Principal Generative AI Engineer, SVP

Citibank (Switzerland) AG; Irving (TX); On-site; Confidential; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Competitive compensation

Wellbeing programs

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Paid time off

Job summary

Citi is seeking a Principal Generative AI Engineer to lead design, development, and deployment of intelligent operations and automation platforms within the AI Automation FDE team. You will set technical direction for generative AI solutions, from LLM orchestration to governance, ensuring security, compliance, and reliability in financial services.

You will collaborate with senior leaders to translate business challenges into production-ready AI solutions and drive scalable AI delivery across a

Qualifications

• 10+ years in application development or engineering with strong AI/ML production experience.
• Experience with LLM architectures, embedding models, and AI orchestration
• Hands-on experience deploying open-source LLMs and enterprise AI platforms.

Responsibilities

• Architect end-to-end generative AI solutions for intelligent operations and automation.
• Lead engineering of LLM pipelines, fine-tuning, prompt-engineering, and deployment of open-source models.
• Build and maintain RAG pipelines using vector databases to enhance accuracy and relevance.
• Design and implement AI governance frameworks with guardrails and detection systems.
• Deploy cloud-native AI infrastructure with Python, Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD.
• Ensure AI models meet risk, auditability, and data security standards.

Skills

LLM architectures

Embedding models

AI orchestration

LangChain

Google ADK

Python

PyTorch

Hugging Face

FastAPI/Flask

API development

Deterministic controls

CI/CD

OpenShift

Docker

Kubernetes

Security governance

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

Google Vertex AI

OpenShift

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Position Overview

Citi is looking for a Principal Generative AI Engineer to lead the design, development, and deployment of intelligent operations and automation platforms within the AI Automation Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) team, part of Consumer Operations Technology division. In this senior role, you will set the technical direction for generative AI solutions from LLM orchestration and RAG pipelines to AI governance frameworks, ensuring our AI capabilities meet the highest standards of security, compliance, and reliability in financial services. This is a high-impact opportunity to shape how Citi applies cutting-edge AI at scale, working alongside senior technology leaders across a global organization.

Responsibilities

• Architect and deliver end-to-end generative AI solutions for intelligent operations, including advanced chatbots, agentic workflow automation, and AI-assisted decision platforms that improve operational efficiency at scale.
• Lead the engineering of LLM pipelines by fine-tuning, prompt-engineering, and deploying open-source models such as Llama, Mistral, and Gemma alongside proprietary models via Google Vertex AI.
• Build and maintain Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines using vector databases such as Pinecone, Milvus, and Chroma to enhance model accuracy and contextual relevance.
• Design and implement AI governance frameworks, including guardrails (NeMo Guardrails, Llama Guard), deterministic controls, semantic routing, and hallucination detection systems to ensure safe and compliant production AI.
• Deploy scalable, cloud-native AI infrastructure using Python, Docker, Kubernetes, and OpenShift, supported by robust CI/CD pipelines for continuous delivery.
• Apply deep knowledge of financial services technology to ensure all AI models meet strict risk management, auditability, and data security standards aligned with regulatory requirements.
• Partner with senior technology leaders and cross-functional teams to translate complex business challenges into production-ready AI solutions, setting credible technical direction throughout delivery.

Required qualifications & skills

• 10 or more years of experience in application development or engineering, with a significant focus on AI and machine learning solutions in production environments.
• Deep expertise in LLM architectures, embedding models, and AI orchestration frameworks such as Google ADK and LangChain, applied to real-world operational use cases.
• Hands-on experience deploying open-source LLMs (Llama, Mistral, Gemma) and working with enterprise AI platforms including Google Vertex AI or equivalent cloud AI suites.
• Expert-level Python skills, including proficiency with AI/ML libraries such as PyTorch, Hugging Face, Pandas, and NumPy, and API development frameworks including FastAPI and Flask.
• Demonstrated ability to implement deterministic controls, bias detection, and hallucination mitigation in production AI systems operating under strict compliance requirements.
• Strong experience with containerisation technologies (OpenShift, Docker, Kubernetes) and cloud-native application delivery, including CI/CD pipeline management.
• Background in financial services technology, with working knowledge of financial products, compliance requirements, and data security standards in a regulated environment.

Beneficial skills & qualifications

• Experience leading global technology teams or AI engineering programmes from concept through to production deployment.
• Familiarity with AI safety standards, emerging guardrail technologies, and the evolving regulatory landscape for AI in financial services.
• A Bachelor’s degree/University degree or equivalent experience.
• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related technical discipline, preferred.
• Exposure to managing cross-functional stakeholder relationships and communicating complex technical decisions to senior non-technical audiences.

What we offer

• A hybrid working model with 3 days in the office and 2 days working remotely, supporting effective work-life balance.
• Strategic ownership and technical leadership on high-visibility AI programmes that directly impact Citi's global consumer operations.
• Access to continuous learning and development resources, including exposure to state-of-the-art AI platforms, tools, and methodologies.
• Collaboration with senior technology leaders across a global organisation, with the opportunity to shape technical standards and influence delivery at scale.
• Competitive compensation and a comprehensive financial wellbeing package commensurate with a senior-level engineering role.
• Wellbeing support and family-friendly benefits designed to help you perform at your best, both professionally and personally.
• Citi offers competitive employee benefits, including: medical, dental & vision coverage; 401(k); life, accident, and disability insurance; and wellness programs.
• Citi also offers paid time off packages, including planned time off (vacation), unplanned time off (sick leave), and paid holidays.
• For additional information regarding Citi employee benefits, please visit citibenefits.com. Available offerings may vary by jurisdiction, job level, and date of hire.

Job Family Group

Technology

Job Family

Applications Development

Time Type

Full time

Primary Location

Irving Texas United States

Primary Location Full Time Salary Range

$156,160.00 - $234,240.00

Most Relevant Skills

Please see the requirements listed above.

Other Relevant Skills

Generative AI, Python (Programming Language).

Anticipated Posting Close Date

Sep 05, 2026

Citi is an equal opportunity employer

Citi is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you are a person with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation to use our search tools and/or apply for a career opportunity review Accessibility at Citi. View Citi’s EEO Policy Statement and the Know Your Rights poster.