Head of AI-First Development (Firmwide AI) - Managing Director

Citi • New York, NY

3d • $250,000 - $500,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Citi is establishing a new, unified firmwide AI organization under a newly created Group Head of Artificial Intelligence. This role is the leader who re-architects how Citi builds products, with the mandate to make AI the default across the firm's entire Product Development Lifecycle. This is a Managing Director level mandate to lead one of the largest engineering productivity transformations in global financial services. The platform built and workflows established will shape how all of Citi’s businesses ship products and will be one of the firm's largest bets on the productivity of its own people.

Requirements

• 15+ years of progressive engineering leadership experience, including senior roles owning developer experience, developer platforms, or engineering productivity at scale.
• Seasoned DevEx / developer-platform leader who has personally built and run a developer platform serving thousands (ideally tens of thousands) of engineers, with demonstrable productivity outcomes.
• Deep, current expertise in agentic coding tools and the AI-first SDLC - fluent in the modern landscape (agentic IDEs, code-generation models, AI-assisted review and test, deployment agents) and the operational realities of running them at enterprise scale.
• Influential change agent - proven ability to win over skeptical users and engineers; leads through credibility and outcomes, not mandate.
• Strong product instinct - runs the platform as a true product, with clear users, telemetry, prioritization, and outcome accountability.
• Strong appreciation of Cyber security and Architectural standardization concerns, to work in partnership with the CISO and CTO teams.
• Cross-functional influencer - proven ability to operate in a matrixed environment across platform, controls, HR, and the broader Tech organization without direct authority over all of them.
• Risk & Compliance awareness – understands and fully appreciates risks, controls, and regulatory expectations as they apply to AI-assisted development in global banking.
• Excellent communication - credible with engineers, engineering leaders, business stakeholders, controls partners, and regulators alike.
• Bachelor's degree required, preferably in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical discipline.

Nice To Haves

• Ideally inside an elite engineering culture (top-tier tech firm, hyperscaler, or major bank with a serious engineering bar).
• Financial Services fluency preferred; comparable experience in another regulated, large-scale engineering environment will be considered.
• Advanced technical degree or MBA preferred.

Responsibilities

• Re-architect Citi's end-to-end Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC) so that AI is the default across requirements gathering, design, code, test, deployment, and operations.
• Define and own the firm's reference workflows, standards, and patterns for AI-first product development; partner with the broader Tech and Product organizations to drive consistent adoption.
• Continuously evolve the PDLC as the underlying AI tooling, models, and developer practices mature.
• Own the agentic product development platform including agentic requirements tools, testing tools, coding tools, AI-assisted code review, automated testing, and deployment agents.
• Define the firm's "build vs. buy vs. partner" strategy for developer AI tooling; manage the relationships with the agentic coding vendors and platform providers that matter most.
• Establish the engineering productivity metrics, telemetry, and feedback loops that drive continuous improvement.
• Define and own the firm's AI-first PDLC reference workflow, with named pilot organizations operating end-to-end against it.
• Ensure a consolidated, supported end-to-end agentic development platform is live for meaningful adoption, with credible telemetry on usage and productivity.
• Develop and maintain a trusted, transparent engineering productivity scorecard accepted by Tech leadership and the CFO.
• Drive a visible shift in product development culture toward AI-first as the default.

Benefits

• medical, dental & vision coverage
• 401(k)
• life, accident, and disability insurance
• wellness programs
• paid time off packages, including planned time off (vacation), unplanned time off (sick leave), and paid holidays.

What This Job Offers

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