Principal Software Engineer-KYC Risk Assessment

Next Frontier Capital; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

JPMorgan Chase in Houston seeks a Principal Software Engineer-KYC Risk Assessment to lead across multiple teams building a trusted, scalable Global KYC and Risk data platform. You will design architecture, set engineering standards, and deliver high-impact data and AI-enabled software in a regulated financial environment.

You will mentor engineers, collaborate with senior leaders, and drive secure, observable solutions that meet risk and compliance requirements while advancing product delivery

Qualifications

• 7+ years of software engineering experience in enterprise-scale environments.
• Hands-on system design, development, testing and operations at scale.
• Experience delivering production AI/ML systems including LLM-based apps and agentic architectures in regulated settings.
• Proficiency in Python and/or Java; strong cloud and data engineering expertise.

Responsibilities

• Architects and implements complex, scalable engineering frameworks and solutions using modern software design principles
• Develops secure, high-quality production code for data-intensive applications and platforms, and reviews and mentors other engineers
• Creates durable, reusable software frameworks and patterns used across teams and functions
• Designs and governs agentic AI systems with multi-agent workflows and human-in-the-loop controls for financial services environments
• Establishes engineering standards for LLM-based applications—RAG pipelines, embeddings, vector stores, model serving—ensuring safety and observability
• Drives adoption of advanced technical methods aligned with industry standards and product development methodologies

Skills

Python

Java

Cloud

Data Engineering

LLM AI systems

System design

Executive communication

Tools

Kafka

Redis

Memcached

Dynatrace

Splunk

Grafana

Airflow

Temporal

Databricks

Snowflake

AWS

Azure

GCP

Job description

If you are looking for a game-changing career, working for one of the world's leading financial institutions, you’ve come to the right place.

As a Principal Software Engineer-KYC Risk Assessment at JPMorgan Chase within the Corporate Sector, you provide expertise and engineering excellence as an integral part of an agile data engineering team. To enhance, build, and deliver a trusted market leading Global Know Your Customer (KYC) and Risk Assessment Data Platform in a secure, stable, and scalable way. Leverage your advanced technical capabilities and collaborate with colleagues across the organization to drive best-in-class outcomes across various technologies to support one or more of the firm’s portfolios.

This role is suited to a senior engineer who has hands-on skills to lead across multiple teams—defining architecture, engineering practices and standards, and delivering high-impact software that scales.

Job responsibilities

• Architects and implements complex, scalable engineering frameworks and solutions using modern software design principles
• Develops secure, high-quality production code for data-intensive applications and platforms, and reviews and mentors other engineers
• Creates durable, reusable software frameworks and patterns that are leveraged across teams and functions
• Designs and governs agentic AI systems, including multi-agent workflows, tool-use integrations, and human-in-the-loop controls appropriate for regulated financial services environments
• Establishes engineering standards for LLM-based applications — RAG pipelines, embedding workflows, vector store integrations, and model serving — ensuring safety, observability, and reproducibility at scale
• Drives adoption of advanced technical methods and practices aligned with the latest industry standards and product development methodologies
• Serves as the function's go-to subject matter expert in one or more areas of focus within data engineering, platform architecture, or AI systems
• Advises cross-functional teams on technological matters within your domain of expertise
• Influences leaders and senior stakeholders across business, product, and technology teams on technical strategy and direction
• Architects and governs agentic AI-enabled engineering workflows (using enterprise-authorized tools within the work environment) to improve delivery speed, code quality, and operational outcomes at scale (e.g., AI-driven PR review assistance, test generation/maintenance, release readiness checks, incident triage and root-cause acceleration), while defining guardrails for validation, security, resiliency, and reuse across teams.
• Applies knowledge of tools within the Software Development Life Cycle toolchain, including enterprise-authorized AI-assisted development and automation capabilities, to improve the value realized by automation at scale.

Required qualifications, capabilities, and skills

• Formal training or certification on software engineering concepts and 7+ years applied experience
• Hands-on practical experience delivering system design, application development, testing, and operational stability at enterprise scale
• Hands-on experience designing and deploying production AI/ML systems, including LLM-based applications and agentic architectures with tool use, memory, and multi-step reasoning in regulated environments
• Expert in one or more programming languages, particularly Python and/or Java
• Advanced knowledge of software application development and technical processes, with considerable depth in one or more disciplines (e.g., cloud, AI/ML, data engineering)
• Experience in large-scale data processing, microservices, API design, Kafka, Redis, MemCached, observability tools (Dynatrace, Splunk, Grafana), and orchestration frameworks (Airflow, Temporal)
• Advanced working knowledge of relational and NoSQL databases, vector stores, data lake architectures, and data governance
• Practical cloud-native experience (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
• Ability to present and effectively communicate with senior leaders and executives
• Demonstrable experience designing and leading adoption of agentic AI-enabled development practices (using enterprise-authorized tools within the work environment) across teams, including setting standards for human-in-the-loop validation, auditability/traceability of changes, and secure handling of sensitive data.
• Strong understanding of responsible AI use and control expectations in engineering workflows, including security/resiliency implications, data sensitivity, and risk-based governance; ability to influence senior technical leaders on safe scaling patterns and reuse.

Preferred qualifications, capabilities, and skills

• Experience with modern data platforms such as Databricks or Snowflake
• Deep hands-on experience with Spark/PySpark and other big data processing technologies
• Expertise in open-source table formats and catalog services such as Apache Iceberg
• Experience with LLM orchestration frameworks and model serving infrastructure or managed endpoints (AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI)
• Familiarity with AI evaluation and observability practices: evals frameworks, red-teaming, prompt drift detection, and cost/latency monitoring for LLM workloads
• Understanding of agentic design patterns and how to constrain agent autonomy in high-stakes financial workflows
• Awareness of AI risk and regulatory considerations relevant to AI use in financial decision-making

JPMorganChase, one of the oldest financial institutions, offers innovative financial solutions to millions of consumers, small businesses and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Our history spans over 200 years and today we are a leader in investment banking, consumer and small business banking, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management.

We offer a competitive total rewards package including base salary determined based on the role, experience, skill set and location. Those in eligible roles may receive commission-based pay and/or discretionary incentive compensation, paid in the form of cash and/or forfeitable equity, awarded in recognition of individual achievements and contributions. We also offer a range of benefits and programs to meet employee needs, based on eligibility. These benefits include comprehensive health care coverage, on-site health and wellness centers, a retirement savings plan, backup childcare, tuition reimbursement, mental health support, financial coaching and more. Additional details about total compensation and benefits will be provided during the hiring process.

We recognize that our people are our strength and the diverse talents they bring to our global workforce are directly linked to our success. We are an equal opportunity employer and place a high value on diversity and inclusion at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of any protected attribute, including race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital or veteran status, pregnancy or disability, or any other basis protected under applicable law. We also make reasonable accommodations for applicants’ and employees’ religious practices and beliefs, as well as mental health or physical disability needs. Visit our FAQs for more information about requesting an accommodation.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including Disability/Veterans

Our professionals in our Corporate Functions cover a diverse range of areas from finance and risk to human resources and marketing. Our corporate teams are an essential part of our company, ensuring that we’re setting our businesses, clients, customers and employees up for success. Drive innovative technology solutions to support the KYC & Risk Assessment business, as part of an agile Data Engineering team