Senior AI Engineer - Vice President

Citi
Jersey City, New Jersey, United StatesFull-time$142,320–$213,480Posted Aug 31, 2026

About the role

The Senior AI Engineer is a senior level hands-on position responsible for establishing and implementing new or revised application systems and programs in coordination with the Technology team. The overall objective of this role is to lead AI application development.

Responsibilities:

Lead AI agent development, architecture, and deployment using GenAI platforms, microservices, and intelligent bot interactions, leveraging script tools, adhering to data governance policies

Architect and build autonomous AI systems for problem-solving and decision-making, ensuring seamless and secure integration with enterprise systems via robust APIs.

Develop highly resilient systems with advanced error handling, fault tolerance, and intelligent routing.

Drive GenAI thought leadership, integrating emerging platforms (Gemini, Claude, GPT) and research, while staying current with the latest technologies and trends.

Deliver end-to-end Agentic AI solutions, focusing on Python backend services (FastAPI, asyncio), secure REST APIs, and robust data pipelines, applying fundamental programming principles.

Optimize AI agent performance, latency, and cost through profiling, caching strategies, knowledge graphs and distributed system optimization.

Establish CI/CD practices for automated testing, agent evaluation, cloud-native deployment, and ensure code quality through reviews and peer programming.

Collaborate extensively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to gather requirements, brainstorm solutions, deliver high-quality software, and consult on technical issues.

Analyze applications for vulnerabilities, conduct thorough testing, debugging, and effectively troubleshoot software issues.

Mentor and coach engineering teams, act as a Subject Matter Expert (SME), and contribute to continuous learning initiatives.

Assess and manage risks in business decisions, safeguarding the firm's reputation, ensuring compliance with regulations, and transparently escalating control issues.

Recommended Qualifications:

Extensive hands-on experience with GenAI concepts, Large Language Models (LLMs), transformer architecture, RAG, and agentic frameworks such as Google ADK, LangChain, LangGraph.

Expert Python proficiency for AI/ML development, data engineering, and backend services; deep understanding of software design patterns, data structures, and algorithms.

Hands-on experience with AI Development Tools such as Claude Code, Devin AI, Cursor, Copilot etc.

Proficient with containers and orchestration technologies on Kubernetes or equivalent cloud, and ability to architect and deploy high-performance, large-scale AI/ML systems to production.

Experience in architecting and developing virtual assistants, chatbots, and conversational AI platforms.

Experience with technologies like Java, Spring Boot, SQL Queries, front end like React/Angular is a plus.

Experience :

6+ years of software development experience, with strong experience delivering Python.

Proven expertise in LLMs, fine-tuning methods, building RAG systems (hybrid search, multivector retrieval)

Experience with containerization (Docker), orchestration (Kubernetes), CI/CD pipelines for APIs and ML models, and practices in agile development environments.

Experience with distributed systems, event-driven architectures, container-based microservices, distributed logs.

Expert understanding of Machine Learning, and Generative AI techniques, coupled with demonstrated experience in complex API integrations and enterprise system connectivity.

Exceptional problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills, with the ability to lead, mentor cross-functional teams.

Education:

Bachelor’s degree/University degree or equivalent experience

Master’s degree preferred.

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Job Family Group:

Technology

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Job Family:

Applications Development

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Time Type:

Full time

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Primary Location:

Jersey City New Jersey United States

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Primary Location Full Time Salary Range:

$142,320.00 - $213,480.00

In addition to salary, Citi’s offerings may also include, for eligible employees, discretionary and formulaic incentive and retention awards. Citi offers competitive employee benefits, including: medical, dental & vision coverage; 401(k); life, accident, and disability insurance; and wellness programs. Citi also offers paid time off packages, including planned time off (vacation), unplanned time off (sick leave), and paid holidays. For additional information regarding Citi employee benefits, please visit citibenefits.com. Available offerings may vary by jurisdiction, job level, and date of hire.

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Most Relevant Skills

Please see the requirements listed above.

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Other Relevant Skills

For complementary skills, please see above and/or contact the recruiter.

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Anticipated Posting Close Date:

Sep 07, 2026

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Automated Processing and AI

We use automated processing, including artificial intelligence, for our legitimate business interests (or our reasonable and appropriate business purposes) to identify and align the candidate's skills and abilities with a specific job opening. Additionally, if you so choose, or consent, we can match your skills and abilities to other suitable roles at Citi.

Importantly, all our hiring processes and decisions, including determining your suitability for a role, are conducted, checked, and decided by individuals. Our automated processing and AI do not involve relying on automatic or autonomous decision-making. Please refer to any Jurisdictional Considerations, with specific provisions for your country (where relevant) for further details.

Illinois residents – AI Notice and Right

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Citi is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you are a person with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation to use our search tools and/or apply for a career opportunity review Accessibility at Citi.

View Citi’s EEO Policy Statement and the Know Your Rights poster.

Responsibilities

  • Lead AI agent development, architecture, and deployment using GenAI platforms.
  • Architect and build autonomous AI systems for problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Develop highly resilient systems with advanced error handling and fault tolerance.
  • Drive GenAI thought leadership and integrate emerging platforms.
  • Deliver end-to-end Agentic AI solutions focusing on Python backend services.
  • Optimize AI agent performance and cost through profiling and caching strategies.
  • Establish CI/CD practices for automated testing and cloud-native deployment.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to gather requirements and deliver software.

Qualifications

  • Extensive hands-on experience with GenAI concepts and Large Language Models.
  • Expert Python proficiency for AI/ML development and data engineering.
  • Hands-on experience with AI Development Tools.
  • Proficient with containers and orchestration technologies.
  • Experience in architecting and developing virtual assistants and chatbots.
  • Experience with technologies like Java, Spring Boot, and SQL Queries.

Benefits

  • Medical, dental & vision coverage.
  • 401(k) plan.
  • Life, accident, and disability insurance.
  • Wellness programs.
  • Paid time off including vacation and sick leave.

Skills mentioned

PythonGenerative AILarge Language ModelsRetrieval-Augmented GenerationAI AgentsLangChainLangGraphFastAPIKubernetesDocker

About Citi

Citi's mission is to serve as a trusted partner to our clients by responsibly providing financial services that enable growth and economic progress. Our core activities are safeguarding assets, lending money, making payments and accessing the capital markets on behalf of our clients. We have over 200 years of experience helping our clients meet the world's toughest challenges and embrace its greatest opportunities. We are Citi, the global bank – an institution connecting millions of people across hundreds of countries and cities. For information on Citi’s commitment to privacy, visit on.citi/privacy.

Financial Services10,001+ employeesNew York, New York