Head of Banking AI Platform

Barclays•Jefferson, CO

About The Position

This role is responsible for leading and managing engineering teams to deliver high-quality software solutions, providing technical guidance, mentorship, and support. The Head of Banking AI Platform will drive technical excellence, foster innovation, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to align technical decisions with business objectives. The position involves owning and evolving the AI platform for Investment Banking and Lending, defining its architecture, and enabling the use of AI. This includes building scalable, performant, and compliant Pro-Code AI use cases, designing and deploying SLM and LLM driven workflows and NLP solutions, and developing a product vision for AI products in Investment Banking. The role also encompasses managing the AI architectural roadmap, making build vs. buy decisions, managing budgets, and ensuring return on investment. A deep understanding of multi-cloud infrastructure, security patterns, and API integration is essential, along with strong stakeholder management skills to communicate business value to C-suite leaders. The role requires engineering excellence, speedy and high-quality delivery, and the ability to directly build or technically direct the development of end-to-end AI products using Java and Python, with expertise in PyTorch or TensorFlow, SQL databases, and ML/Data Science skills. Familiarity with Vector DB, RAG, AI governance, LLM architecture, MLOps, LLMOps, and enterprise AI security is also crucial. Experience with DataBricks, SnowFlake, Airflow, and DBT is preferred, as is the adoption of AI development tools and agents.

Requirements

Significant input to function-wide strategic initiatives.
Manage a business function.
Influence policy and procedures for the function.
Plan, manage, and consult on multiple complex and critical strategic projects.
Manage the direction of a large team or sub-function, leading other people managers.
Embed a performance culture aligned to the values of the business.
Lead organization-wide projects.
Act as deep technical expert and thought leader.
Identify new ways of working and collaborating cross-functionally.
Train, guide and coach less experienced specialists.
Provide information affecting long-term profits, organizational risks and strategic decisions.
Provide expert advice to senior functional management and committees.
Influence decisions made outside of own function.
Manage, coordinate and enable resourcing, budgeting and policy creation for a significant sub-function.
Escalate breaches of policies / procedure appropriately.
Foster and guide compliance.
Ensure regulations are observed.
Ensure relevant processes are in place to facilitate adherence.
Focus on the external environment, regulators, or advocacy groups to both monitor and influence on behalf of Barclays.
Demonstrate extensive knowledge of how the function integrates with the business division / Group to achieve the overall business objectives.
Maintain broad and comprehensive knowledge of industry theories and practices within own discipline.
Maintain up-to-date relevant sector / functional knowledge.
Maintain insight into external market developments / initiatives.
Use interpretative thinking and advanced analytical skills to solve problems and design solutions in often complex/sensitive situations.
Exercise management authority to make significant decisions and certain strategic decisions or recommendations within own area.
Negotiate with and influence stakeholders at a senior level both internally and externally.
Act as principal contact point for key clients and counterparts in other functions/ businesses divisions.
Act as spokesperson for the function and business division.
Demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard.
AI platform owner accountable for shaping, building, securing, implementing and scaling Investment Banking and Lending AI platform.
Owning and evolving the AI platform to enable with core accountability to define and deliver the AI platform architecture.
Accountable for building scalable, performant, resilient, reliable and accurate Pro-Code AI use cases that align to Barclays Compliance and Legal directions.
Accountable for designing and deploying both, SLM and LLM driven workflows and NLP solutions that are scalable and production ready.
Ability to build out a product vision for launching AI products for Investment Banking at scale.
Accountable for the Multi Year AI Architectural Roadmap in alignment to business roadmaps, Solution Design Patterns and Delivery standards in line with Business and Functional architecture.
Commercially astute and experienced in vendor management skills to ensure the firm takes sound Build vs Buy decisions and ensures timely and cost-effective business outcomes.
Accountable for managing and tracking financial budgets for the area, bottoms-up resource and cost planning, forecasting costs accurately, tracking business benefits and ensuring return on investment.
Deep understanding of multi cloud infrastructure, security patterns, MCP integration, API integration for delivery of AI platforms is essential.
Hands on skills on AWS / Azure/ GCP and other SaaS platforms (deep familiarity with one or more with relevant solution architecture certifications preferred).
Senior stakeholder management skills.
Ability to simplify, paraphrase, translate complex technical concepts for C-suite leaders with clear examples to articulate the business value delivered.
Accountability for Engineering excellence within AI platform demonstrating speedy, high quality delivery.
Ability to both, directly build and technically direct the development of E2E AI products.
The ability to code production quality solutions using both, Java and Python.
Ability to build complex models using PyTorch or TensorFlow.
Ability to manage performant SQL databases and ability to finetune databases.
Mastery of ML/Data Science skills – proven track record in Data Science/ML with expertise in Python, SQL and Deep Learning libraries (TensorFlow, Keras, PyTorch).
Hands on skills with Vector DB and RAG – embeddings, chunking, re-ranking.
Clarity on LLM architecture, evaluation frameworks, Inference Optimisation and finetuning skills.
Ability to build and deploy LLM and SLM driven workflows and NLP, Document AI solutions that are scalable, compliant and production ready.
Expertise in MLOps and LLMOps.
Deep familiarity with information security solutions in the context of Enterprise AI (prompt injection defense, guardrails etc).
Adopts AI development tools such as Claude Code, Cursor, Git Lab Duo.
Ability to leverage Agents in the development lifecycle process.

Nice To Haves

Relevant solution architecture certifications preferred.
Expertise in DataBricks, SnowFlake, Airflow, DBT will be preferred but not essential.
Exposure to AI governance and compliance processes in Tier 1 Banks.

Responsibilities

Lead engineering teams effectively, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture to achieve project goals and meet organizational objectives.
Oversee timelines, team allocation, risk management and task prioritization to ensure the successful delivery of solutions within scope, time, and budget.
Mentor and support team members' professional growth, conduct performance reviews, provide actionable feedback, and identify opportunities for improvement.
Evaluate and enhance engineering processes, tools, and methodologies to increase efficiency, streamline workflows, and optimize team productivity.
Collaborate with business partners, product managers, designers, and other stakeholders to translate business requirements into technical solutions and ensure a cohesive approach to product development.
Enforce technology standards, facilitate peer reviews, and implement robust testing practices to ensure the delivery of high-quality solutions.
Manage a business function, providing significant input to function-wide strategic initiatives.
Contribute to and influence policy and procedures for the function and plan, manage, and consult on multiple complex and critical strategic projects, which may be business-wide.
Manage the direction of a large team or sub-function, leading other people managers and embedding a performance culture aligned to the values of the business.
Lead organization-wide projects and act as a deep technical expert and thought leader, identifying new ways of working and collaborating cross-functionally.
Train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long-term profits, organizational risks and strategic decisions.
Provide expert advice to senior functional management and committees to influence decisions made outside of own function, offering significant input to function-wide strategic initiatives.
Manage, coordinate and enable resourcing, budgeting and policy creation for a significant sub-function.
Foster and guide compliance, ensure regulations are observed that relevant processes in place to facilitate adherence.
Focus on the external environment, regulators, or advocacy groups to both monitor and influence on behalf of Barclays, when appropriate.
Demonstrate extensive knowledge of how the function integrates with the business division / Group to achieve the overall business objectives.
Maintain broad and comprehensive knowledge of industry theories and practices within own discipline alongside up-to-date relevant sector / functional knowledge, and insight into external market developments / initiatives.
Use interpretative thinking and advanced analytical skills to solve problems and design solutions in often complex/sensitive situations.
Exercise management authority to make significant decisions and certain strategic decisions or recommendations within own area.
Negotiate with and influence stakeholders at a senior level both internally and externally.
Act as principal contact point for key clients and counterparts in other functions/ businesses divisions.
Act as a spokesperson for the function and business division.
Demonstrate leadership behaviors to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard.
Shape, build, secure, implement and scale the Investment Banking and Lending AI platform.
Own and evolve the AI platform to define and deliver the AI platform architecture.
Build scalable, performant, resilient, reliable and accurate Pro-Code AI use cases that align to Barclays Compliance and Legal directions.
Design and deploy both SLM and LLM driven workflows and NLP solutions that are scalable and production ready.
Build out a product vision for launching AI products for Investment Banking at scale.
Manage the Multi-Year AI Architectural Roadmap in alignment to business roadmaps, Solution Design Patterns and Delivery standards.
Ensure the firm takes sound Build vs Buy decisions and ensures timely and cost-effective business outcomes.
Manage and track financial budgets for the area, bottoms-up resource and cost planning, forecasting costs accurately, tracking business benefits and ensuring return on investment.
Simplify, paraphrase, translate complex technical concepts for C-suite leaders with clear examples to articulate the business value delivered.
Ensure speedy, high-quality delivery within the AI platform.
Directly build and technically direct the development of E2E AI products.
Code production quality solutions using both Java and Python.
Build complex models using PyTorch or TensorFlow.
Manage performant SQL databases and finetune databases.
Apply Data Science/ML expertise in Python, SQL and Deep Learning libraries (TensorFlow, Keras, PyTorch).
Utilize Vector DB and RAG – embeddings, chunking, re-ranking.
Build and deploy LLM and SLM driven workflows and NLP, Document AI solutions that are scalable, compliant and production ready.
Apply expertise in MLOps and LLMOps.
Implement information security solutions in the context of Enterprise AI (prompt injection defense, guardrails etc).
Leverage Agents in the development lifecycle process.