AI Agent & Infrastructure - Lead Engineer
Finra· Financial Services· Oct 5, 2026 · 23d ago
Rockville MD Job Posting
Hybrid
Full-time
Lead
$141K–$219K est.
7+ years exp
Job description
Working independently, the Lead Engineer owns development of software products and works on improving the overall quality of the product throughout the software development life cycle and mentors other Software Engineers. Reports directly to a Director or Senior Director.
Overview:
Architects and builds the infrastructure and tooling that powers AI agent development across the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).
Develops production-grade agentic systems, orchestration frameworks, and observability solutions that enable teams to build, deploy, and monitor reliable AI agents at scale.
Plays a key role in defining and implementing the next generation of SDLC through AI-first innovation and comprehensive instrumentation.
What We re Looking For:
You demonstrate sharp product sense for high-impact automation opportunities, technical taste in implementation decisions, and the ability to clearly articulate trade-offs. You know when to apply AI agent solutions versus simpler approaches and can explain the why behind architectural choices.
You excel at 0-to-1 (and 1-to-100) product development, comfortable operating in ambiguous environments where requirements emerge through experimentation and iteration rather than upfront specification.
Key Responsibilities:
AI Agent Development & Automation
Develop production-grade AI agents that eliminate manual handoffs across the SDLC
Create custom integrations and CLI tools that give agents deep understanding of internal systems and codebases
Design comprehensive testing strategies to ensure agent reliability and output quality
Implement Golden Path scaffolding that embeds organizational standards into new projects
Build AI solutions that improve codebase navigation, documentation, and developer workflows
Identify workflow bottlenecks and deliver measurable impact through intelligent automation
Shape SDLC evolution by identifying AI-first opportunities and proving outcomes through experimentation
Agent Infrastructure & Platform:
Architect and maintain production infrastructure supporting agent deployment, lifecycle management, and scaling
Develop agent frameworks, templates, and SDKs that accelerate agent development
Create governed Model Context Protocol (MCP) catalog enabling compliant agent-to-agent and agent-to-MCP communication
Implement governance controls for agent behavior, permissions, and system access
Observability & Performance Analytics:
Design and implement metrics, monitoring, and logging infrastructure for AI agents and development workflows
Build dashboards that provide actionable insights into developer productivity, tool adoption, and agent performance
Establish KPIs and measurement frameworks to quantify the impact of AI-powered automation
Create alerting and anomaly detection systems to ensure reliability of agents and tooling
Analyze telemetry data to identify optimization opportunities and guide strategic investment decisions
Collaboration & Impact:
Partner across teams to drive adoption of AI-powered tooling and process transformation
Stay current with LLM technologies and coach colleagues on AI-assisted development and automation best practices
Rapidly prototype solutions to validate use cases and prove value quickly
Communicate data-driven insights to stakeholders through clear visualizations and reports
Full-stack technical proficiency:
Languages: Java, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript
Frameworks: Angular, Spring Boot
CI/CD platforms and cloud infrastructure (AWS)
Monitoring/observability tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, CloudWatch)
Education/Experience Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems or related discipline with at least 7 years of related experience, or equivalent training and/or work experience.
Strong system design experience
Strong experience in object-oriented development
Strong experience with cloud technologies
Strong experience in data storage technologies
Strong experience in performance tuning and optimization
Strong experience in DevOps and CI\CD technologies
Strong experience test automation and unit testing
Strong experience software security
Working Conditions :
Hybrid work environment, with defined in-person presence requirements.
Occasional travel and extended hours may be required.
For work that is performed in CO, FL, TX, IL, PA, MA, MD, VA, Washington, DC, NY and NJ, please refer to the chart below for the salary range for the corresponding location. FINRA complies with all state and local pay transparency laws and regulations requiring the disclosure of salary ranges for the position. In addition to location, actual compensation is based on various factors, including but not limited to, the candidate’s skill set, level of experience, education, and market considerations.
CO/FL/TX: Minimum Salary $114,200, Maximum Salary $207,200
IL/PA: Minimum Salary $125,900, Maximum Salary $228,000
MA/MD/VA/Washington, DC: Minimum Salary $131,200, Maximum Salary $238,300
NY/NJ: Minimum Salary $131,200, Maximum Salary $248,700
#LI-Hybrid
To be considered for this position, please submit an application. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.
The information provided above has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work of the position. It is not a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required.
Please note: If the “Apply Now” button on a job board posting does not take you directly to the FINRA Careers site, enter www.finra.org/careers into your browser to reach our site directly.
Employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Non-exempt employees are also eligible for overtime pay in accordance with federal, state, or local law. As part of its dedication to employee wellness, FINRA provides comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance. Additional insurance includes basic life, accidental death and dismemberment, supplemental life, spouse/domestic partner and dependent life, and spouse/domestic partner and dependent accidental death and dismemberment, short- and long-term disability, long-term care, business travel accident, disability and legal. FINRA offers immediate participation and vesting in a 401(k) plan with company match and eligibility for participation in an additional FINRA-funded retirement contribution, tuition reimbursement, commuter benefits, and other benefits that support employee wellness, such as adoption assistance, backup family care, surrogacy benefits, employee assistance, and wellness programs.
Time Off and Paid Leave*
FINRA encourages its employees to focus on their health and wellness in many ways, including through a generous time-off program starting at 15 days of paid time off (increasing with years of service, up to 25 days), 5 personal days, and 9 sick days, unless otherwise required by law (all pro-rated in the first year). Additionally, we are proud to support our communities by providing two volunteer service days (based on full-time schedule). Other paid leave includes military leave, jury duty leave, bereavement leave, voting and election official leave for federal, state or local primary and general elections, care of a family member leave (available after 90 days of employment); and childbirth and parental leave (available after 90 days of employment). Full-time employees receive nine paid holidays.
*Based on full-time schedule
Important Information
FINRA’s Code of Conduct imposes restrictions on employees’ investments and requires financial disclosures that are uniquely related to our role as a securities regulator. FINRA employees are required to disclose to FINRA all brokerage accounts that they maintain, and those in which they control trading or have a financial interest (including any trust account of which they are a trustee or beneficiary and all accounts of a spouse, domestic partner or minor child who lives with the employee) and to authorize their broker-dealers to provide FINRA with duplicate statements for all of those accounts. All of those accounts are subject to the Code’s investment and securities account restrictions, and new employees must comply with those investment restrictions—including disposing of any security issued by a company on FINRA’s Prohibited Company List or obtaining a written waiver from their Executive Vice President—by the date they begin employment with FINRA. Employees may only maintain securities accounts that must be disclosed to FINRA at one or more securities firms that provide an electronic feed (e-feed) of data to FINRA, and must move securities accounts from other securities firms to a firm that provides an e-feed within three months of beginning employment.
You can read more about these restrictions here .
As standard practice, employees must also execute FINRA’s Employee Confidentiality and Invention Assignment Agreement without qualification or modification and comply with the company’s policy on nepotism.
Washington state applicants: click here for required notice(s).
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