Citi—Data & AI Transformation Lead - Senior Vice President

Job description

Description: At Citi, we value engineering and foster an environment where our best engineers continue to code and grow their careers. Oasys Financial is a sub-ledger for Citi’s OTC business and covers global trading books across all asset classes. This system handles millions of trades daily and conduct all sub-ledger activities and is a critical system for the bank. We are taking up overhauling & re-write of this platform. We invite applications from experienced and well-rounded senior technologist for a SVP role who can work in a globally distributed team. This role requires strong Technology and Business knowledge of OTC products, trade life cycle and Pnl. The candidate will join a team in the early stages of transformation. Candidate will find spending their time in both coding & business analysis. There will be regular interfacing with senior stakeholders across the bank. Candidate will be expected to demonstrate an established track record of handling senior stakeholders & lead such discussions independently. Candidates are expected to demonstrate strong delivery background in financial industry, preferably in OTC products. We expect depth of knowledge in Java stack. Candidate should be willing to drive re-architecture and lead by example. Candidate should be able to work in Kubernetes based deployments in both on-prem and external cloud and deal with variety of build technologies. Candidate will have limited line management responsibilities, intentionally designed to provide focus on coding & business analysis. Growth opportunities are excellent and in future candidate will have options of choosing between engineering, business analysis or and management tracks. The team you’ll be working with is distributed across 3 countries. Key Responsibilities Hands-On Engineering & Re-Architecture • Be an active, hands-on contributor to the codebase — designing, building, and reviewing new Java microservices that replace legacy components. • Lead the re-engineering of the existing Oasys codebase, breaking down monolithic structures and migrating business logic into a modern, event-driven microservices architecture. • Establish and enforce application methodologies and standards for program analysis, design, coding, testing, and implementation across the engineering organization. • Analyze complex business processes, system workflows, and industry standards to define solutions to high-level problems, particularly in the context of post-trade processing and financial accounting. AI-Assisted Development & Change Leadership • Serve as the organization's champion and change agent for AI-assisted software development, driving the adoption of tools such as GitHub Copilot, Claude, OpenAI Codex, and Devin across the engineering team. • Bring deep, practical expertise in prompt engineering and apply it to accelerate development workflows, improve code generation quality, and automate repetitive engineering tasks. • Lead by example — demonstrating how AI tooling can be integrated into day-to-day development practices to meaningfully improve productivity and code quality. Transformation Execution • Lead the design and delivery of the new Oasys platform in parallel with the Sybase IQ exit, overseeing the build-out of high-throughput data pipelines, distributed data stores, and scalable data processing frameworks. • Drive the integration of new systems and functions to meet strategic goals, deploy new capabilities, and continuously enhance processes. • Utilize advanced knowledge of the Oasys system flows and a comprehensive understanding of multiple technology domains to achieve transformation milestones on time and at scale. Leadership & People Development • Build, lead, and inspire a high-performing, multi-disciplinary engineering organization in Pune. • Allocate work effectively and act as an advisor and coach to developers, architects, analysts, and new team members, fostering a culture of engineering excellence and continuous learning. • Develop the next generation of technical leaders within the team. Stakeholder Engagement • Influence and negotiate with senior global technology and business leaders, communicating the transformation vision, progress, and risks with clarity and confidence. • Consult with end users and business stakeholders to identify system function specifications and incorporate them into the overall system design. • Manage large program budgets and cross-functional, multi-project delivery. Risk & Governance • Appropriately assess risk when business decisions are made, demonstrating particular consideration for the firm's reputation and safeguarding Citigroup, its clients, and assets. • Drive compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations, adhering to Policy and applying sound ethical judgment regarding personal behavior, conduct, and business practices. • Escalate, manage, and report control issues with full transparency. Qualifications Required: • 15+ years of progressive experience in technology, with a significant portion in senior technical leadership roles — and a continued, active hands-on involvement in software development. • Java Expertise: Expert-level background in Java, including designing and building resilient, high-throughput distributed systems and microservices architectures. Must be comfortable writing and reviewing production code. • Big Data Mastery: Deep, hands-on expertise in modern Big Data platforms using technologies such as Apache Spark, Kafka, Presto/Trino, and distributed data lakes or lakehouses. • Transformation Track Record: Demonstrated success leading complex, multi-year legacy modernization and re-engineering programs from concept to production in a global enterprise environment. • Change Leadership: A proven change agent with the ability to shift engineering culture, introduce modern practices, and bring teams along on a transformation journey. • Leadership: Exceptional organizational leadership skills with experience managing and developing multiple teams of senior engineers, architects, and technical leads. Preferred (Highly Desirable): • Prompt Engineering & AI Tooling: Deep, practical experience with prompt engineering and hands-on use of AI-assisted development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Claude, OpenAI Codex, Devin) to drive engineering productivity and code quality at scale. • Financial Domain: Experience in financial services, particularly in trading systems, post-trade processing, sub-ledger accounting, or risk platforms. • Cloud Platforms: Experience with public or private cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and their associated data and compute services. Education: • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience. • Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related quantitative discipline is preferred. Why Join Us? • Lead by Example: This is a role for a builder, not just a manager. You will be in the code, setting the standard, and driving change from the front. • Be a Change Agent: Shape how an entire engineering organization thinks about modern development practices, AI tooling, and software craftsmanship. • Unmatched Scale: Work on a system that processes millions of trades daily, presenting engineering challenges that are rare in their complexity and consequence. • Build Something Lasting: Lead the creation of a modern platform that will serve as the foundation of Citi's post-trade operations for years to come. ------------------------------------------------------ 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.