Staff Software Developer - AI Innovation Team

BECU; Tukwila (WA); Hybrid; USD 133,000 - 248,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) Company Match (up to 3%)

4% annual 401(k) contribution

Medical, Dental and Vision

PTO & Exchange Program

Tuition Reimbursement

Volunteer time off + donation match

Job summary

BECU is seeking a Staff Software Developer to lead AI product development on the AI Innovation & Strategy team. You will shape architecture, guide a small agile team, and improve member experiences through scalable AI solutions.

You’ll collaborate with contact center, cybersecurity, and marketing teams, ensuring secure, reliable delivery while promoting innovation and best engineering practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related discipline, or equivalent work experience.
• Minimum eight years of experience designing software and writing production code in a team environment.
• Experience with secure development practices and scalable solutions.

Responsibilities

• Lead AI product development and guide expansion of new AI capabilities.
• Own architecture for scalable, cloud‑agnostic systems.
• Collaborate with multiple departments to ensure accuracy and impact.
• Drive Agile delivery with stand-ups and sprints; manage backlog in GitHub.
• Mentor senior engineers and influence coding standards.

Skills

Python

.NET/C#

Node.js

JavaScript/TypeScript

Azure/AWS/Google Cloud

Kubernetes

CI/CD

Git/GitHub

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

8+ years software design experience

Tools

Azure DevOps

GitHub Actions

Jenkins

Job description

Our “people helping people” philosophy has guided us since 1935, driving our deep commitment to serving our members, communities, and each other. When you join our team, you become part of a purpose-driven organization where your work makes a real difference. While we’re proud of our history, we’re even more excited about our future. With business and technology transformation on the horizon, there’s never been a better time to be part of BECU.**PAY RANGE**The Target Pay Range for this position is $171,700.00-$209,800.00 annually. The full Pay Range is $133,100.00 - $248,300.00 annually. At BECU, compensation decisions are determined using factors such as relevant job-related skills, experience, and education or training. Should an offer for employment be made, we will consider individual qualifications. In addition to your salary, compensation incentives are available for the hired applicant. Incentives are performance based and targets vary by role.**BENEFITS** – because ***people helping people***starts with supporting ***you**** **401(k) Company Match (up to 3%)*** **4% annual contribution to your 401(k) by BECU*** Medical, Dental and Vision (family contributions as well)* PTO Program + Exchange Program* Tuition Reimbursement Program* BECU Cares volunteer time off + donation match**IMPACT YOU’LL MAKE:** As a Staff Software Developer on BECU’s AI Innovation & Strategy team, you’ll lead the technical direction of our new AI products designed to empower staff with faster, more accurate, and more confident support for our members. You’ll shape the architecture, elevate our AI foundation, and guide a small, agile team with startup-style roots. Your work will strengthen the tools employees use every day and improve the quality and speed of member experiences across BECU. You’ll help scale a growing portfolio of AI capabilities while ensuring solutions are safe, resilient, and built for long-term impact. This is your opportunity to lead with purpose and develop technology that truly makes a difference. **To join our dynamic team, we require candidates to be residents of WA, OR, ID, AZ, TX, GA, SC, VA, CA, or NC.** If you’re located in Washington state and within a reasonable driving distance from Tukwila, we are requesting that you come into our HQ on Tuesdays & Wednesdays. For those candidates that live outside the commute distance of TFC and in any of our approved remote work locations, this role will be remote. Remote or onsite, we are committed to ensuring you are fully engaged and included in our collaborative environment.**WHAT YOU’LL DO:*** **Lead AI Product Development:** Serve as the technical lead for our new AI products, guiding their expansion and ensuring they align with evolving organizational and member needs.* **Own the Architecture:** Design and develop scalable, cloud‑agnostic systems using Python, AWS, LLMs, and retrieval‑based architectures that support both current and future AI capabilities.* **Advance AI Foundations:** Strengthen the underlying infrastructure that powers our AI products, including segmentation, retrieval, and data organization.* **Collaborate Across the Business:** Partner with stakeholders in the contact center, retail, cybersecurity, operations, marketing, and other functions to ensure accuracy, effectiveness, and alignment.* **Drive Agile Delivery:** Participate in daily stand‑ups and two‑week sprints, leveraging GitHub for project management, issue tracking, and backlog prioritization.* **Influence and Mentor:** Provide technical coaching to senior engineers, shape coding standards, and communicate decisions to stakeholders and BECU’s AI Council.* **Champion Innovation:** Evaluate emerging technologies, balance exploration with execution, and contribute to the roadmap of future AI products and capabilities.* **Ensure Quality and Security:** Apply secure development practices, lead testing efforts, and improve reliability and performance across systems.* **Promote Technical Excellence:** Lead code reviews, strengthen CI/CD pipelines, and elevate engineering best practices.* **Represent BECU Expertise:** Share knowledge internally and externally, including opportunities for conference presentations and cross‑team consulting.This isn’t just about ticking off tasks on a list. It's about making a significant, positive change in BECU’s journey, where your contributions are valued, and your growth is continually fostered.**WHAT YOU’LL GAIN:*** A leadership role in shaping BECU’s AI strategy and driving the evolution of our new AI products.* Hands‑on experience with cutting‑edge technologies such as LLMs, retrieval‑augmented systems, agents, and cloud‑agnostic designs.* Collaboration with a small, fast‑moving team with startup roots—combined with enterprise visibility and influence.* Direct interaction with stakeholders across multiple departments and ongoing engagement with BECU’s AI Council.* Opportunities to experiment, innovate, and evaluate emerging technologies in a supportive environment that values thoughtful risk‑taking.* A culture centered around continuous learning, autonomy, and purposeful work that benefits both employees and members.**QUALIFICATIONS:****Minimum Qualifications:*** Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related discipline, or equivalent work experience.* Minimum eight years of experience designing software and writing production code in a team environment.* Demonstrated expertise in Secure Development best practices.* Proven ability to deliver scalable solutions across multiple languages and environments.* Expertise with two or more of the following: Python, .NET, C#, node.js, JavaScript/TypeScript frameworks.* Experience with public cloud platforms (Azure/AWS/Google Cloud).* Knowledge of containers and orchestration (Kubernetes preferred).* Expertise in SOLID principles, OOP, SOA patterns, and distributed systems.* Experience with CI/CD tools (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, TeamCity).* Deep understanding of TDD and testing methodologies.* Proficiency with git and branching standards.* Experience with SQL, large datasets, ETL, and analytics engines.* Proven experience leading cross‑functional teams through the SDLC.* Strong verbal and written communication skills.* Full-time availability and occasional travel.**Desired Qualifications:*** Advanced degree in Computer Science or related field.* Experience presenting at industry conferences.* Familiarity with agent‑based systems and user interaction models.* Exposure to cloud platforms beyond AWS.* Understanding of data segmentation and collection independence.* Experience in startup or agile, autonomous team environments.* Ability to drive adoption of emerging technologies within domain.**JOIN THE JOURNEY**## ## EEO Statement:BECU is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected status.**Job Alerts:** If you would like to be kept informed of new potential opportunities, . You will be asked to create an account if you do not already have one.From our very beginning, BECU has been about people helping people. As a financial services cooperative, our purpose has and always will be the same: we work together to best serve our members and improve the financial well-being of our community. With 90 years and over one million members later, we're still rooted in our values, practices and mission - and even more passionate about our future.As one of the nation's leading credit unions, we're not driven by profit. We're owned by our members and their interests are at the core of everything we do. Now we're growing faster than ever before--but we'll never forget our roots. To continue doing right by our members, we believe we must first do right