Senior AI Engineer – Generative AI & Applied Innovation (Financial Services)

Cetera Financial Group; Dallas (TX); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Paid time off and wellness days

401(k) with company contribution

Paid parental leave

Employee Assistance Program

Job summary

A leading financial services company is seeking a Senior AI Engineer to drive the evolution of Generative AI systems. This role involves defining AI architectures, building scalable solutions, and collaborating across teams to enhance client experiences. You should have extensive experience in architectural technology, AI frameworks, and strong programming skills in Python, TypeScript, and Java. Benefits include comprehensive health plans, generous paid time off, and a 401(k) savings plan with employer contributions.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in architectural technology for over 12 years.
• Hands-on in architecting Generative AI systems.
• Strong software engineering in Python, TypeScript, and Java.

Responsibilities

• Own enterprise GenAI reference architectures.
• Design solution blueprints and integration patterns.
• Build high-quality services for AI systems.

Skills

Architectural Technology

Generative AI systems

Python

TypeScript

Java

ML/AI pipelines

Analytics & Data Privacy

Managing cloud-native development

Education

12+ years in Architectural Technology

3+ years in AI

Tools

Azure

AWS

Terraform

GitHub Actions

Azure DevOps

Job description

Senior AI Engineer – Generative AI & Applied Innovation (Financial Services)

Join to apply for the Senior AI Engineer – Generative AI & Applied Innovation (Financial Services) role at Cetera Financial Group.

We are at the forefront of transforming the future of technology in the financial industry. We seek curious, practical individuals to help us pave the way. Our team is not intimidated by taking calculated risks; we relish challenges and are eager to engage in problem‑solving. As a member of our team, you will work alongside like‑minded experts in a culture deeply rooted in innovation and progression. Join us to be part of a transformative journey that can shape the industry's future.

Introduction

We are seeking a hands‑on Senior AI Architect‑Engineer who bridges enterprise architecture leadership with deep engineering execution. You will define and evolve our Generative AI reference architectures while building high‑quality solutions end‑to‑end—accelerating delivery of RAG systems, copilots, and agentic workflows that enhance client experiences, streamline operations, and unlock business value across financial services. This role balances strategy and governance with pragmatic coding, prototyping, and productionizing AI systems.

Locations

Dallas, Texas (strongly preferred) or El Segundo, CA.

What Will You Do

• Own and evolve enterprise GenAI reference architectures (LLM orchestration, unified RAG patterns, retrieval, vector index, observability, security).
• Design solution blueprints and integration patterns across data platforms, APIs, identity, secrets, and tenant isolation; ensure consistency via reusable components and IaC.
• Lead architecture reviews and guardrail enforcement (Responsible AI, cost/performance, safety controls) while unblocking delivery teams.
• Prototype quickly and build high‑quality services: prompts, evaluators, retrievers, chunking pipelines, embeddings, and inference APIs.
• Develop scalable ML/AI pipelines and microservices using cloud‑native tools (e.g., Azure, AWS), with CI/CD and automated testing.
• Implement agent frameworks and workflow orchestration (manual and autonomous) for business scenarios; catalog prompts and agents.
• Partner with Data Engineering and MLOps to deploy, monitor, and lifecycle‑manage models; establish model telemetry and cost/usage alerts.
• Collaborate with AI Program Strategy, Product, Compliance, and line‑of‑business stakeholders to identify/priorize use cases and align with operating model.
• Contribute to internal libraries and shared components; publish patterns, design decisions, and best practices to the AI Community of Practice.
• Drive build‑vs‑buy decisions, evaluate vendor capabilities, and ensure alignment with governance and ROI frameworks.

What You Need To Have

• 12 years of professional experience in Architectural Technology.
• 3+ years of experience in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
• Hands‑on experience architecting and building Generative AI systems, including LLM orchestration, RAG pipelines, and copilots.
• Experience with leading AI platforms and frameworks: Azure OpenAI, OpenAI, Hugging Face, LangChain, and agent frameworks.
• Strong software engineering skills in Python, TypeScript, and Java, with cloud‑native development on Azure and AWS.
• Proven ability to design and deploy production ML systems: feature stores, model registries, CI/CD pipelines, observability, and data privacy controls.
• Expertise in retrieval systems: semantic chunking, metadata extraction, hybrid search, and vector stores (Azure AI Search, Pinecone).
• Deep understanding of security and compliance patterns: SSO, RBAC, secrets management, multi‑tenant isolation; familiar with financial services risk and controls.
• Skilled in prompt engineering and evaluation, including prompt versioning, catalogs, and test harnesses.
• Proficient in IaC and automated delivery pipelines (Terraform, Bicep, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps).
• Strong cross‑functional leadership: driving architecture reviews, establishing standards, mentoring engineers, and collaborating with Risk/Compliance teams.
• Excellent communicator of trade‑offs, cost/performance, and ROI to both technical and business stakeholders.

What Will Really Catch Our Eye

• Examples of enterprise‑grade GenAI reference implementations reused across multiple use cases.
• Proof of reducing time‑to‑production via standardized RAG patterns and shared components.
• Demonstrated Responsible AI governance embedded in delivery workflows (evaluations, guardrails, and red teaming).
• Architecting agentic solutions that integrate with existing systems (Salesforce, NICE, AWS) through robust APIs and observability.
• Published internal architecture notes/patterns, mentorship, and community contributions.

Our top performers share the following traits

• Deep understanding of business processes and how AI can be applied to improve them.
• Pragmatic and collaborative, building trust across business and technical teams.
• High integrity and accountability in architectural and technical decision‑making.
• Exceptional problem‑solving skills and a bias for action.
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and creating structure where none exists.
• Balance of architectural depth with practical execution and delivery.
• Continuous learning mindset to stay current with AI/ML trends and applications.

Compensation

The salary range for this role is $140,000 – $185,000 plus competitive performance‑based bonus. Compensation packages are based on a wide array of factors unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, years and depth of experience, certifications, and specific office location. Compensation ranges may differ in different locations due to cost of labor considerations.

Hybrid

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About Us

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What We Give You In Return

• Inclusive health, dental, vision and life insurance plans built to support diverse lifestyles, offer preventative care, and protect against hardship.
• Easy access to mental health benefits to meet our team members and their families where they are.
• 20+ days of paid time off (PTO), paid holidays, and 2 paid wellness days to give our employees the time they need to stay close with their loved ones, recharge, and give back to their communities.
• 401(k) Savings plan with a generous company contribution (up to 5%), and access to a financial professional to offer our employees the opportunity to plan‑ahead for a strong financial future well beyond their working years.
• Paid parental leave to support all team members with birth, adoption, and foster.
• Health Savings and Flexible Spending Account options to help you save money on healthcare, daycare, commuting, and more.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP), LifeLock, Pet Insurance and more.

About Cetera Financial Group

Cetera Financial Group ® (“Cetera”) is a leading network of independent retail broker‑dealers empowering the delivery of objective financial advice to individuals, families and company retirement plans across the country through trusted financial advisors and financial institutions. Cetera is one of the largest independent financial advisor networks in the nation by number of advisors, as well as a leading provider of retail services to the investment programs of banks and credit unions. Through its multiple distinct firms, Cetera offers independent and institution‑based advisors the benefits of a large, established broker‑dealer and registered investment adviser, while serving advisors and institutions in a way that is customized to their needs and aspirations. Advisor support resources offered through Cetera include award‑winning wealth management and advisory platforms, comprehensive broker‑dealer and registered investment adviser services, practice management support, and innovative technology.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Cetera Financial Group is committed to providing an equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. All employment decisions will be made without regard to protected characteristics, ensuring a fair and inclusive workplace.

Seniority level

Mid‑Senior level

Employment type

Full‑time

Job function

Engineering and Information Technology