Senior Associate, Artificial Intelligence Engineering

The Options Clearing Corporation; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 105,000 - 148,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

Tuition reimbursement

Student loan repayment

Technology stipend

Generous PTO

401k match

Health benefits

Job summary

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is hiring a Senior Associate, AI Engineering to contribute to the first generation of agentic AI capabilities on Claude models and AWS. You will build production AI apps and/or the supporting infrastructure, collaborating with senior engineers from day one.

You'll work across application and infrastructure domains, focusing on agent behavior, context design, deployment, and reliability in a regulated environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 2-4 years of professional software engineering experience.

Responsibilities

• Build and ship production AI applications using Claude and Anthropic tooling on AWS.
• Contribute to agent orchestration, tool integration, and context design for multi-step agentic workflows.
• Work on application side (agent behavior, prompt and context architecture, evaluation design) or infrastructure side (AWS environments, CI/CD, observability for AI systems).
• Implement automated evaluation methods and output validation checks for reliability in a regulated environment.
• Collaborate with senior engineers on technical design decisions and code reviews.
• Partner with OCC's AI Governance function on governance-defined standards implementations.

Skills

Python

SQL

AWS

CI/CD

Containerization

Claude

Anthropic API

MCP

Terraform

Kubernetes

Docker

Financial markets

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field

Tools

Claude

Anthropic API

Job description

What You'll Do

OCC's AI Research & Engineering (AIRE) team is building the company's first generation of agentic AI capabilities on Anthropic's Claude models and AWS infrastructure.

The Senior Associate, AI Engineering contributes hands-on to the design, development, and deployment of AI-powered applications and/or the infrastructure that supports them, working directly with senior engineers on real, greenfield initiatives from day one.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• Build and ship production AI applications using Claude and Anthropic's tooling on AWS
• Contribute to agent orchestration, tool integration, and context design for multi-step agentic workflows
• Work on the application side (agent behavior, prompt and context architecture, evaluation design) or the infrastructure side (AWS environments, CI/CD, observability for AI systems), based on interest and team need
• Implement automated evaluation methods and output validation checks that support system reliability in a regulated environment
• Collaborate with senior engineers on technical design decisions and participate in code and architecture reviews
• Partner with OCC's AI Governance function on the technical implementation of governance-defined standards

Qualifications

• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the primary functions.
• Genuine, demonstrated interest in AI/LLM systems, shown through coursework, personal projects, internships, or early professional work
• Comfort working in a fast-evolving, still-forming team environment where standards and practices are actively being defined
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• This position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for sponsorship now or in the future.

Technical Skills

• Required: Strong Python skills; working knowledge of SQL
• Required: Familiarity with cloud infrastructure (AWS preferred) and modern engineering practices such as CI/CD and containerization
• Preferred: Hands-on exposure to Claude, the Anthropic API, or Claude.ai/Console
• Preferred: Exposure to agent orchestration frameworks or the Model Context Protocol (MCP)
• Preferred: Interest or experience in AI infrastructure (Terraform, Kubernetes, Docker)
• Preferred: Interest in financial markets or other regulated industries

Education and/or Experience

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field 2-4 years of professional software engineering experience (internships and substantial academic project work may be considered for exceptional candidates)

Certificates or Licenses

None required

About Us

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Founded in 1973, OCC is dedicated to promoting stability and market integrity by delivering clearing and settlement services for options, futures and securities lending transactions. As a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU), OCC operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. OCC has more than 100 clearing members and provides central counterparty (CCP) clearing and settlement services to 19 exchanges and trading platforms. More information about OCC is available at www.theocc.com.

Benefits

• A hybrid work environment, up to 2 days per week of remote work
• Tuition Reimbursement to support your continued education
• Student Loan Repayment Assistance
• Technology Stipend allowing you to use the device of your choice to connect to our network while working remotely
• Generous PTO and Parental leave
• 401k Employer Match
• Competitive health benefits including medical, dental and vision

Visit https://www.theocc.com/careers/thriving-together for more information.

Compensation

The salary range listed for any given position is exclusive of fringe benefits and potential bonuses. If hired at OCC, your final base salary compensation will be determined by factors such as skills, experience and/or education. In addition, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider internal equity of our current team members as part of any final offer. We typically do not hire at the maximum of the range in order to allow for future and continued salary growth. We also offer a substantial benefits package as noted on www.theocc.com/careers All employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus. Discretionary bonuses are based on various factors, including, but not limited to, company and individual performance and are not guaranteed.

Salary Range $105,300.00 - $147,600.00

Incentive Range 6% to 10%

This position is eligible for an annual discretionary incentive compensation award, for which the target range is listed above (see Incentive Range). The amount of such award, if any, will be based on various factors, including without limitation, both individual and company performance.

Equal Opportunity Statements

OCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer

OCC is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. OCC provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age, marital status, religion, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.

Numerous studies have shown that people from certain groups are less likely than others to apply to jobs if they believe they do not meet 100% of the requirements. We encourage everyone to review our open positions and apply if you think your experience may be a match, even if you do not meet all of the qualifications. Your perspective may be an element we need to continue building innovative solutions to support the markets and market participants we serve.

If you need a disability related accommodation for any part of the application process, please email [e-mail].