Senior AI Specialist - Gen AI, NLP

Senior AI Specialist – Gen AI, NLP (Banking/Financial Services)

SoFi’s AI Specialist – GenAI, NLP (Banking/Financial Services) is a critical hands‑on engineer position in SoFi’s growing independent risk organization focused on applying data processing/reporting and practical artificial intelligence techniques to solve real‑world problems. This role will be instrumental in conceptualizing, prototyping and implementing best‑in‑class AI‑based solutions to meet risk management requirements. The role works closely with the Director of Risk Analytics and plays a pivotal role in developing data, reporting, and infrastructure solutions supporting the risk function.

• Architect AI Solutions:
  Design and develop AI-based solutions leveraging available Generative AI (Gen AI), BERT-based LLMs, and natural language processing to enable enhanced risk reporting, deeper insights, and automated risk management web applications and solutions.
• Develop Agent Systems:
  Serve as a subject matter expert in developing sophisticated agentic solutions utilizing Large Language Models (LLMs) to automate complex tasks and workflows.
• Implement AI Operations & Observability:
  Implement comprehensive AI observability solutions, including real‑time monitoring, error tracking, and performance logging for deployed models.
• Model Optimization:
  Implement and manage parameter‑efficient fine‑tuning (PEFT) techniques (e.g., LoRA) to customize and optimize pre‑trained models for specific tasks with minimal computational overhead.
• Cross‑Functional
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Coordinate with cross‑functional teams to distill specific requirements, project roadmaps, and ensure accurate and on‑time project deliveries.
• Proof of Concepts & Proposals:
  Identify areas for process enhancements and automation to streamline workflows and increase productivity within the risk management function.
• AI Innovation:
  Stay up‑to‑date with the latest trends and advancements in GenAI, LLMs, and NLP, evaluating and experimenting with new techniques and tools to push the boundaries of AI innovation in the banking sector.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, AI, Machine Learning, or a related field. PhD is a plus.
• 5+ years software development experience, with 3+ years of hands‑on experience in developing and successfully deploying production‑level AI applications that have been used by real customers or internal stakeholders.
• Expert-level experience with Lang Graph to model and orchestrate complex, stateful multi‑step reasoning and control flow in LLM applications.
• Expert-level experience in developing agentic solutions, including familiarity with tool‑use, planning, memory, and reflection patterns.
• Deep understanding of Large Language Model (LLM) architectures, prompt engineering, retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG), and advanced text generation techniques.
• Direct experience implementing AI observability solutions (e.g., using tools like Lang Smith, Arize, Weights & Biases) and establishing rigorous tracing and testing methodologies for LLM workflows.
• Proven experience implementing parameter‑efficient fine‑tuning (PEFT) techniques (e.g., LoRA) to customize and optimize pre‑trained models for specific tasks with minimal computational overhead.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Expert level Python is required.
• React is strongly preferred.
• Experience with large‑scale data handling, including unstructured and structured data pipelines, with a strong preference for Snowflake and Dynamo
  
  DB.
• Experience developing and integrating AI‑powered APIs and microservices architecture into banking applications.
• Experience with vector databases and retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) techniques using systems like Elasticsearch, Pinecone, or FAISS for enhancing LLM performance.
• Expertise in AI system evaluation, including selection and application of appropriate performance metrics across diverse scenarios.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills with attention to detail and an ability to work with complex, large‑scale systems.
• Strong collaboration skills, with experience…