Senior Software Engineer – Generative AI Innovation

Apex Systems; Overland Park (KS); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

KeyBank is seeking a Senior Software Engineer – Generative AI Innovation to lead hands-on development and evaluation of AI-driven solutions for Institutional Banking. You will prototype, validate, and guide AI initiatives from concept through governance and production deployment.

The role emphasizes autonomy, technical curiosity, and collaboration with business and technology partners to deliver measurable business value through GenAI capabilities.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Hands-on experience with Generative AI technologies and AI-enabled applications.
• Experience with large language models (LLMs) and related tooling.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and learn new technologies rapidly.
• Strong written and verbal communication for technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and deploy proofs-of-concept and production-ready Generative AI solutions.
• Evaluate and prototype emerging AI capabilities and vendors for Institutional Banking use cases.
• Develop AI-enabled applications and workflows using LLMs, RAG, and cloud services.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to identify high-value AI opportunities and drive solutions.

Skills

Software engineering

Generative AI

LLMs

Cloud platforms

Stakeholder comms

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Job Summary

The Senior Software Engineer – Generative AI Innovation serves as a hands‑on technical leader responsible for identifying, evaluating, prototyping, and delivering Generative AI solutions that create business value for KeyBank's Institutional Banking organization. This role combines software engineering, applied AI research, solution prototyping, and emerging technology evaluation to accelerate the adoption of AI‑driven capabilities across Institutional Banking. The successful candidate will work closely with business stakeholders, technology partners, and governance teams to transform ideas into working proofs of concept, guide successful solutions through governance processes, and help transition validated solutions into production. This individual is expected to operate with a high degree of autonomy, technical curiosity, and initiative while serving as a trusted advisor on emerging AI technologies, industry developments, and practical applications of Generative AI.

Job#: 3053401

Job Description:

Job Summary

The Senior Software Engineer – Generative AI Innovation serves as a hands‑on technical leader responsible for identifying, evaluating, prototyping, and delivering Generative AI solutions that create business value for KeyBank's Institutional Banking organization. This role combines software engineering, applied AI research, solution prototyping, and emerging technology evaluation to accelerate the adoption of AI‑driven capabilities across Institutional Banking. The successful candidate will work closely with business stakeholders, technology partners, and governance teams to transform ideas into working proofs of concept, guide successful solutions through governance processes, and help transition validated solutions into production. This individual is expected to operate with a high degree of autonomy, technical curiosity, and initiative while serving as a trusted advisor on emerging AI technologies, industry developments, and practical applications of Generative AI.

Essential Functions

• Design, build, and deploy proof‑of‑concept and production‑ready Generative AI solutions using modern software engineering practices and cloud‑native technologies.
• Evaluate, prototype, and validate emerging Generative AI capabilities, platforms, tools, and vendors to determine their applicability and value for Institutional Banking use cases.
• Develop AI‑enabled applications and workflows using technologies such as large language models (LLMs), Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), agentic AI frameworks, document intelligence solutions, workflow automation platforms, APIs, and cloud services.
• Transform business ideas and opportunities into working software solutions by rapidly building prototypes, conducting technical experiments, and demonstrating viability.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders across Institutional Banking to identify high‑value opportunities where AI can improve productivity, decision‑making, client service, operational efficiency, or risk management.
• Provide technical input and supporting documentation for governance, risk, compliance, model review, and technology approval processes related to AI initiatives.
• Assist project teams in preparing governance submissions and articulating technical approaches, risks, controls, and implementation considerations associated with proposed AI use cases.
• Research industry trends, vendor capabilities, and emerging developments in Generative AI and communicate findings, opportunities, and recommendations to technology and business leadership.
• Design and implement integrations between AI platforms, enterprise systems, and cloud services.
• Establish and promote engineering standards, reusable patterns, and best practices for AI solution development.
• Independently develop clean, maintainable, secure, and testable code.
• Create technical documentation, reference architectures, implementation guidance, presentations, and demonstration materials to support solution adoption and knowledge sharing.
• Present prototypes, findings, recommendations, and solution roadmaps to business stakeholders and senior managers.
• Support production deployments, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement efforts for GenAI‑enabled solutions.
• Maintain awareness of evolving GenAI‑related regulatory, governance, security, and risk management considerations and incorporate appropriate controls into solution designs.
• Perform other duties as assigned; duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
• Complies with all KeyBank policies and procedures, including without limitation, acting professionally at all times, conducting business ethically, avoiding conflicts of interest, and acting in the best interests of Key’s clients and Key.

Education

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience (preferred)

Work Experience

Required

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience developing web‑based or distributed applications.
• Demonstrated experience building software solutions using modern programming languages, frameworks, APIs, and cloud services.
• Demonstrated hands‑on experience working with Generative AI technologies, large language models, AI‑enabled applications, or related emerging technologies.
• Strong problem‑solving skills and ability to independently navigate ambiguity and rapidly learn new technologies.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts to non‑technical audiences.
• Proven ability to take ownership of complex problems and drive solutions from concept through implementation.

Preferred

• Experience with cloud platforms such as Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and/or Microsoft Azure.
• Experience implementing or evaluating RAG, agentic AI workflows, document intelligence solutions, or workflow automation platforms.
• Experience operating within regulated industries and partnering with governance, risk, compliance, security, or legal functions.
• Experience evaluating vendor technologies and making technical recommendations to business and technology leadership.
• Experience supporting proof‑of‑concept development, experimentation, and innovation initiatives.

Core Competencies

• All KeyBank employees are expected to demonstrate Key’s Values and abide by Key’s Code of Conduct.

Physical Demands

• General Office - Prolonged sitting, ability to communicate face to face in person or on the phone with teammates and clients, frequent use of PC/laptop, occasional lifting/pushing/pulling of backpacks, computer bags up to 10 lbs.