Global Trade and Working Capital Solutions Technology - Data & AI Engineering Director

At Citi Services - Global Trade and Working Capital Solutions (TWCS) Technology Organization, we are on a mission to harness the power of data to drive innovation, create exceptional customer experiences, and solve complex business challenges. Our data team is at the heart of this mission, building the scalable and resilient infrastructure that turns data into our most asset. We are a passionate, collaborative group dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what's possible.

The Opportunity

We are seeking an Engineering Director to join our development team. The ideal candidate is a seasoned technologist with extensive experience in building and delivering data & AI solutions for business functions. This individual will be directly and fully accountable for solution delivery and should have a history of creating strategic technology architecture roadmaps aligned with business outcomes.

The successful candidate will define and execute the technology roadmap for the Data & AI portfolio of TWCS, providing strategic direction and critical input into technology decisions to ensure a scalable buildout. This role involves building strong relationships with senior business and technology partners, driving agile execution, and leading a team of expert engineers to deliver with velocity and quality. Applicants should demonstrate exceptional technical acumen, a strong data engineering background, and a proven ability to lead and provide technical direction to high-performing engineering teams. A proven expertise in Data Engineering, Data Analytics, and AI Engineering delivery at scale is essential.

Responsibilities:

• Manage/develop multiple teams of professionals to accomplish established goals and conduct personnel duties for team (e.g. performance evaluations, hiring and disciplinary actions) as well as ensure team adheres to best practices and processes
• Develop vision for team around roles and responsibilities, and structure team to ensure greatest impact, efficient use of resource, and alignment to business structures
• Prepare and present regular team/project reviews to senior management and business leaders
• Drive the design and development of system architecture, work with end-users of the systems, and enhance the quality of deliverables
• Monitor and manage approach/end results, budgeting, planning, policy formation, and contribute to future strategy of the area(s)
• Ensure change is managed with appropriate controls, documentation, and approvals including implementation of new and revised regulatory reporting requirements
• Research and resolve issues, provide recommendations, and escalate to senior management as needed
• Manage and maintain all disaster recovery plans, oversee appropriate testing, and provide permit-to-operate for new applications
• Contribute to defining and implementing best practices and processes for the department and ensure transparency and consistency across teams
• Appropriately assess risk when business decisions are made, demonstrating particular consideration for the firm's reputation and safeguarding Citigroup, its clients and assets, by driving compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, adhering to Policy, applying sound ethical judgment regarding personal behavior, conduct and business practices, and escalating, managing and reporting control issues with transparency, as well as effectively supervise the activity of others and create accountability with those who fail to maintain these standards.
• Drive the definition and execution of data technology strategy and target state architecture
• Design, architect, and oversee the development of robust, scalable, and reliable data infrastructure, including data lakes, data warehouses, and real-time streaming platforms on the cloud.
• Define, document, and champion data & AI engineering best practices across the organization, including CI/CD, data quality, testing frameworks, observability, and code review standards.
• Partner with leadership, product managers, data scientists, and analysts to understand data needs and develop a long-term data strategy and roadmap.
• Stay at the forefront of data & AI engineering technologies. Evaluate, prototype, and recommend new tools and frameworks to continuously improve our data platform.
• Ensure Governance: Implement and enforce robust data governance, security, and privacy policies in partnership with our security and compliance teams.

Qualifications:

• 15+ years of progressive experience in software engineering and technology leadership
• 8-10+ years of direct managerial and people leadership experience with proven track record managing and developing high-performing engineering teams
• Strong technical leader with hands-on engineering management experience, able to manage very complex business products while maintaining technical involvement
• Deep expertise in building Data Engineering, Data Analytics, AI Engineering and Transaction processing systems at scale
• Extensive experience with financial products and payment systems, including working knowledge of the financial services industry and competitors' products and services
• Expertise in code review and technical quality assurance across: Java, Microservices architecture design and implementation, Distributed systems and event-driven architectures (Kafka), Cloud-native application development, API design and integration patterns. Deep understanding of software development lifecycle, DevOps practices, and CI/CD pipelines
• Expertise with modern big data technologies for data processing and data streaming (e.g., Databricks, Snowflake, Hadoop, Hive, Impala, Apache Spark, Kafka, Python, Scala, or Flink).
• Experience with a major cloud platform (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and its data ecosystem (e.g., S3/GCS, Redshift/BigQuery, EMR/Dataproc, Kinesis/Dataflow).
• Experience with AI-assisted software development models and experience implementing GenAI use cases.
• Strong knowledge of production AI patterns, agent frameworks, and streaming inference.
• Experience with ML, LLMs, RAG, LangGraph, LangChain, and MLOps.
• Ability to evaluate and adopt emerging technologies.
• Experience with project management and collaboration tools.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree/University degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience
• Master’s degree preferred

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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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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.

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