomorrow’s challenges and deliver real-world solutions. Our Grow My Way programming and skills-first approach ensures you have the tools and knowledge to grow, lead, and thrive in an AI-enabled future.

• Industry Competitive Benefits: We offer comprehensive benefit plans to 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. We live by our values: Obsess over our Customers, Compete to Win, Challenge (Y)our Thinking, Act Fast / Learn Fast, and Stronger Together.

• Social Impact: Make an impact in your community with our Social Impact Institute. We offer employees two paid volunteer days off annually and opportunities to get involved with pro-bono consulting projects and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives.

• Making a Real-World Impact: We are one of the few companies globally that helps its customers pursue justice, truth, and transparency. Together, with the professionals and institutions we serve, we help uphold the rule of law, turn the wheels of commerce, catch bad actors, report the facts, and provide trusted, unbiased information to people all over the world.

In the United States, Thomson Reuters offers a comprehensive benefits package to our employees. Our benefit package includes market competitive health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance programs, as well as a competitive 401k plan with company match. In addition, Thomson Reuters offers market leading work life benefits with competitive vacation, sick and safe paid time off, paid holidays (including two company mental health days off), parental leave, sabbatical leave. These benefits meet or exceeds the requirements of paid time off in accordance with any applicable state or municipal laws. Finally, Thomson Reuters offers the following additional benefits: optional hospital, accident and sickness insurance paid 100% by the employee; optional life and AD&D insurance paid 100% by the employee; Flexible Spending and Health Savings Accounts; fitness reimbursement; access to Employee Assistance Program; Group Legal Identity Theft Protection benefit paid 100% by employee; access to 529 Plan; commuter benefits; Adoption & Surrogacy Assistance; Tuition Reimbursement; and access to Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

Thomson Reuters complies with local laws that require upfront disclosure of the expected pay range for a position. The base compensation range varies across locations.For any eligible US locations, unless otherwise noted, the base compensation range for this role is $127,400 USD - $236,600 USD.Base pay is positioned within the range based on several factors including an individual’s knowledge, skills and experience with consideration given to internal equity. Base pay is one part of a comprehensive Total Reward program which also includes flexible and supportive benefits and other wellbeing programs.This role may also be eligible for an Annual Bonus based on a combination of enterprise and individual performance.

About Us

Thomson Reuters informs the way forward by bringing together the trusted content and technology that people and organizations need to make the right decisions. We serve professionals across legal, tax, accounting, compliance, government, and media. Our products combine highly specialized software and insights to empower professionals with the data, intelligence, and solutions needed to make informed decisions, and to help institutions in their pursuit of justice, truth, and transparency. Reuters, part of Thomson Reuters, is a world leading provider of trusted journalism and news.

We are powered by the talents of 26,000 employees across more than 70 countries, where everyone has a chance to contribute and grow professionally in flexible work environments. At a time when objectivity, accuracy, fairness, and transparency are under attack, we consider it our duty to pursue them. Sound exciting? Join us and help shape the industries that move society forward.

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, including 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. If you reside in the United States and require an accommodation in the recruiting process, you may contact our Human Resources Department at [e-mail]. Disability accommodations in the recruiting process may include things like a sign language interpreter, making interview rooms accessible, providing assistive technology, or other relevant accommodations. Please note this email is not intended for general recruitment questions and we will promptly respond to inquiries regarding accommodations. More information on requesting an accommodation here.