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Senior Lead Python AI/ML Engineer

Citigroup, Inc.
DLF CYBERCITY 12B; Pune Maharashtra India Posted Oct 13, 2026
Full-timeHybrid

About this role

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced and visionary Senior Lead Python AI/ML Engineer with Generative AI Capabilities to lead the design, development, and deployment of next-generation artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions based out of our Chennai center (operating in a Hybrid work model). With 10 to 12 years of hands-on software and machine learning engineering experience, the ideal candidate will drive the convergence of traditional predictive ML models and modern Foundation Model / GenAI architectures.

In this role, you will be instrumental in building high-scale, low-latency AI solutions applied to Fraud Mitigation, Risk Scoring, and Loss Prevention across US Retail Banking products

  1. Key Responsibilities

AI/ML & Generative AI Architecture

  • Architect, build, and deploy production-grade Generative AI systems, including Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), autonomous agents, semantic search pipelines, and multi-modal AI workflows.

  • Integrate state-of-the-art Large Language Models (LLMs)—including Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, and open-source models (Llama, Mistral)—optimizing for latency, cost, and accuracy.

  • Build domain-specific prompt engineering frameworks, fine-tuning pipelines (LoRA/QLoRA), model evaluation benchmarks, and guardrails to minimize hallucinations and bias.

  • Lead the architecture of predictive ML algorithms (anomaly detection, graph neural networks, supervised/unsupervised classifiers) tailored to real-time risk assessment. Software Engineering & System Scalability

  • Design resilient, low-latency, and horizontally scalable microservices and APIs in Python (FastAPI, Flask, AsyncIO) handling high-throughput transactional traffic.

  • Integrate vector databases (e.g., Pinecone, Milvus, Qdrant, Chroma, pgvector) with distributed caching and event streaming platforms (Kafka, RabbitMQ).

  • Implement robust MLOps and LLMOps practices (CI/CD pipelines, automated model retraining, observability with MLflow/Weights & Biases, model drift monitoring). Fraud Analytics & Domain Innovation

  • Collaborate closely with US-based and global Risk, Compliance, and Loss Prevention teams to build AI solutions targeting identity theft, account takeover (ATO), synthetic identity fraud, card-not-present (CNP) fraud, and transaction anomaly detection.

  • Utilize unstructured data (investigator notes, SAR filings, customer interaction logs) via GenAI to automate fraud triage and investigative summarization.

  • Ensure strict adherence to US Banking regulatory standards (FCRA, GLBA, Model Risk Management SR 11-7, Fair Lending, Explainable AI / XAI). Technical Leadership & Mentorship

  • Mentor senior/mid-level data scientists and software engineers across the Chennai engineering hub in modern GenAI patterns, clean code principles, and production readiness.

  • Drive technical roadmap, evaluate emerging AI frameworks, conduct proof-of-concepts (PoCs), and present architectural proposals to global engineering leadership.

  1. Required Qualifications & Experience
  • Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Applied Mathematics, or a related quantitative field.
  • Total

Experience

  • 10 to 12 years of professional experience in software engineering and production AI/ML system development.

  • Core Python Expertise: Advanced proficiency in Python 3.x (multiprocessing/asyncio, design patterns, profiling, packaging, and clean code paradigms).

  • Core ML Frameworks: Deep practical experience with PyTorch, TensorFlow, Scikit-learn, XGBoost, and LightGBM.

  • Generative AI Proficiency:

  • Demonstrated success building production GenAI applications (LangChain, LlamaIndex, CrewAI, AutoGen).

  • Hands-on experience with embedding models, dense retrieval, rerankers, and vector indexing strategies.

  • Distributed Systems & Cloud: Strong hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure), containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and distributed data processing (PySpark, Ray).

  • MLOps / LLMOps: Proven track record in orchestrating end-to-end ML lifecycles from data validation to real-time inference monitoring.

    1. Preferred & Good-to-Have Skills
  • Google Gemini & Anthropic Claude: Hands-on experience with API integration, function calling/tools, context caching, and prompt optimization specifically for Google Gemini (Pro/Flash) and Anthropic Claude (Opus/Sonnet/Haiku).

  • Domain Knowledge (Fraud & Loss Prevention):

  • Experience designing fraud rule engines, anomaly detection platforms, or predictive risk models.

  • Familiarity with transaction monitoring, biometric behavioral analytics, and fraud consortium datasets.

    1. Technical

Skills

  • Matrix

  • Category

  • Technologies & Tools

  • Programming Languages

  • Python (Advanced), SQL, Bash

  • Generative AI & LLMs

  • Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, OpenAI GPT, Open-source LLMs (Llama, Mistral), LangChain, LlamaIndex, DSPy

  • Classical & Deep ML

  • PyTorch, TensorFlow, Scikit-Learn, XGBoost, LightGBM, Hugging Face Transformers

  • Vector DBs & Search

  • Pinecone, Milvus, Qdrant, Weaviate, FAISS, pgvector, Elasticsearch

  • Backend & APIs

  • FastAPI, Flask, AsyncIO, gRPC, REST

  • Data & Streaming

  • Apache Kafka, Apache Spark / PySpark, Pandas, Polars, DuckDB

  • MLOps & DevOps

  • MLflow, Kubeflow, Docker, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, Terraform, Prometheus/Grafana

  • Domain Tools & Standards

  • Model Risk Management (SR 11-7), Explainable AI (SHAP, LIME), PII Masking

    1. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
  • Model Performance & Accuracy: Precision/Recall trade-offs in fraud detection, false positive reduction, and sub-100ms real-time inference latency.

  • Engineering Excellence: Code quality, test coverage (>85%), modular design, and robust error handling.

  • Business Impact: Measurable reduction in fraud loss basis points and acceleration of investigator workflow efficiency through GenAI summarization/triage.

  • Mentorship & Global Delivery: On-time milestone delivery, technical capability elevation across local and global engineering pods.

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.

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