Vice President – Principal AI Machine Learning Engineer

Why Bank OZK

Founded on a legacy of more than 120 years in banking, Bank OZK is much more than just a company. We’re nationally recognized as an industry leader in financial services. That means we combine exceptional service with innovative technologies to deliver smart solutions to our clients across the country. We’re investing in small businesses, fueling economies in local communities and changing skylines in the largest cities across America. Here, we're not simply filling roles. We're fostering even greater careers.

The foundation for a great career starts with an exceptional team and a comprehensive benefits package. We believe in providing our dedicated team members with the best resources to support their physical, mental and financial wellbeing, including generous PTO, 401(k) matching, health, dental, vision (and pet!) insurance as well as special perks and discounts. Learn more about Bank OZK benefits.

Job Purpose & Scope

Leads the architecture, implementation and monitoring of scalable, production-grade Gen AI foundational/large language models (LLM) and agentic AI solutions, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and delivery of measurable business outcomes. Manages a multi-disciplinary team and fosters innovation across the enterprise. Drives the knowledge base parity & proof-of-concept development between Bank OZK and the industry.

Essential Job Functions

1. Architects, designs and deploys LLM-based and agentic AI systems at scale, leveraging technologies such as GPT-4/5, LLaMA, Mistral, and Gemini.
2. Develops and maintains retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines and agentic workflows using tools like LangGraph, AutoGen, Milvus, Pinecone, or Weaviate.
3. Builds cloud-native, scalable microservices to support AI applications in production environments.
4. Implements AI-powered applications using Python and Java, ensuring robust and maintainable codebases.
5. Supports data ingestion, preprocessing, and prompt tuning to enable effective model development.
6. Implements leadership strategy to deploy, monitor, version, and scale AI systems on cloud platforms.
7. Enables and advocates the enterprise AI strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives, regulatory requirements, and ethical standards.
8. Collaborates with senior engineers, product managers, and research scientists to deliver enterprise-grade AI solutions.
9. Ensures compliance, security, and responsible use of AI technologies across all deployed solutions.
10. Monitors advancements in AI/ML research and tools to inform ongoing development and strategic direction.
11. Performs other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

1. Comprehensive knowledge of model fine-tuning and optimization techniques.
2. Comprehensive knowledge of distributed systems and microservices architecture beyond AI applications.
3. Comprehensive knowledge of machine learning fundamentals.
4. Strong problem-solving skills and ability to translate business challenges into technical solutions.
5. Effective collaboration and communication skills across cross-functional teams.
6. Proficient skill with agentic AI orchestration tools such as LangGraph, AutoGen, and Camunda.
7. Strong organizational, critical thinking, and time management skills.
8. Proficient skill in Python and Java for AI application development.
9. Advanced skills in LLMs, NLP, and GenAI applications.
10. Skill with cloud platforms (e.g. AWS, Azure, GCP) and containerization technologies (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes).
11. Skill with databases including SQL, NoSQL, and vector databases.
12. Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise discretion and sound judgment in technical decision-making.
13. Ability to work minimal or no supervision.
14. Ability to manage multiple projects or assignments and demonstrate flexibility in a continually changing environment.
15. Ability to build scalable microservices and RAG systems.

Basic Qualifications

1. Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, AI/ML, Data Science, or a related field, or commensurate work experience required.
2. 6+ years of experience in AI/ML engineering or applied AI system development, required.

Job Expectations

Operate customary equipment and technology used in a business environment, with or without accommodation.

Notes: This description is not an exhaustive list of all job functions, duties, skills, and job standards required.  Other job functions, duties, skills, and standards may be added.  Management reserves the right to add or change the job requirements at any time.

This position is not eligible for employer-sponsored work authorization or immigration assistance. Applicants must be able to maintain authorization to work in the United States without current or future sponsorship by Bank OZK.

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EEO Statement

Bank OZK is an equal opportunity employer and gives consideration for employment to qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, and local law. Member FDIC.