Senior Lead AI Engineer (GenAI Platform Services)

Capital One; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 250,800 - 286,200; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance-based incentives

Comprehensive health benefits

Inclusive workplace environment

Job summary

Capital One is seeking a Sr. Lead AI Engineer in San Jose, CA to shape the future of banking through advanced AI technology. You will work alongside top engineers and researchers to build and deploy cutting-edge AI solutions that enhance customer experiences.

The ideal candidate has extensive experience with AI systems and software development, including skills in Python and cloud platforms. This position offers a competitive salary range of $250,800 to $286,200, along with comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in AI and ML algorithm development.
• At least 6 years programming in Python, Go, Scala, or Java.

Responsibilities

• Partnering with cross-functional teams to deliver AI-powered products.
• Designing and supporting AI software components.
• Introducing LLM optimization techniques.
• Contributing to technical vision of foundational AI systems.

Skills

Python

AI and ML algorithms

Java

Cloud platforms

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, AI, or Engineering

Tools

AWS

Hugging Face

PyTorch

Job description

Overview

At Capital One, we are creating responsible and reliable AI systems, changing banking for good. For years, Capital One has been an industry leader in using machine learning to create real‑time, personalized customer experiences. Our investments in technology infrastructure and world‑class talent, along with our deep experience in machine learning, position us to be at the forefront of enterprises leveraging AI. From informing customers about unusual charges to answering their questions in real time, our applications of AI & ML bring humanity and simplicity to banking. We are committed to building world‑class applied science and engineering teams to deliver industry‑leading capabilities with breakthrough product experiences and scalable, high‑performance AI infrastructure. You will help bring the transformative power of emerging AI capabilities to reimagine how we serve our customers and businesses.

Team Description

The Intelligent Foundations and Experiences (IFX) team is at the center of bringing our vision for AI at Capital One to life. We work hand‑in‑hand with partners across the company to advance the state of the art in science and AI engineering, and we build and deploy proprietary solutions that are central to our business and deliver value to millions of customers. Our AI models and platforms empower teams across Capital One to enhance their products with the transformative power of AI, in responsible and scalable ways for the highest leverage impact.

In This Role

• Partner with a cross‑functional team of engineers, research scientists, technical program managers, and product managers to deliver AI‑powered products that change how our associates work and how our customers interact with Capital One.
• Design, develop, test, deploy, and support AI software components including foundation model training, large language model inference, similarity search, guardrails, model evaluation, experimentation, governance, and observability.
• Leverage a broad stack of open‑source and SaaS AI technologies such as AWS Ultraclusters, Hugging Face, VectorDBs, Nemo Guardrails, PyTorch, and more.
• Invent and introduce state‑of‑the‑art LLM optimization techniques to improve the performance—scalability, cost, latency, throughput—of large‑scale production AI systems.
• Contribute to the technical vision and the long‑term roadmap of foundational AI systems at Capital One.

Ideal Candidate

• Enjoys building systems, takes pride in the quality of your work, and shares our passion to do the right thing. You want to work on problems that will help change banking for good.
• Passion for staying abreast of the latest research, with the ability to intuitively understand scientific publications and judiciously apply novel techniques in production.
• Adapts quickly and thrives on bringing clarity to big, undefined problems. Loves asking questions and digging deep to uncover root causes, and can articulate findings concisely and clearly. Shares new ideas even when unproven.
• Deeply technical. Possesses a strong foundation in engineering and mathematics, and your expertise in hardware, software, and AI enables you to see and exploit optimization opportunities that others miss.
• Resilient trailblazer who can forge new paths to achieve business goals when the route is unknown.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, AI, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related fields plus at least 6 years of experience developing AI and ML algorithms or technologies, or Master’s degree in the same fields plus at least 4 years of experience developing AI and ML algorithms or technologies.
• At least 6 years of experience programming with Python, Go, Scala, or Java.

Preferred Qualifications

• 7 years of experience deploying scalable and responsible AI solutions on cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, or equivalent private cloud).
• Experience designing, developing, integrating, delivering, and supporting complex AI systems.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and mentor an engineering team and influence cross‑functional stakeholders.
• Experience developing AI and ML algorithms or technologies (e.g., LLM inference, similarity search and vector databases, guardrails, memory) using Python, C++, C#, Java, or Golang.
• Experience developing and applying state‑of‑the‑art techniques for optimizing training and inference software to improve hardware utilization, latency, throughput, and cost.
• Passion for staying abreast of the latest AI research and AI systems, and judiciously applying novel techniques in production.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate complex AI concepts to peers.

Employment Sponsorship

Capital One will consider sponsoring a new qualified applicant for employment authorization for this position.

Salary & Benefits

Cambridge, MA: $229,900 – $262,400 for Sr. Lead AI Engineer.

McLean, VA: $229,900 – $262,400 for Sr. Lead AI Engineer.

New York, NY: $250,800 – $286,200 for Sr. Lead AI Engineer.

San Jose, CA: $250,800 – $286,200 for Sr. Lead AI Engineer.

This role is also eligible to earn performance‑based incentive compensation, which may include cash bonus(es) and/or long‑term incentives (LTI). Incentives could be discretionary or non‑discretionary depending on the plan.

Capital One offers a comprehensive, competitive, and inclusive set of health, financial and other benefits that support your total well‑being. Eligibility varies based on full‑time or part‑time status, exempt or non‑exempt status, and management level.

EEO Statement

Capital One is an equal‑opportunity employer (EOE, including disability/veteran) committed to non‑discrimination in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Capital One promotes a drug‑free workplace. Capital One will consider qualified applicants with a criminal history in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable laws regarding criminal background inquiries, including to the extent applicable Article 23‑A of the New York Correction Law; San Francisco, California Police Code Article 49, Sections 4901‑4920; New York City’s Fair Chance Act; Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Records Screening Act; and other applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding criminal background inquiries.