Principal Innovation Engineer

Huntington National Bank•Easton, OH

19h•Onsite

About The Position

Will be responsible for driving Huntington’s most complex innovation initiatives by designing and building end-to-end, production-grade prototypes and reusable technology assets, including AI-enabled applications, while setting high engineering standards for solution architecture, application design, and delivery acceleration across the Technology Innovation portfolio. This role requires strong hands-on full-stack engineering skills, the mindset of a startup innovator in a large organization, experience building AI-integrated applications end-to-end, developing APIs and user experiences, and the ability to operate independently with limited supervision in a fast-paced innovation environment. This high-impact role is responsible for accelerating Huntington’s innovation execution by architecting and building end-to-end solutions that move from concept to working product-quality prototype. The Principal Innovation Engineer will partner closely with the team to productize innovative concepts into secure, scalable applications and services, reducing dependency on single-threaded architecture knowledge by bringing strong engineering leadership, integration capability, and delivery velocity.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or a related technical field
10+ years of experience in software engineering, technology architecture, and end-to-end innovative solution delivery
Expert-level software engineering and application architecture skills with the ability to independently lead complex initiatives from concept to execution
Demonstrated hands-on experience building applications end-to-end (backend + integration + UI), including APIs and workflow automation solutions
Demonstrated experience building AI-enabled applications (GenAI, RAG, agentic workflows, model integration, evaluation/guardrails) in a hands-on capacity
Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment while managing multiple priorities and driving workplans proactively

Nice To Haves

Experience building innovative digital products in a regulated environment (financial services preferred) with strong security and risk-awareness
Strong API design skills, integration patterns, and experience building services that can be reused across multiple use cases
Experience with modern cloud platforms and AI services (e.g., Google Cloud / Vertex AI, Gemini, or comparable platforms)
Experience with modern front-end frameworks and rapid prototyping approaches (e.g., React/Next.js or equivalent), plus strong backend development depth
Strong hands-on software engineering experience using one or more modern programming languages (e.g., Java, Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, or similar), with the ability to rapidly learn and apply new technologies as needed
Demonstrated success creating reusable accelerators (templates, libraries, reference implementations) that scale delivery across teams
Strong communication skills with the ability to explain architecture decisions, tradeoffs, and outcomes to technical and non-technical audiences
Experience building with a product-centric mindset and ability to iteratively delivery; ability to create momentum while maintaining engineering discipline

Responsibilities

Lead the design and delivery of high-impact innovation solutions aligned with the organization’s business goals and technology trends in financial services
Architect and build end-to-end prototypes and reusable assets, including AI-enabled applications, APIs, workflow automations, and integrations
Translate AI innovation concepts (GenAI / agentic patterns) into real applications with enterprise-grade architecture patterns, security, and operational readiness
Build solutions with a future-proof mindset, laying a solid foundation for development and preventing the need for costly redesigns
Establish and evolve engineering standards for innovation delivery (reference architectures, reusable templates, code quality, API patterns, integration patterns)
Partner with other technology teams to align on enterprise architecture, identity / access patterns, data access, compliance needs, and reuse opportunities
Evaluate emerging technologies and developer tooling (Digital Assets, AI-assisted development, orchestration frameworks, app frameworks, integration approaches) and assess applicability to Huntington’s environment
Drive technical problem-solving across ambiguous domains; proactively decompose work into deliverable increments and lead execution to complete finished outcomes
Provide technical mentorship and guidance to engineers, helping improve development velocity, quality, and confidence across the team
Contribute to innovation reporting by summarizing progress, decisions, tradeoffs, and outcomes in a clear way for senior stakeholders
Champion a culture of innovation and forward thinking, educating teams about new possibilities and bring an “art of the possible” mindset to problem-solving