Citi—Golang Software Engineering Lead - GenAI platforms - Senior Vice President

Job description

Description: About the Role We're seeking an exceptional Golang Software Engineering Lead - GenAI platforms to drive the backend technical vision and full-stack execution of our enterprise GenAI platform serving 180,000+ Citi employees globally. This is a senior technical leadership role for someone who wants to architect scalable, high-performance AI systems at the intersection of modern cloud-native development and cutting-edge AI—combining hands-on engineering excellence with strategic technical leadership. You'll work with cutting-edge AI infrastructure including Claude, Gemini, and proprietary Citi models running on OpenShift/Kubernetes, building the next generation of AI-powered backend services and microservices that transform how employees interact with enterprise AI systems. About Our Team Our team operates like a research-driven startup within Citi, rapidly innovating on AI user experiences while maintaining enterprise-grade reliability, security, and compliance. We build and operate Citi Stylus Workspaces and other mission-critical GenAI platforms that demand exceptional scalability, performance, and reliability at global scale. Our platforms integrate cutting-edge AI models to provide secure, compliant, and powerful AI capabilities across the organization. Our microservices architecture is built with Go and React, deployed on OpenShift/Kubernetes, and incorporates sophisticated document understanding, agentic capabilities, and integration with numerous internal systems. What You'll Do Architecture & Development - Design, develop, and maintain core components of our production GenAI platform - Architect new systems and services that scale to enterprise requirements (180,000+ users) - Implement complex features across the entire stack, from backend services to frontend interfaces - Design and implement scalable microservices architecture for complex GenAI applications - Build sophisticated document processing and transformation pipelines - Optimize system performance, particularly for AI-related operations and high-throughput scenarios - Collaborate with AI researchers to implement state-of-the-art techniques - Develop real-time streaming architectures for AI responses using WebSockets and Server-Sent Events - Implement advanced caching strategies and distributed system patterns AI/ML Engineering - Build practical LLM-based applications with production-grade reliability - Implement prompt engineering techniques and patterns for enterprise use cases - Architect vector database solutions and semantic search capabilities - Design streaming architectures for AI responses and real-time collaboration - Integrate multiple LLM providers (Claude, Gemini, proprietary models) - Develop agentic capabilities and multi-agent system orchestration - Optimize AI inference performance and cost efficiency DevOps & Production - Design and implement observability solutions for AI-specific metrics and general system health - Create and maintain deployment pipelines and configuration for multiple environments - Build comprehensive CI/CD pipelines using GitOps workflows - Participate in production support rotation and incident response - Lead production incident response, root cause analysis, and blameless postmortem processes - Analyze and resolve complex production issues across the stack - Implement monitoring, error tracking, and alerting for production applications - Optimize build processes and deployment strategies for performance Cloud & Infrastructure - Design and implement Kubernetes/OpenShift deployment patterns and Helm charts - Architect service mesh implementations (Istio) for microservices communication - Implement infrastructure-as-code and GitOps workflows - Design network architecture for distributed systems - Ensure security best practices including OAuth/JWT, Vault integration, and document classification - Build container-based deployment strategies with high availability Leadership & Collaboration - Define technical vision and roadmap for GenAI platform backend excellence and full-stack capabilities - Set technical vision and drive architectural direction across multiple services and teams - Provide technical mentorship to engineering teams and develop technical talent - Lead architectural discussions and make strategic technical decisions - Partner with engineering, security, and business leaders to align technology strategy with organizational objectives - Drive engineering excellence through code reviews and best practice implementation - Represent the engineering organization in cross-functional leadership forums - Lead cross-functional collaboration with product managers, AI researchers, and frontend engineers - Build and lead high-performing engineering teams What You Bring Core Technical Expertise (Must-Have) Programming & Software Design - Expert-level Go programming (5+ years) with deep understanding of concurrency patterns - Proficiency with TypeScript/JavaScript and React (3+ years) for full-stack development - Strong understanding of clean architecture, SOLID principles, and design patterns - Experience with concurrent and parallel programming - Comfort with both statically and dynamically typed languages - Advanced knowledge of microservices architecture and API design - Deep understanding of RESTful APIs, gRPC, and real-time communication protocols Cloud & Infrastructure - Deep understanding of Kubernetes/OpenShift architecture and deployment patterns - Experience with service mesh implementations (Istio preferred) - Knowledge of infrastructure-as-code and GitOps workflows - Understanding of network architecture for distributed systems - Experience with containerization (Docker) and orchestration at scale - Proficiency with Helm charts and Kubernetes operators AI/ML Engineering - Practical experience implementing LLM-based applications in production environments - Knowledge of prompt engineering techniques and patterns - Understanding of vector databases and semantic search - Experience with streaming architectures for AI responses - Familiarity with AI model integration, fine-tuning, and optimization - Understanding of RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) patterns Data & Systems - Experience with document processing and transformation pipelines - Knowledge of NoSQL databases, particularly MongoDB - Understanding of caching strategies and implementations (Redis) - Experience with high-throughput, low-latency distributed systems - Knowledge of S3-compatible object storage and data management - Understanding of data consistency patterns in distributed systems DevOps & Reliability - Strong understanding of observability (metrics, traces, logs) - Experience with CI/CD pipelines and automated testing - Knowledge of performance testing and optimization techniques - Experience with production incident management and resolution - Understanding of SRE principles and practices - Experience with monitoring tools (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack) Security & Compliance - Knowledge of OAuth/JWT authentication and authorization patterns - Experience with secrets management (Vault) - Understanding of security best practices for enterprise applications - Familiarity with compliance requirements in regulated industries Professional Experience - 15+ years of overall software development experience - 5+ years in technical leadership positions - 5+ years working with cloud-native architectures - 3+ years practical experience with AI/ML systems in production - Experience leading teams building enterprise-scale systems (10,000+ users) - Track record of successfully delivering complex technical projects at organization-wide scale - Experience building and leading high-performing engineering teams - History of mentoring and developing engineering talent - Experience operating in regulated industries (finance, healthcare, government) Nice to Have - Experience architecting and scaling backend systems for enterprise environments - Knowledge of micro-frontend architecture and module federation - Understanding of GraphQL and real-time data synchronization - Experience with AI/ML interface patterns and prompt engineering UX - Knowledge of event-driven architectures and message queuing systems - Experience with performance optimization and load testing at scale - Understanding of chaos engineering and resilience testing - Familiarity with multiple programming languages and paradigms Who You Are Beyond technical skills, you are: - Innovative problem solver who transforms complex technical challenges into elegant, scalable solutions - Passionate about AI-powered systems and leveraging AI to revolutionize enterprise applications - Hands-on technical leader comfortable diving deep into technical details while maintaining strategic perspective - Self-driven with ability to work in a fast-paced, research-oriented environment - Strong problem-solver with a systematic approach to complex challenges - Excellent communicator able to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences - Collaborative with experience working across teams (engineering, design, product, business) - Curious about emerging technologies with commitment to staying current - Pragmatic with ability to balance ideal solutions with practical constraints and timelines - Comfortable with ambiguity and ability to make progress with incomplete information - Quality-focused with strong attention to detail and commitment to engineering excellence Why Join Us? - Cutting-Edge Technology: Work with the latest AI/ML infrastructure, modern backend frameworks, and emerging cloud-native technologies - Enterprise Scale: Build systems serving users globally with real business impact - Innovation Culture: Research-driven environment encouraging experimentation and rapid prototyping - Technical Excellence: Collaborate with world-class engineers and AI researchers - Career Growth: SVP-level technical leadership role with visibility to senior leadership - Meaningful Work: Build backend systems powering AI transformation across a global financial institution Work Environment We embrace a hybrid work model with a mix of in-office and remote work. We value innovation, technical excellence, and operational discipline. We operate with agile methodologies adapted to our specific needs, with two-week sprints, regular releases, and continuous improvement cycles. Education Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field, or equivalent practical experience Technical Environment - Backend: Go microservices with clean architecture patterns - Frontend: React 19+ with TypeScript, modern state management (Zustand), TanStack Query - Infrastructure: OpenShift/Kubernetes with Helm deployments, Istio service mesh - Data Storage: MongoDB, Redis, S3-compatible object storage - APIs: REST, gRPC, WebSockets, Server-Sent Events - AI/ML: Integration with multiple LLM providers (Claude, Gemini, proprietary models), vector search, prompt engineering - Security: OAuth/JWT, Vault, document classification - Testing: Comprehensive testing strategies (unit, integration, E2E) - Build Tools: Modern CI/CD pipelines, GitOps workflows - Observability: Metrics, traces, logs, monitoring and alerting - Performance: High-throughput, low-latency distributed systems optimization Ready to Apply? If you're passionate about building scalable, intelligent backend systems at the intersection of AI and modern cloud-native development, and want to shape the future of enterprise AI platforms at global scale, we'd love to hear from you. ------------------------------------------------------ Job Family Group: Technology------------------------------------------------------ Job Family: Applications Development------------------------------------------------------ Time Type: Full time------------------------------------------------------ Most Relevant Skills Please see the requirements listed above.------------------------------------------------------ Other Relevant Skills For complementary skills, please see above and/or contact the recruiter.------------------------------------------------------ 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.