Senior AI Engineer - Vice President

Citi; Jersey City (NJ); On-site; USD 128,000 - 213,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision coverage

401(k)

Life, accident, and disability ins.

Wellness programs

Paid holidays

Job summary

Citi is seeking a Senior AI Engineer in Jersey City, NJ to lead AI application development and system integration. The role emphasizes GenAI, LLMs, and robust backend services using Python, FastAPI, and secure REST APIs. You will mentor teams and work across cross‑functional groups to deliver scalable AI solutions.

Expect a strong focus on architecture, performance optimization, and cloud‑native deployment within enterprise environments, with opportunities to shape AI strategy and governance.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of software development experience with strong Python.
• Deep knowledge of LLMs, RAG, and agentic frameworks.
• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD for APIs and ML models.
• Experience building distributed, microservices architectures.
• Strong API integration and enterprise connectivity.
• Excellent problem solving and leadership abilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead AI agent development, architecture, and deployment using GenAI platforms.
• Build autonomous AI systems with secure enterprise integration via APIs.
• Develop resilient systems with robust error handling and routing.
• Drive GenAI thought leadership across platforms (Gemini, Claude, GPT).
• Deliver end-to-end AI solutions focusing on Python backend and REST APIs.
• Optimize performance, latency, and cost with profiling and caching.
• Establish CI/CD for automated testing and cloud-native deployment.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to gather requirements.
• Mentor engineering teams and enforce best practices.
• Assess risks and ensure regulatory compliance.

Skills

GenAI concepts & LLMs

Python proficiency

AI Development Tools

Docker & Kubernetes

APIs & microservices design

Distributed systems

Java & Spring Boot

React/Angular (plus)

Education

Bachelor’s degree/University degree or equivalent experience

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

CI/CD pipelines

FastAPI

LangChain

LangGraph

Job description

The Senior AI Engineer is a senior level hands‑on position responsible for establishing and implementing new or revised application systems and programs in coordination with the Technology team. The overall objective of this role is to lead AI application development.

Responsibilities

• Lead AI agent development, architecture, and deployment using GenAI platforms, microservices, and intelligent bot interactions, leveraging script tools, adhering to data governance policies
• Architect and build autonomous AI systems for problem‑solving and decision‑making, ensuring seamless and secure integration with enterprise systems via robust APIs.
• Develop highly resilient systems with advanced error handling, fault tolerance, and intelligent routing.
• Drive GenAI thought leadership, integrating emerging platforms (Gemini, Claude, GPT) and research, while staying current with the latest technologies and trends.
• Deliver end‑to‑end Agentic AI solutions, focusing on Python backend services (FastAPI, asyncio), secure REST APIs, and robust data pipelines, applying fundamental programming principles.
• Optimize AI agent performance, latency, and cost through profiling, caching strategies, knowledge graphs and distributed system optimization.
• Establish CI/CD practices for automated testing, agent evaluation, cloud‑native deployment, and ensure code quality through reviews and peer programming.
• Collaborate extensively with cross‑functional teams and stakeholders to gather requirements, brainstorm solutions, deliver high‑quality software, and consult on technical issues.
• Analyze applications for vulnerabilities, conduct thorough testing, debugging, and effectively troubleshoot software issues.
• Mentor and coach engineering teams, act as a Subject Matter Expert (SME), and contribute to continuous learning initiatives.
• Assess and manage risks in business decisions, safeguarding the firm's reputation, ensuring compliance with regulations, and transparently escalating control issues.

Recommended Qualifications

• Extensive hands‑on experience with GenAI concepts, Large Language Models (LLMs), transformer architecture, RAG, and agentic frameworks such as Google ADK, LangChain, LangGraph.
• Expert Python proficiency for AI/ML development, data engineering, and backend services; deep understanding of software design patterns, data structures, and algorithms.
• Hands‑on experience with AI Development Tools such as Claude Code, Devin AI, Cursor, Copilot etc.
• Proficient with containers and orchestration technologies on Kubernetes or equivalent cloud, and ability to architect and deploy high‑performance, large‑scale AI/ML systems to production.
• Experience in architecting and developing virtual assistants, chatbots, and conversational AI platforms.
• Experience with technologies like Java, Spring Boot, SQL Queries, front end like React/Angular is a plus.

Experience

• 6+ years of software development experience, with strong experience delivering Python.
• Proven expertise in LLMs, fine‑tuning methods, building RAG systems (hybrid search, multivector retrieval)
• Experience with containerization (Docker), orchestration (Kubernetes), CI/CD pipelines for APIs and ML models, and practices in agile development environments.
• Experience with distributed systems, event‑driven architectures, container‑based microservices, distributed logs.
• Expert understanding of Machine Learning, and Generative AI techniques, coupled with demonstrated experience in complex API integrations and enterprise system connectivity.
• Exceptional problem‑solving, analytical, and communication skills, with the ability to lead, mentor cross‑functional teams.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree/University degree or equivalent experience
• Master’s degree preferred.

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Job Family Group

Technology

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Job Family

Applications Development

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Time Type

Full time

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Primary Location

Jersey City New Jersey United States

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Primary Location Full Time Salary Range

$142,320.00 - $213,480.00

In addition to salary, Citi’s offerings may also include, for eligible employees, discretionary and formulaic incentive and retention awards. Citi offers competitive employee benefits, including: medical, dental & vision coverage; 401(k); life, accident, and disability insurance; and wellness programs.

• medical, dental & vision coverage
• 401(k)
• life, accident, and disability insurance
• wellness programs

Citi also offers paid time off packages, including planned time off (vacation), unplanned time off (sick leave), and paid holidays.

• planned time off (vacation)
• unplanned time off (sick leave)
• 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.

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Most Relevant Skills

Please see the requirements listed above.

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Other Relevant Skills

For complementary skills, please see above and/or contact the recruiter.

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Anticipated Posting Close Date

Sep 17, 2026

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Automated Processing and AI

We use automated processing, including artificial intelligence, for our legitimate business interests (or our reasonable and appropriate business purposes) to identify and align the candidate's skills and abilities with a specific job opening. Additionally, if you so choose, or consent, we can match your skills and abilities to other suitable roles at Citi.

Importantly, all our hiring processes and decisions, including determining your suitability for a role, are conducted, checked, and decided by individuals. Our automated processing and AI do not involve relying on automatic or autonomous decision-making. Please refer to any Jurisdictional Considerations, with specific provisions for your country (where relevant) for further details.

Illinois residents – AI Notice and Right

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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.