Principal AI Engineer - Core Platform at Drivewealth

About Us DriveWealth is on a mission to make investing easier. We believe that everyone should have the ability to control their financial future, and that access to financial markets should not be limited by geography, wealth, or legacy systems. We are a global B2B financial technology organization dedicated to democratizing access to financial independence around the world. Our mission is realized through an API-based platform, empowering our partners to offer seamless investing and trading experiences to clients worldwide, all from their mobile devices. Our technology provides partners with a modern, extensible toolkit, enabling traditional investment workflows and innovative techniques like fractional share ownership. DriveWealth has evolved into a global platform offering trading of US equities, mutual funds, ETFs, fixed income, and options. There’s never been a better time to build a category-defining business and there has rarely been a team better positioned for this opportunity. Our culture blends the pace and agility of a fintech start-up with the impact, stability, and discipline of Wall Street. We encourage creativity and experimentation while ensuring institutional-grade execution and regulatory compliance in everything we do. Join us and help build the future of global investing! About the Role We are seeking an experienced Principal AI Engineer who will act as a thought leader and technical owner, driving the adoption of AI technologies across the organization's core platform. The primary mission is to architect and deliver scalable AI products that solve complex, real-world challenges, particularly those related to foundational APIs, Brokerage Operations, Customer Service within a regulated fintech environment. Success requires a strategic mindset to identify and execute AI-driven innovations and ensure all solutions are reliable, compliant, and deliver high-quality outcomes. . In this role, you will serve as AI champions and lead a team of AI engineers to drive the adoption of AI across the firm. What You’ll Do • Act as a thought leader and advocate for AI technologies, inspiring teams and stakeholders to embrace AI-driven solutions. • Architect and deliver scalable AI products that address complex, real-world challenges. • Partner with cross-functional distributed teams to identify opportunities for AI integration and drive impactful solutions • Develop ML components where appropriate (e.g., classification, ranking, anomaly detection) and integrate them with LLM-based systems for hybrid intelligence. • Establish robust evaluation and quality gates for agents and LLM systems (golden datasets, automated tests, regression suites, monitoring for drift/quality). • Champion best practices for code quality, testing, automation, and performance/cost optimization. • Stay at the forefront of AI advancements, particularly in the areas of large language models (LLMs), vector databases, and emerging technologies. • Guide and mentor junior engineers, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and technical excellence. • Drive projects to completion with a strong delivery mindset that meets organizational needs. What You'll Need • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field. • 8+ years of software engineering experience, preferably in financial domain • Strong programming skills, preferably in Python, with a deep understanding of software engineering principles • Expertise in AI technologies, including language models, vector databases, and relevant data structures. • 8–12 years of software engineering experience, with 3+ years in an engineering management role • Working knowledge of databases and messaging technologies (e.g., SQL, Redis, Kafka) is a strong plus • Hands-on experience with at least one LLM agent architecture, Agents SDK, Langchain, LlamaIndex. • Hands-on experience with AWS Strands is preferred. • Exceptional analytical skills with a proven ability to solve complex problems • A strategic mindset to identify opportunities for AI-driven innovation across the organization • A mature, thoughtful attitude with the ability to operate effectively in a collaborative, team-oriented culture • Deep understanding of AI technologies and their applications, with a strong interest in staying current with advancements in the field • A track record of driving AI adoption and delivering impactful solutions • A results-driven approach with a strong focus on execution and delivering high-quality outcomes Preferred, Not Required • Experience in fintech, brokerage, or other regulated industries • Exposure to cloud-native or AI workflow orchestration platforms. • Experience deploying and scaling retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) platforms. Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. DriveWealth is unable to sponsor an employment Visa at this time. Compensation Compensation package offerings are based on candidate experience and technical qualifications, as it relates to the role. These are identified and determined throughout your interviewing experience. Please note: this role is expected to come into our office on a cadence set by the Hiring Manager/Team. New York, NY (Hybrid) Pay Range $250,000 - $290,000 USD Working at DriveWealth We do our best work when we’re in the same room. To maintain the speed our partners expect, our New York and Chicago teams work in-office 4 days a week. We’ve found that being physically side-by-side is the only way to solve complex problems in real-time and stay truly accountable to the products we ship. When you’re here, you’re working directly with the people making the decisions. To support that work, we provide competitive compensation, equity, and a 401(k) match. We also offer full insurance coverage, a wellness reimbursement, a company-provided phone, and a personal development allowance. Finally, we value the time you spend away from the office with generous PTO, observed holidays, and extended leave. How We Think About AI We leverage AI to work smarter and move faster. We seek AI curious talent who are proactive about using emerging tools to increase signal quality, reduce friction and improve outcomes to deliver product faster, provide better service to our partners, and to streamline processes. Your ability to leverage our internal tools and technology to drive results is as important to us as your core domain expertise. Compensation Pay is generally based upon the level, complexity, responsibility, location and job duties / requirements of the specific position. We then source candidates with the requisite skills, expertise, education, training, and experience. If you are selected for an interview, please feel welcome to speak to a recruiter about our compensation philosophy and other available benefits. This role is eligible for base, bonus, equity, 401(k) match, and heavily subsidized benefits and perks. Equal Employment Opportunity To build technology and products that are used and loved by people and solve real-world problems, we need to build a team with many different perspectives and experiences. We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply. Applicants in need of special assistance or accommodation during the interview process or in accessing our website may contact us at [Upgrade to PRO to see contact]. Agency Disclaimer DriveWealth does not accept agency resumes. Do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, employees, or any other organization location. DriveWealth is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes. Compensation Compensation package offerings are based on candidate experience and technical qualifications, as it relates to the role. These are identified and determined throughout your interviewing experience. Please note: this role is expected to come into our office on a cadence set by the Hiring Manager/Team. New York, NY (Hybrid) Pay Range$250,000—$290,000 USD Working at DriveWealth We do our best work when we’re in the same room. To maintain the speed our partners expect, our New York and Chicago teams work in-office 4 days a week. We’ve found that being physically side-by-side is the only way to solve complex problems in real-time and stay truly accountable to the products we ship. When you’re here, you’re working directly with the people making the decisions. To support that work, we provide competitive compensation, equity, and a 401(k) match. We also offer full insurance coverage, a wellness reimbursement, a company-provided phone, and a personal development allowance. Finally, we value the time you spend away from the office with generous PTO, observed holidays, and extended leave. How We Think About AI We leverage AI to work smarter and move faster. We seek AI curious talent who are proactive about using emerging tools to increase signal quality, reduce friction and improve outcomes to deliver product faster, provide better service to our partners, and to streamline processes. Your ability to leverage our internal tools and technology to drive results is as important to us as your core domain expertise. Compensation Pay is generally based upon the level, complexity, responsibility, location and job duties / requirements of the specific position. We then source candidates with the requisite skills, expertise, education, training, and experience. If you are selected for an interview, please feel welcome to speak to a recruiter about our compensation philosophy and other available benefits. This role is eligible for base, bonus, equity, 401(k) match, and heavily subsidized benefits and perks. Equal Employment Opportunity To build technology and products that are used and loved by people and solve real-world problems, we need to build a team with many different perspectives and experiences. We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply. Applicants in need of special assistance or accommodation during the interview process or in accessing our website may contact us at [Upgrade to PRO to see contact]. Agency Disclaimer DriveWealth does not accept agency resumes. Do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, employees, or any other organization location. DriveWealth is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.