Senior Forward Deployed Engineer - Vice President

Citigroup; New York (NY); On-site; USD 142,000 - 213,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision coverage

401(k)

Life, accident, and disability insured

Wellness programs

Paid time off (vacation, sick leave, &

Job summary

Citigroup seeks a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer in New York to lead production‑grade agent reasoning loops and robust tool integrations. You will build MCP servers, ensure secure, scalable execution pipelines, and guide junior developers in a fast‑paced agile environment.

Responsibilities include implementing resilient error handling, HITL escalation, and integration with enterprise systems while maintaining regulatory compliance and code quality.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of software engineering experience, with 4+ years of Python proficiency.
• Hands-on experience with LLM APIs (R2D2 Gateway, OpenAI, Google Vertex AI) and integrating foundation models into backend services.
• Experience with REST/gRPC API development, Docker, Git, Linux environments, and CI/CD automation pipelines.
• Understanding of prompt engineering, structured JSON output validation (e.g., Pydantic), and vector search/retrieval patterns.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively in fast-paced agile squads solving ambiguous technical problems.

Responsibilities

• Writes robust, production‑quality agent reasoning logic, memory management, and sub‑agent delegation workflows in Python.
• Develops MCP servers connecting AI agents to enterprise systems (ServiceNow, JIRA, DBaaS, Kafka, internal REST/gRPC services).
• Implements resilient error handling, automated retry mechanisms, fallback routines, and HITL escalation triggers.
• Integrates Lakera Guardrails for prompt‑injection defense, jailbreak mitigation, and automated PII filtering/redaction.
• Collaborates with C12 engineers to build automated regression testbeds and integrate Agentflow Studio evaluation harnesses into deployment workflows.
• Advises and coaches junior developers, participating in sprint delivery and peer code reviews.

Skills

Python

LLM APIs

REST/gRPC

Docker

Git

Linux

CI/CD

Prompt engineering

Pydantic

Vector search

Agile teamwork

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Docker

Git

Linux

CI/CD

Job description

The Senior Forward Deployed Engineer is a hands‑on core engineering position responsible for developing agent reasoning logic, custom tool integrations, and resilient execution pipelines embedded with LOB squads. The overall objective of this role is to build production‑grade agent reasoning loops, custom Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, and robust error‑handling mechanisms adhering to enterprise safety and quality standards.

Responsibilities:

• Writes robust, production‑quality agent reasoning logic, memory management, and sub‑agent delegation workflows in Python.
• Develops custom Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers connecting AI agents to enterprise systems (ServiceNow, JIRA, DBaaS, Kafka, internal REST/gRPC services).
• Implements resilient error handling, automated retry mechanisms, fallback routines, and Human‑in‑the‑Loop (HITL) escalation triggers.
• Integrates Lakera Guardrails for synchronous and asynchronous prompt‑injection defense, jailbreak mitigation, and automated PII filtering/redaction.
• Collaborates with C12 engineers to build automated regression testbeds and integrate Agentflow Studio evaluation harnesses into deployment workflows.
• Advises and coaches junior developers, participating actively in sprint delivery and peer code reviews.
• Appropriately assess risk when business decisions are made, demonstrating particular consideration for the firm’s reputation and safeguarding Citigroup, its clients and assets, by driving compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, adhering to Policy, applying sound ethical judgment regarding personal behavior, conduct and business practices, and escalating, managing and reporting control issues with transparency.

Qualifications:

• 6+ years of software engineering experience, with 4+ years of strong, professional Python proficiency.
• Hands‑on experience working with LLM APIs (R2D2 Gateway, OpenAI, Google Vertex AI) and integrating foundation models into backend services.
• Experience with REST/gRPC API development, Docker, Git, Linux environments, and CI/CD automation pipelines.
• Understanding of prompt engineering, structured JSON output validation (e.g., Pydantic), and vector search/retrieval patterns.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively in fast‑paced agile squads solving ambiguous technical problems.

Education: Bachelor's/University degree or equivalent experience; Master's degree preferred.

Primary Location: New York New York United States

Full Time Salary Range: $142,320.00 - $213,480.00

Citi offers competitive employee benefits, including: medical, dental & vision coverage; 401(k); life, accident, and disability insurance; and wellness programs. Citi also offers paid time off packages, including planned time off (vacation), unplanned time off (sick leave), and 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.

Citi is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any oth