Senior Applied AI Engineer

Pagaya; New York (NY); On-site; USD 165,000 - 205,000; Full time

Job summary

Pagaya is seeking a Senior Applied AI Engineer in New York to shape AI-enabled transformations across the company. You will architect, build, and deploy practical AI solutions, automations, and intelligent agents that modernize internal workflows.

Starting within the Office of the CEO and President, you will expand to collaborate with Capital Markets, Finance, and Operations, leveraging BI and data to deliver scalable, enterprise-grade AI systems with a strong focus on governance and security.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in data engineering, business intelligence, or software engineering with hands-on AI solution building.
• Independent architecture of technical solutions delivering business value with minimal supervision.
• Ability to navigate a complex corporate environment across geographies and systems.
• Advanced software engineering proficiency; experience with cloud-native tech (AWS, Docker, Kubernetes).
• Experience with modern LLM APIs (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini), agentic orchestration frameworks, and enterprise AI platforms.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication with ability to explain technical/financial concepts to non-technical leaders.

Responsibilities

• Embedded AI Architecture & Development: architect and build AI-enabled workflow transformations from the OCEO, expanding to other units.
• Independent Execution: gather data, build consensus, and drive projects to production with minimal handholding.
• Workflow Automation & Agentic Systems: design AI tools and automations to streamline business processes.
• BI & Data Integration: connect LLMs and AI frameworks into Pagaya's data infrastructure and dashboards.
• Cross-Functional Execution: partner with leadership, finance, and capital markets to translate problems into solutions.
• Rapid Prototyping & Scale: iterate quickly while upholding security, governance, and responsible AI standards.
• Enablement & Documentation: templating solutions for reuse and leading walkthroughs for user adoption.

Job description

Shape the Future of Finance
Pagaya is building a leading artificial intelligence network to help our partners grow their businesses and better serve their customers.

Shape the Future of Finance
Pagaya is building a leading artificial intelligence network to help our partners grow their businesses and better serve their customers.
Pagaya is a global technology company making life-changing financial products and services available to more people nationwide, as it reshapes the financial services ecosystem. By using machine learning, a vast data network and a sophisticated AI-driven approach, Pagaya provides comprehensive consumer credit and residential real estate solutions for its partners, their customers, and investors. Its proprietary API and capital solutions integrate into its network of partners to deliver seamless user experiences and greater access to the mainstream economy. Pagaya has offices in New York and Tel Aviv. For more information, visit pagaya.com .

Let's create better outcomes together!

About the Role

As a Senior Applied AI Engineer embedded within the Office of the CEO and President (OCEO/OOP), you will serve as a high-impact builder driving the future of AI-enabled business transformation at Pagaya. Working at the intersection of business strategy, data architecture, and modern artificial intelligence, you will independently architect, build, and deploy practical, high-value AI solutions, automations, and intelligent agents that modernize internal workflows.

Starting within the OCEO/OOP to address high-visibility executive priorities, your work will quickly expand to partner with key business functions across Capital Markets, Finance, and broader Operations. Combining a strong background in Business Intelligence (BI) with hands‑on AI engineering capabilities, you will translate complex financial workflows into durable, scalable AI systems that elevate operational speed and analytical precision across the company, operating autonomously and with a high degree of technical ownership.

Responsibilities

• Embedded AI Architecture & Development: Act as the primary technical builder, architect, and problem‑solver for AI‑enabled workflow transformations - starting in the OCEO (with close guidance from our CTO) and expanding into Capital Markets, Finance, and key operational units.
• Independent Execution: Navigate Pagaya’s technical ecosystem independently to gather data, build consensus, and drive projects from ambiguous concepts to production‑ready solutions without requiring significant technical handholding.
• Workflow Automation & Agentic Systems: Identify manual, repeated, or data‑dense business processes and architect production‑ready AI tools, customized copilots, and agentic workflows to streamline execution.
• BI & Data Integration: Leverage a robust background in Business Intelligence and data analysis to connect LLMs, foundation models, and AI agent frameworks directly into Pagaya’s data infrastructure, dashboards, and financial models.
• Cross‑Functional Execution: Work closely with business leadership, financial analysts, and capital markets teams to translate ambiguous business problems and complex financial data into practical, user‑friendly technical solutions.
• Rapid Prototyping & Scale: Design, iterate, and deploy prototypes rapidly based on stakeholder feedback, while adhering to enterprise standards for data security, governance, and responsible AI usage.
• Enablement & Documentation: Templatize and document solutions to enable scalable reuse across departments; lead walkthroughs and light enablement to drive active user adoption across technical and non‑technical teams.

Requirements

• Experience: 6+ years of experience in data engineering, business intelligence, or software engineering with demonstrated hands‑on experience independently architecting and building applied AI solutions, internal tools, or AI‑driven automations.
• Independent Architecture & Problem Solving: Proven ability to independently architect high‑level ideas into technical solutions that provide business value and do so with minimal supervision.
• Organizational Navigation: Demonstrated ability to operate independently within a complex corporate environment, finding the right stakeholders, across all levels and geographies and systems to integrate with.
• Technical & Coding Proficiency: Advanced proficiency in software engineering with prior experience developing, delivering, and supporting AI components. Familiarity with cloud‑native technologies (AWS, Docker, Kubernetes)
• Modern AI Tooling & Frameworks: Hands‑on experience with modern LLM APIs/ecosystems (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini), agentic orchestration frameworks, RAG (Retrieval‑Augmented Generation) architectures, and enterprise AI platforms.
• Communication & Stakeholder Management: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with a proven track record of distilling technical and financial concepts for non‑technical leadership and cross‑functional teams.
• Adaptability & Drive: An entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to manage multiple complex, fast‑paced projects simultaneously, delivering meticulously accurate, self‑audited work within tight deadlines.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Information Systems, Finance, Engineering, or an equivalent quantitative discipline required.
• Preferred: Prior exposure to financial services, structured finance, fixed income, or capital markets workflows is a strong plus.

The pay ranges for New York‑based hires are commensurate with candidate experience.

Pay ranges for candidates working in locations other than New York may differ based on the cost of labor in that location.

Compensation Range for New York Based Hires

$165,000 - $205,000 USD

Our Team

Pagaya was founded in 2016 by seasoned research, finance, and technology entrepreneurs with our head quarters located in NYC and Tel Aviv.

We move fast and smart, identifying new opportunities and building end‑to‑end solutions from AI models and unique data sources. Every Pagaya team member is solving new and exciting challenges every day in a culture based on partnership, collaboration, and community.

Join a team of builders who are working every day to enable better outcomes for our partners and their customers.

Our Values

• Continuously Learn- We challenge ourselves for the sake of getting better as individuals, as teams, and as an organization to deliver for our partners.
• Debate and Commit- We respectfully and openly debate to strengthen our ideas and build shared conviction - once we decide, we go all in, together.
• Dream Big and Act- We boldly tackle complex problems, pressure‑test solutions in real‑time, and adapt with speed and energy.
• Advance Inclusion- We create a world where everyone can win, designing systems that better represent people and generate sustainable value for our employees, partners and investors.
• Be Accountable Together- We proudly own our actions and our results, taking initiative to ensure our work gets over the finish line as a team.

More than just a job

We believe health, happiness, and productivity go hand‑in‑hand. That's why we're continually looking to enhance the ways we support you with benefits programs and perks that allow every Pagayan to do the best work of their life.

Voluntary Self-Identification

As set forth in Pagaya ’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.