Machine Learning Engineer

Akkodis; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 195,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401K plan

Job summary

A leading technology firm in Chicago is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead risk engineering initiatives. This role involves delivering machine learning-based systems and shaping the vision for a cloud-native risk platform. Ideal candidates should have over 15 years of experience in software engineering, expertise in risk systems, and a strong inclination for mentorship and strategic technology leadership. The position offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of software engineering and architecture experience.
• Expertise in risk systems or financial services.
• Strong understanding of data engineering and ML/AI scoring.
• Exceptional ability to influence strategy across an enterprise.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve the enterprise-wide architecture for the Risk Platform.
• Lead the design and implementation of core risk services.
• Mentor senior engineers and drive platform reliability.
• Represent technical vision internally and externally.

Skills

Software engineering

Machine learning systems

Cloud-native design

Data engineering

Mentorship

Communication skills

Education

Advanced degree in Computer Science or Engineering

Job description

We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer – Risk Engineering with strong experience delivering machine learning based systems, to provide deep technical leadership across architecture, engineering, and strategic direction for our global Risk technology initiatives.

Pay rate: $195-$260K Annual. The position is not open to sponsorship at this time.

As a senior technical leader within the Risk Engineering organization, you will shape the vision, architecture, and execution of a modern, cloud-native risk platform that underpins our ability to scale securely, accelerate time-to-market, and enable innovation across payments and financial services. You will drive the design and development of highly available, intelligent, and extensible systems that power risk operations, credit underwriting, and financial risk management.

This role requires exceptional technical depth, strategic foresight, and the ability to influence across a matrixed enterprise. You will be a trusted advisor to executive leadership, mentor senior engineers, and play a pivotal role in building the next generation of risk technology.

Key Responsibilities

• Architectural Ownership – Define, design, and evolve the enterprise-wide architecture for our Risk Platform, ensuring scalability, extensibility, resilience, and alignment with long-term business strategy.
• Strategic Technology Leadership – Partner with senior leadership across Risk, Compliance, Data, and AI to translate business priorities into robust technical roadmaps. Shape near-term and long-term technical vision, balancing innovation with operational excellence.
• Platform Development – Lead the design and implementation of core risk services, from data ingestion and feature engineering to machine learning–driven decisioning and monitoring. Ensure high performance, and regulatory compliance.
• Cross-Enterprise Integration – Partner with solutions architecture and product engineering leaders to ensure seamless integration of the Risk Platform into our broader product portfolio.
• Innovation & Modernization – Challenge existing paradigms; champion modern engineering practices, cloud-native design, and open-source adoption to build a best-in-class risk ecosystem.
• Mentorship & Talent Development – Serve as a technical mentor to senior engineers and architects. Raise the bar for engineering excellence, instill a culture of continuous improvement, and help shape a world-class global risk engineering team.
• Operational Excellence – Drive platform reliability through observability, automation, and SRE best practices. Partner with security and compliance teams to maintain robust risk controls while enabling agility.
• Thought Leadership – Represent our technical vision internally and externally. Stay ahead of emerging technologies in cloud, AI/ML, and financial risk, applying them to deliver business impact.

Qualifications & Experience

• 15+ years of software engineering and architecture experience, with a proven track record of building and scaling machine learning based systems.
• Expertise in risk systems, financial services, or payments technology would be a strong plus, with experience architecting platforms that integrate risk assessment, credit, and compliance functions.
• Hands-on technical leadership across the full SDLC, from architecture and development to production operations. Strong focus on automation, observability, and reliability engineering.
• Strong understanding of data engineering, feature pipelines, and ML/AI scoring for risk modeling and decisioning both in online and offline environments.
• Exceptional ability to influence strategy and drive adoption of technology initiatives across a matrixed enterprise.
• Demonstrated success mentoring senior engineers and architects; talent magnet with the ability to attract, develop, and retain top-tier technical talent.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to connect technology decisions to business outcomes.
• Excellent communication skills; able to articulate complex technical vision to executives, engineers, and cross-functional partners.
• Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field strongly preferred.

We offer a range of benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, and a 401K plan. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled and consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in accordance with federal, state, and local laws.