Director of AI Engineering

Panacea Financial

About The Position

Panacea Financial Holdings is seeking a Director of AI Engineering & Strategy to lead the development and execution of its AI strategy and integrate artificial intelligence across products and technology platforms. The role combines strategic leadership with hands-on software engineering to design, build, and implement AI solutions that enhance products, customer experiences, and business growth. The Director will work closely with Product, Engineering, and executive leadership to shape AI architecture, identify opportunities for innovation, and deliver secure, scalable AI capabilities. The role initially operates as an individual contributor, with direct ownership of AI initiatives from concept through production. As the company’s AI capabilities expand, the position may help build and potentially lead a dedicated AI engineering function. The Director will also serve as the company’s primary AI steward and advisor, uphold its AI Policy, and collaborate with Compliance, Risk, and Information Security on regulatory, privacy, and security requirements.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
8+ years of experience in software engineering, data science, or related technical fields, including substantial hands-on experience writing, testing, and deploying production code.
Demonstrated experience independently designing, building, shipping, and maintaining software applications or AI solutions in production environments.
Strong proficiency in Python, APIs, cloud technologies, and modern AI development frameworks.
Experience with generative AI, large language models, AI agents, and machine learning technologies.
Strong understanding of software architecture, systems integration, and scalable platform development.
Demonstrated ability to develop technical strategies and translate product and business objectives into AI solutions.
Strong technical leadership, problem-solving, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Ability to explain complex technical concepts clearly to business leaders and stakeholders without technical backgrounds.
Genuine enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and their potential to transform products, workflows, and customer experiences.
Comfort operating as a hands-on individual contributor while helping build the foundation for a growing technical function.

Nice To Haves

Experience in financial services, fintech, banking, or another regulated industry.
Experience developing AI-powered financial products or customer-facing technology platforms.
Familiarity with AI governance, model risk management, data privacy, and information security.
Experience with cloud infrastructure, AI orchestration frameworks, and production AI monitoring.
Experience leading AI engineering initiatives, technical teams, or external development partners.
Interest in growing into broader technical and people leadership responsibilities as the organization scales.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute an AI strategy and roadmap aligned with product vision, technology priorities, and business objectives.
Identify and prioritize opportunities to integrate AI into products, platforms, customer experiences, internal systems, and operations.
Partner with Product, Engineering, and executive leadership to define AI capabilities, technical requirements, and development priorities.
Evaluate emerging AI technologies and recommend solutions to improve product functionality, differentiation, and scalability.
Design, write, test, deploy, and support AI-powered product features, workflows, and intelligent agents.
Architect and build solutions using generative AI, large language models, machine learning, and related technologies.
Develop scalable AI infrastructure, APIs, and integrations for existing and future technology platforms.
Own the AI development lifecycle, including prototyping, testing, deployment, monitoring, and continuous optimization.
Establish engineering standards to ensure AI solutions are secure, reliable, scalable, and maintainable.
Evaluate and implement AI development tools, frameworks, and technologies to accelerate innovation and improve engineering efficiency.
Uphold the AI Policy and serve as the company’s primary AI steward.
Serve as a strategic and technical AI advisor to Product, Engineering, and executive leadership.
Lead AI development initiatives from concept through production deployment.
Collaborate with Compliance, Risk, and Information Security to meet applicable regulatory, privacy, and security requirements.
Evaluate AI technologies, development frameworks, vendors, and infrastructure investments.
Communicate AI concepts, technical decisions, and project outcomes clearly to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
Help establish the foundation for the AI engineering function, with the potential to take on broader organizational and people leadership responsibilities as it grows.