Senior Lead AI Engineer (MLX, Agentic AI, Gen AI platform Services)

Capital One; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 229,900 - 262,400; Full time

Job summary

Capital One in Cambridge, MA seeks an experienced Sr Lead AI Engineer to design, build and scale ML systems and platforms for real‑time customer experiences. You will work with engineers, scientists, PMs, and partners to push the state of the art while ensuring responsible AI practices.

The role emphasizes distributed training, model inference, observability, and optimization across a broad tech stack including Kubernetes, Kubeflow, Ray, and related tools. Strong cloud experience required.

Qualifications

• Requires a degree in a related field with multiple years of AI/ML development experience.
• Strong programming experience in Python, Go, Scala, or Java.
• Experience deploying scalable AI solutions on cloud platforms is preferred.
• Ability to lead and mentor engineers and influence stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Partner with cross‑functional teams to deliver AI‑powered products.
• Design, develop, test, and support ML software components and pipelines.
• Leverage open source and SaaS AI/ML tech stacks (Kubernetes, Kubeflow, Ray, etc.).
• Invent state‑of‑the‑art optimization techniques for large scale ML systems.
• Contribute to the technical vision and long term ML roadmap at Capital One.

Skills

Python

Go/Scala/Java

ML/AI

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / AI / EE / CE or related

Master's degree in Computer Science / AI / EE / CE or related

Tools

AWS

Google Cloud

Azure

Kubernetes

Kubeflow

Ray

Polars

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 are bringing humanity and simplicity to banking. We are committed to continuing to build world‑class applied science and engineering teams to deliver our industry leading capabilities with breakthrough product experiences and scalable, high‑performance AI infrastructure. At Capital One, you will help bring the transformative power of emerging AI capabilities to reimagine how we serve our customers and businesses who have come to love the products and services we build.

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 our 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 and support ML software components including distributed model training and inference, model orchestration and observability, etc.
• Leverage a broad stack of Open Source and SaaS AI/ML technologies such as Kubernetes, Kubeflow pipelines, Ray, Polars and more.
• Invent and introduce state‑of‑the‑art ETL and ML optimization techniques to improve the performance — scalability, cost, latency, throughput — of large scale production ML systems.
• Contribute to the technical vision and the long term roadmap of ML systems at Capital One.

The Ideal Candidate

• You love to build systems, take pride in the quality of your work, and also share 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 and industry trends, and an ability to intuitively understand scientific publications and judiciously apply novel techniques in production.
• You adapt quickly and thrive on bringing clarity to big, undefined problems. You love asking questions and digging deep to uncover the root of problems and can articulate your findings concisely with clarity. You have the courage to share new ideas even when they are unproven.
• You are deeply Technical. You possess a strong foundation in engineering and mathematics, and your expertise in hardware, software, and AI/ML enable you to see and exploit optimization opportunities that others miss.
• You are a resilient trail blazer 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 a Master's degree in Computer Science, AI, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related 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 VectorDBs, 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 apply novel techniques in production
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate complex AI concepts to peers

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

The minimum and maximum full‑time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount Capital One is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part‑time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

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 Francisco, CA: $250,800 - $286,200 for Sr. Lead AI Engineer

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

Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.

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

Capital One is an equal opportunity employer (EOE, including disability/vet) committed to non‑discrimination in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Capital One promotes a drug‑free workplace. Capital One will consider for employment 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.