Sr Engineer - AI

The Hartford; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 126,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Join The Hartford as a Senior Staff Software Engineer where you will drive the ideation and prototyping of AI initiatives. This hybrid role involves close collaboration with business partners to translate innovative ideas into concrete solutions, requiring a strong background in Generative AI and design methodologies.

Benefits

Flexible work schedule

Professional development opportunities

Innovative work culture

Qualifications

• 5–8 years of professional experience in innovation or product development in AI/ML/GenAI.
• Experience in running innovation labs, hackathons, or design sprints.
• Proven ability to build rapid prototypes with no-code/low-code tools.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate structured innovation sessions to identify high-impact AI/GenAI opportunities.
• Design and develop prototypes to validate concepts and generate user feedback.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate ideas into testable solutions.

Skills

Strong familiarity with Generative AI concepts

Design thinking

Agile prototyping methodologies

Strong organizational skills

Presentation development

Creative problem-solving

Education

Bachelor's or Master’s degree in computer science, Engineering, Design, or related field

Tools

AWS

GCP

ML platforms

Python

NodeJS

Job description

Senior Staff Software Engineer - IE07HE

We’re determined to make a difference and are proud to be an insurance company that goes well beyond coverages and policies. Working here means having every opportunity to achieve your goals – and to help others accomplish theirs, too. Join our team as we help shape the future.

About Us:

At The Hartford, our AI Strategy & Innovation team is on a mission to shape the future and drive up the Cognitive AI maturity, using traditional, generative and symbolic AI technology & tools. We explore, imagine, and build what’s next, by combining the power of emerging technologies with design thinking and a rapid experimentation mindset. As we scale our GenAI and AI initiatives across the enterprise, we are looking for a curious and creative Innovation Engineer to join our dynamic team and help bring groundbreaking ideas to life and solve real world complex problems. There is no limit to the 'art of possible'.

If you're drawn to solving complex problems, comfortable navigating through the uncharted territory, and excited by the possibilities of applying cutting-edge technology in creative ways. This is your opportunity to make a tangible impact.

Role Overview:

As an Innovation engineer, you will play a pivotal role in driving ideation, rapid prototyping, and early-stage incubation of AI and GenAI initiatives. We are obsessed with customer centricity and strongly believe in "outside in" human centered approach. You will help craft the innovation lifecycle—from problem discovery to proof-of-concept and transition to path 2 pilot — working closely with business partners, platform engineers, product, and researchers.

This is a hands-on, highly collaborative role that bridges the gap between imagination and implementation—leveraging platform capabilities, reference architectures, standards, and starter kits. You’ll also play a key role in shaping strategy and recommendations through experimentation and assessment, presenting insights to stakeholders with clarity and impact. Strong storytelling skills and the ability to craft compelling slide decks and pitch presentations are essential to success in this role.

Key Responsibilities:

Ideation & Exploration: Facilitate structured innovation sessions using design thinking and lean startup principles to identify high-impact AI/GenAI opportunities.

Rapid Prototyping: Design and develop low-fidelity to functional prototypes to validate concepts and generate user feedback quickly.

Technology Scouting: Stay on the edge of emerging trends in AI, GenAI, LLMs, and automation technologies, evaluating relevance and feasibility.

Pilot Design: Create clear, scalable technical approaches to progress ideas from POC to Phase 2 pilot, in partnership with engineering and product teams.

Storytelling & Communication: Develop compelling narratives, visualizations, and presentations to communicate vision, user value, and outcomes to a range of stakeholders.

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with engineers, product, and business units to translate ideas into tangible, testable solutions.

Innovation Portfolio Management: Contribute to the tracking and prioritization of innovation initiatives based on business alignment, feasibility, and impact.

Continuous Learning: Cultivate a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and resilience—failing fast and learning faster.

This role will have a Hybrid work schedule, with the expectation of working in an office (Columbus, OH, Chicago, IL, Hartford, CT or Charlotte, NC) 3 days a week (Tuesday through Thursday).

Candidates must be authorized to work in the US without company sponsorship. The company will not support the STEM OPT I-983 Training Plan endorsement for this position.

Qualifications:
Bachelor's or Master’s degree in computer science, Engineering, Design, Innovation, Human-Computer Interaction, or related field.

5–8 years of professional experience in innovation, solution architecture, or product development, in AI/ML/GenAI.

Strong familiarity with Generative AI concepts, LLMs, prompt engineering, LLM Agents, MCP, A2A and related tools/frameworks/protocols.

Demonstrated experience with design thinking, lean startup, and agile prototyping methodologies.

Proven ability to build rapid prototypes using no-code/low-code tools or scripting (e.g., Python, NodeJS, Streamlit, ADK, LangGraph etc.).

Strong storytelling, presentation development, and visual communication skills; able to pitch ideas and strategic vision effectively to diverse audiences.

Passionate about problem-solving, emerging technologies, and delivering user-centric solutions.

Self-starter who thrives in ambiguity and collaborates seamlessly across disciplines.

Strong organizational skills with the ability to juggle multiple ideas and priorities with speed and precision.

Experience with cloud services (e.g., AWS, GCP) and ML platforms (e.g., Vertex AI, Bedrock).

Prior involvement in running innovation labs, hackathons, or design sprints.

Familiarity with innovation frameworks/theories such as the Design thinking, Innovation Funnel, Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD), Business Model Canvas etc.

Why Join Us?

At The Hartford, innovation isn’t a buzzword—it’s a practice. You’ll be surrounded by peers who are collaborative, inventive, and passionate about changing what’s possible. You’ll get the space to experiment, the tools to build, and the support to grow. Most importantly, you’ll help shape the next frontier of enterprise AI solutions.

Ready to shape the future with us? Apply now and let's build what's next—together.

Compensation

The listed annualized base pay range is primarily based on analysis of similar positions in the external market. Actual base pay could vary and may be above or below the listed range based on factors including but not limited to performance, proficiency and demonstration of competencies required for the role. The base pay is just one component of The Hartford’s total compensation package for employees. Other rewards may include short-term or annual bonuses, long-term incentives, and on-the-spot recognition. The annualized base pay range for this role is:

$126,160 - $189,240

Equal Opportunity Employer/Sex/Race/Color/Veterans/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity or Expression/Religion/Age

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