Principal AI Developer - VP

Who we are looking for 

The AI Engineer will play a key role in advancing AI-enabled capabilities across the Charles River Investment Management Solution and Alpha Platform. This individual will design, build, and scale production-grade AI systems, including copilots, agentic workflows, and automation services embedded directly into investment management processes. 

To be successful, the candidate must be a hands-on engineer with strong experience in LLMs, AI orchestration, and distributed systems, capable of translating emerging AI patterns (e.g., RAG, agent frameworks, MCP integration) into secure, scalable enterprise solutions. This role requires close collaboration with product owners, architects, and domain teams to operationalize AI across client-facing and internal workflows. 

Why this role is important to us 

• Enables Scalable AI Adoption: Builds reusable platforms and services that allow product teams to rapidly integrate AI without fragmentation 

• Drives Business Impact: Embeds AI into front-to-back workflows, improving productivity, automation, and decision-making for clients 

• Bridges Innovation and Production: Converts emerging AI technologies into secure, governed, production-ready capabilities 

• Accelerates Time-to-Market: Enables faster delivery of high-value AI use cases through standard architecture and tooling 

What you will be responsible for 

• Design, develop, and deploy AI-powered services, including copilots, agent-based workflows, and automation tools 

• Build and integrate LLM-based solutions using orchestration frameworks and tool-calling patterns 

• Implement RAG pipelines using enterprise data sources and vector databases 

• Develop and integrate multi-agent systems using MCP servers, APIs, and A2A based tooling 

• Embed AI capabilities into core CRD and Alpha workflows across front, middle, and back-office processes 

• Build reusable AI enablement platforms, SDKs, and shared services for product teams 

• Integrate AI services with cloud platforms and enterprise systems 

• Expose AI capabilities through API Management layers and event-driven architectures 

• Ensure performance, scalability, and reliability of AI systems in production environments 

• Implement monitoring, evaluation, and observability for AI models and pipelines 

• Apply responsible AI practices (security, explainability, compliance, governance) 

• Collaborate with product, architecture, data science, and UX teams to deliver end-to-end solutions 

• Participate in agile development processes including sprint planning, code reviews, and retrospectives 

What we value 

• Strong expertise in LLMs, prompt engineering, and AI system design 

• Experience building AI copilots, conversational interfaces, or agent-based systems 

• Hands-on experience with RAG architectures, embeddings, and vector databases 

• Familiarity with MCP frameworks, tool-calling patterns, and agent orchestration 

• Experience with cloud-native AI services (Azure preferred) and distributed architectures 

• Proficiency in Python and at least one additional language (Java, C#, or TypeScript) 

• Experience with API-driven architectures, microservices, and event streaming (Kafka, Event Hub) 

• Knowledge of distributed caching (Redis, Hazelcast) and performance optimization patterns 

• Strong software engineering fundamentals: testing, CI/CD, code quality, and design patterns 

• Familiarity with AI governance, model risk management, and security best practices 

• Ability to work across strategic and hands-on engineering tasks 

• Strong collaboration and communication skills in cross-functional environments 

Education & Preferred Qualifications 

• B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or related field 

• 5-8 years of software engineering experience, with a focus on building scalable systems 

• Experience delivering AI/ML-powered applications into production 

• Strong understanding of modern AI architectures (LLMs, RAG, APIs, orchestration layers) 

• Experience working with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP) 

• Preferred:  

• Experience in investment management, trading systems, or financial data platforms 

• Experience with AI agent frameworks, MCP servers, or advanced orchestration patterns 

• Experience working within Agile/Scrum teams following modern SDLC practices, including secure coding standards, CI/CD 

About CRD 

Charles River Development (CRD) is the FinTech division of State Street. Together with State Street’s middle- and back-office services, Charles River’s cloud-based front-office technology forms the foundation of the State Street Alpha® Platform - the first front-to-back solution in the industry. 

Our vision is to be the world’s leading investment platform, driving innovation, resiliency, and growth for investment firms globally. CRD Engineering is transforming the platform into a modern, cloud-native ecosystem leveraging Microsoft Azure, Kafka, Snowflake, and advanced AI technologies. 

As part of this transformation, AI Enablement is a strategic priority - bringing together data, engineering, and intelligent automation to redefine investment workflows and deliver measurable client value. 

Salary Range:

The range quoted above applies to the role in the primary location specified. If the candidate would ultimately work outside of the primary location above, the applicable range could differ.

Employees are eligible to participate in State Street’s comprehensive benefits program, which includes: our retirement savings plan (401K) with company match; insurance coverage including basic life, medical, dental, vision, long-term disability, and other optional additional coverages; paid-time off including vacation, sick leave, short term disability, and family care responsibilities; access to our Employee Assistance Program; incentive compensation including eligibility for annual performance-based awards (excluding certain sales roles subject to sales incentive plans); and, eligibility for certain tax advantaged savings plans.

For a full overview, visit https://hrportal.ehr.com/statestreet/Home.

About State Street

Across the globe, institutional investors rely on us to help them manage risk, respond to challenges, and drive performance and profitability. We keep our clients at the heart of everything we do, and smart, engaged employees are essential to our continued success.

We are committed to fostering an environment where every employee feels valued and empowered to reach their full potential. As an essential partner in our shared success, you’ll benefit from inclusive development opportunities, flexible work-life support, paid volunteer days, and vibrant employee networks that keep you connected to what matters most. Join us in shaping the future.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we consider all qualified applicants for all positions without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, age, disability, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, citizenship, marital status, domestic partnership or civil union status, familial status, military and veteran status, and other characteristics protected by applicable law.

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Job Application Disclosure:

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Salary : $120,000 - $202,500