Senior Software Engineer - Tech Research and Innovations

Wells Fargo • Iselin, NJ

84d • $100,000 - $196,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Wells Fargo is seeking a hands-on, forward-thinking Senior Research & Innovation Engineer to help build and scale a high-impact practice focused on identifying and evaluating emerging technologies across IT, Investment Banking, and Commercial Banking. This is a unique opportunity to shape the technical foundation of a repeatable innovation pipeline that drives strategic investments, intellectual capital development, and enterprise transformation. You will be responsible for designing, building, and operating a secure, scalable, and automated Proof of Concept (PoC) system that enables rapid, parallel, and isolated evaluations of vendor technologies across OpenShift Container Platform (OCP), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure, and various LLM environments. This role is ideal for an engineer who thrives in fast-paced environments and has deep experience with modern infrastructure, tech and AI technologies-especially Large Language Models (LLMs) and agent frameworks, which will be central to evaluating and automating PoC workflows. You'll play a critical role in validating vendor solutions, generating intellectual capital, and informing strategic investment decisions. Join a strategic initiative at the intersection of technology and finance, where innovation drives business transformation.

Requirements

• 4+ years of Software Engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated through one or a combination of the following: work experience, training, military experience, education.
• 4+ years of hands-on engineering experience designing, building, and deploying applications in cloud and containerized environments.
• 2+ years of hands-on experience evaluating Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) solutions and executing Proof of Concepts (PoCs).
• 1+ years of hands-on experience with automated deployment and testing.
• 1+ year of hands-on experience with AI/ML frameworks including LLMs (Large Language Models) and agent-based architectures.

Nice To Haves

• 4+ years in solution architecture, innovation labs, or R&D engineering roles.
• 2+ years of experience with Terraform and infrastructure-as-code (IaC) practices.
• Deep understanding of enterprise security, privacy, and compliance standards.
• Solid grasp of agile delivery, sprint planning, and iterative development.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• Strong technical writing and presentation skills for documenting PoC outcomes and communicating with stakeholders.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, cross-functional innovation environment.
• Experience evaluating emerging technologies across domains such as AI, data platforms, and fintech.
• Familiarity with enterprise architecture, integration patterns, and sandbox environments.
• Certifications in cloud architecture (AWS, Azure, GCP) or agile methodologies.
• Experience contributing to AI-driven automation and vendor assessment tools.
• Demonstrated ability to translate technical insights into strategic recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate a secure, scalable, and modular PoC system architecture that supports multiple concurrent and isolated PoCs across OpenShift, GCP, Azure, and LLM environments.
• Build and maintain individual PoC environments to spec, leveraging infrastructure-as-code (IaC) and modern AI technologies for automation and repeatability.
• Ensure enterprise-grade security, privacy, and compliance, including access controls, data segregation, and audit logging across all PoC environments.
• Collaborate with technology, business, and vendor teams to define PoC goals, success criteria, and testing plans, ensuring technical feasibility and strategic alignment.
• Partner with Enterprise Architecture, InfoSec and Risk teams to validate PoC system designs and ensure adherence to regulatory and internal standards.
• Apply AI/ML techniques to automate PoC scoring, environment provisioning, and result analysis.
• Build tools to extract insights from PoC outcomes and generate whitepaper-style summaries for strategic documentation.
• Document PoC architecture, execution plans, and results in a centralized library for transparency and reuse.
• Provide technical input during vendor assessments and investment reviews to support decision-making.
• Contribute to the development of an AI-driven vendor scouting and assessment engine to streamline intake and prioritization.

Benefits

• Health benefits
• 401(k) Plan
• Paid time off
• Disability benefits
• Life insurance, critical illness insurance, and accident insurance
• Parental leave
• Critical caregiving leave
• Discounts and savings
• Commuter benefits
• Tuition reimbursement
• Scholarships for dependent children
• Adoption reimbursement

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Industry: Credit Intermediation and Related Activities
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees