Vice President - Forward Deployed Engineer

ameriprise; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 242,000 - 333,000; Full time

Job summary

Ameriprise in Boston is seeking a VP-Forward Deployed Engineer who bridges investment strategy, quantitative research and AI engineering. You will partner with portfolio managers and research teams to identify opportunities and deploy LLM-enabled tools that accelerate investment decision-making.

The role requires deep investment knowledge, hands-on Python production experience, and a track record delivering secure AI solutions in regulated environments.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in investment management, research, and AI engineering.
• Experience with desks and portfolio managers.
• Hands-on with LLM-enabled apps and AI tooling.
• Strong Python development in production.
• Familiar with cloud, CI/CD, and API design.
• Knowledge of regulated environments (risk/compliance).

Responsibilities

• Translate investment strategies into AI-enabled solutions.
• Design and deliver POC and production AI capabilities.
• Collaborate with Investments, Technology, Data, Risk, Compliance.
• Shape the AI roadmap and promote adoption.
• Scale prototypes into enterprise capabilities.

Skills

Python development

CI/CD

Cloud infra

Investment domain

RAG / embeddings

Prompt engineering

Education

CFA/FRM

Tools

LangChain

LangGraph

LlamaIndex

Vector databases

Job description

About Our Company

We're a diversified financial services leader with more than $1.5 trillion in assets under management, administration and advisement as of year-end 2024. Our team of 22,000 people across 19 countries, serves more than 3.5 million individual, small business and institutional clients. We are a longstanding leader in financial planning and advice, a global asset manager and an insurer. Our unwavering focus on our clients and strong financial foundation connects each of our unique businesses - Ameriprise Financial, Columbia Threadneedle Investments and RiverSource Insurance and Annuities. Here, we foster meaningful careers, invest in the future, and make a difference for clients, institutions and communities around the world.

Job Description

The VP-Forward Deployed Engineer operates at the intersection of investment strategy, quantitative analysis and applied artificial intelligence. The position is responsible for partnering closely with portfolio management and investment research teams to identify opportunities, design solutions, and develop, prototype, and deploy LLM-enabled tools that enhance investment decision-making and research processes. Combines investment management knowledge with software engine capabilities to translate investment ideas and research needs into scalable technology solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted advisor to investment leaders, translating investment strategies, research priorities, and business challenges into innovative AI-enabled solutions that improve investment outcomes and organizational efficiency.
• Drive the design and delivery of proof-of-concept and production-ready AI capabilities, leveraging advanced analytics, machine learning, and LLM technologies to accelerate investment insights and decision-making.
• Partner across Investments, Technology, Data, Risk, and Compliance functions to ensure solutions meet enterprise standards for security, governance, scalability, and regulatory compliance.
• Influence the AI and investment technology roadmap by identifying high-value opportunities, evaluating emerging capabilities, and promoting adoption of innovative solutions across the investment organization.
• Lead the transition of successful prototypes into sustainable enterprise capabilities, partnering with engineering and platform teams to scale solutions and realize long‑term business value.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of combined experience across investment management, quantitative research/strategy, and hands‑on software or AI engineering, with demonstrated success taking investment problems from concept to working solution.
• Direct experience working alongside trading desks, portfolio managers, or investment researchers, with desk strategist, quant strat, or research technologist backgrounds strongly preferred.
• Hands‑on experience building and shipping LLM enabled/integrated applications: RAG/embeddings, agentic workflows, prompt engineering, API integration.
• Strong Python development skills producing production‑quality code.
• Expertise with cloud infrastructure and modern software practices (CI/CD, version control, API design).
• Fluency in at least one asset class (equities, fixed income, multi‑asset, or macro) at a level where you can challenge and contribute to investment discussions, not just support them.
• Track record of delivering secure, auditable AI solutions in a regulated environment, partnering with risk and compliance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience supporting front‑office investment teams (portfolio managers, analysts, researchers, traders).
• Familiarity with agent frameworks and orchestration tools (LangChain, LangGraph, LlamaIndex, MCP) and vector databases.
• Experience building internal copilots, research assistants, or document‑intelligence tools.
• CFA, FRM, or equivalent investment credential.
• Track record of shipping AI or analytics solutions that produced measurable, real‑world outcomes.

Visa Sponsorship

Applicants must have a valid work authorization that does not now, or in the future, require visa sponsorship for employment in the United States (e.g., H-1B, F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, TN).

In-Office Collaboration

We are a client‑centric, relationship‑based business. Working together, in‑person, is foundational to how we achieve results. By fostering a culture of face‑to‑face collaboration, idea sharing, productivity and personal connection, we deliver for our stakeholders - clients, advisors, employees and shareholders. Our employees work in the office at least four (4) days per week, with flexibility to work from home one (1) day per week. Some roles may require additional in‑office time or different in‑office expectations, and specific requirements will be discussed during the hiring process.

Base Pay Salary

The estimated base salary for this role is $242,100 - $332,900 / year. We have a pay‑forperformance compensation philosophy. Your initial total compensation may vary based on job‑related knowledge, skil