AI Forward DevOps Staff Engineer II

Western Alliance Bank • Phoenix, AZ

2d • Onsite

About The Position

As a Staff Engineer II, you'll provide expertise in a suite of technical tools and products in a Specialized Loan Services, Operations domain within Lending to ensure solutions are safe, secure, compliant and reliable. You'll identify, develop and support needs, as well as taking on design responsibilities supporting project tasks. As the Staff Engineer II, you'll facilitate dialogue and activities to ensure team collaboration, including teams outside of your domain. You'll develop effective presentations and narratives for their teams. In this role, you will collaborate closely with business partners, architects, and senior engineers to deliver AI‑enabled full‑stack solutions that support Specialized Loan Services and modernization efforts. You are expected to demonstrate strong technical judgment, guide junior engineers, and apply established architectural, security, and governance standards while continuing to grow toward broader technical leadership. Lead the strategic planning of a project as it relates to technical solution design. Design and implement engineering principles aimed at reliability practices and sound recovery procedures. Design transaction specific application performance monitoring metrics that can be captured and passed to business partners. Develop and maintain technical documentation, including system configurations and procedures while also ensuring compliance with IT policies, procedures, and industry standards. Develop desktop procedures when needed that others follow. Build and deliver AI-enabled, cloud-native full-stack solutions for the Lending segment and Specialized Loan Services (SLS) organization using Azure DevOps, .NET, Python, React (Vite), SQL, and ETL technologies, aligned with enterprise architecture and security standards. Apply an AI-forward developer mindset leveraging prompt engineering, RAG patterns, MCP, and tools like GitHub Copilot/LLMs to improve development efficiency, solution quality, and workflow automation. Develop secure, scalable APIs and integration services using Azure API Management (APIM), ensuring adherence to standards for security, versioning, and observability across Lending and SLS platforms. Deliver end-to-end full-stack engineering solutions across frontend, backend, data, and cloud layers, following secure coding, testing, and performance best practices. Drive DevOps and CI/CD practices and guide other developers using Azure DevOps (ADO), GitHub, and Azure Pipelines, improving deployment reliability and release consistency in alignment with Lending Tower delivery playbooks. Collaborate with architects, engineering, QA, and business teams to translate Lending and SLS requirements into scalable solutions, ensuring alignment with architectural standards and operational expectations.

Requirements

• 7+ years of related experience in software engineering or IT development, with hands‑on experience delivering full‑stack applications as well as AI assisted development in a Financial Services or Lending environment.
• Bachelor's degree in related field required.
• Advanced knowledge of applicable regulatory and legal compliance obligations, rules and regulations, industry standards and practices.
• Proven experience in leading cross-functional teams and managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• Additional experience with pipeline development and leveraging Azure DevOps while working on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Advanced ability to see the big picture and align projects with organizational goals.
• Expertise in resolving conflicts and addressing challenges as well as skilled at identifying and mitigating risks at the project level.
• Proficient in governance patterns tied to intake, technical reviews and architectural compliance.
• Advanced speaking and writing communication skills.

Nice To Haves

• Previous technical leadership experience, such as leading features, components, or small workstreams, preferred.
• Intermediate to advanced knowledge of general Financial Services or Banking, with experience supporting Lending platforms, Collateral tracking, borrowing base calculations, loan servicing, integrations, or reporting is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience developing cloud‑native solutions on Azure, including APIs, data integrations, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Practical experience using AI‑assisted development techniques (e.g., Prompt Engineering, RAG patterns, or GenAI tools) within an enterprise development environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide expertise in a suite of technical tools and products in a Specialized Loan Services, Operations domain within Lending to ensure solutions are safe, secure, compliant and reliable.
• Identify, develop and support needs, as well as taking on design responsibilities supporting project tasks.
• Facilitate dialogue and activities to ensure team collaboration, including teams outside of your domain.
• Develop effective presentations and narratives for their teams.
• Collaborate closely with business partners, architects, and senior engineers to deliver AI‑enabled full‑stack solutions that support Specialized Loan Services and modernization efforts.
• Demonstrate strong technical judgment, guide junior engineers, and apply established architectural, security, and governance standards while continuing to grow toward broader technical leadership.
• Lead the strategic planning of a project as it relates to technical solution design.
• Design and implement engineering principles aimed at reliability practices and sound recovery procedures.
• Design transaction specific application performance monitoring metrics that can be captured and passed to business partners.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, including system configurations and procedures while also ensuring compliance with IT policies, procedures, and industry standards.
• Develop desktop procedures when needed that others follow.
• Build and deliver AI-enabled, cloud-native full-stack solutions for the Lending segment and Specialized Loan Services (SLS) organization using Azure DevOps, .NET, Python, React (Vite), SQL, and ETL technologies, aligned with enterprise architecture and security standards.
• Apply an AI-forward developer mindset leveraging prompt engineering, RAG patterns, MCP, and tools like GitHub Copilot/LLMs to improve development efficiency, solution quality, and workflow automation.
• Develop secure, scalable APIs and integration services using Azure API Management (APIM), ensuring adherence to standards for security, versioning, and observability across Lending and SLS platforms.
• Deliver end-to-end full-stack engineering solutions across frontend, backend, data, and cloud layers, following secure coding, testing, and performance best practices.
• Drive DevOps and CI/CD practices and guide other developers using Azure DevOps (ADO), GitHub, and Azure Pipelines, improving deployment reliability and release consistency in alignment with Lending Tower delivery playbooks.
• Collaborate with architects, engineering, QA, and business teams to translate Lending and SLS requirements into scalable solutions, ensuring alignment with architectural standards and operational expectations.

Benefits

• Competitive salaries
• An ownership stake in the company
• Medical and dental insurance
• Time off
• A great 401k matching program
• Tuition assistance program
• An employee volunteer program
• A wellness program
• Opportunity to bolster business knowledge, learning the ins and outs of how successful companies operate and manage their finances, giving you invaluable hands-on experience to help grow your career!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior