Lead AI Engineer

Position Overview

The Lead AI Engineer is responsible for architecting, developing, deploying, and supporting enterprise-scale Agentic AI solutions. The role designs and implements scalable AI systems using Large Language Models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, model orchestration frameworks, Agentic frameworks, and secure API solutions to automate business processes and enhance decision-making. The engineer ensures AI solutions comply with enterprise security, governance, and compliance requirements and collaborates across data science, software engineering, infrastructure, product, and business teams to deliver measurable business value. The role also evaluates emerging technologies, contributes to the enterprise AI roadmap, builds core AI capabilities aligned with the digital enterprise roadmap, and mentors junior engineers.

Key Responsibilities

• Implement and test complex code changes for specific requirements, applications, and standalone programs.

• Integrate product features with awareness of product design, market trends, production adoption, and competition.

• Define, influence, and track metrics that measure solution success and adoption.

• Lead delivery of high-quality solutions and identify opportunities for multiple products to work together to create customer value.

• Lead solution design and implementation for projects spanning multiple teams and influence the software engineering roadmap.

• Implement security practices and tools throughout the software development process, including vulnerability scanning, secure coding, and continuous security testing.

• Manage architecture and design content, solution integrity, quality, and delivery, while contributing to cloud-based technology processes, standards, and methodologies.

• Maintain awareness of industry trends and use them to inform business and technology decisions.

• Mentor peers, junior engineers, and engineering interns; encourage knowledge sharing through demos, design sessions, and similar forums.

• Partner with senior stakeholders across delivery teams, partner functions, and external teams.

• Participate in client meetings to identify gaps and requirements, communicate a technical point of view, and shape future roadmaps and plans.

• Provide expertise in software development lifecycle practices and agile engineering strategies across teams and partners.

• Provide technical leadership for medium-to-high-complexity features and projects from technical design through completion.

• Understand business context and goals and tailor technical engagement to achieve business needs.

AI Engineering Scope

• Architect, develop, deploy, and support enterprise-scale Agentic AI solutions.

• Design scalable AI systems using LLMs, RAG pipelines, model orchestration frameworks, Agentic frameworks, and secure APIs.

• Apply advanced knowledge of machine learning engineering, distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and AI platforms.

• Ensure AI solutions meet enterprise security, governance, and compliance requirements.

• Collaborate cross-functionally to implement AI solutions that improve operational efficiency, customer experience, enterprise automation, and decision-making.

• Evaluate emerging technologies and contribute to the enterprise AI roadmap and core AI capabilities.

Software Engineering Family

Works with business and technology partners to build, engineer, and implement new capabilities or modify existing systems and applications. Develops program logic for new applications or analyzes and modifies logic in existing applications. Responsibilities include planning, coding, testing, debugging, delivery, maintenance, documentation, requirements analysis, component integration, and successful implementation of system improvements.

Level Expectations

• Requires specialized depth and/or breadth of expertise in the Software Engineering job family or field.

• Works independently, with guidance primarily in the most complex situations.

• Applies complex methods and skills with significant autonomy to develop novel, customized solutions.

• Executes and/or leads complex or specialized projects.

• Acts as a trainer, mentor, and advisor to all levels of the organization.

Salary Range:

$121,350.00 - $199,365.00

The salary range reflected above is a good faith estimate of base pay for the primary location of the position. The salary for this position ultimately will be determined based on the education, experience, knowledge, and abilities of the successful candidate. In addition to salary, this role may also be eligible for annual, sales, or other incentive compensation.

Our Promise

At Guardian, you’ll have the support and flexibility to achieve your professional and personal goals.  Through skill-building, leadership development and philanthropic opportunities, we provide opportunities to build communities and grow your career, surrounded by diverse colleagues with high ethical standards.

Inspire Well-Being

As part of Guardian’s Purpose – to inspire well-being – we are committed to offering contemporary, supportive, flexible, and inclusive benefits and resources to our colleagues. Explore our company benefits at www.guardianlife.com/careers/corporate/benefits. Benefits apply to full-time eligible employees. Interns are not eligible for most Company benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Guardian is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.

Accommodations

Guardian is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. Guardian also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified job applicants (and employees) to accommodate the individual's known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would create an undue hardship. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact [email protected]. Please note: this resource is for accommodation requests only. For all other inquires related to your application and careers at Guardian, refer to the Guardian Careers site.

Visa Sponsorship

Guardian Life is not currently or in the foreseeable future sponsoring employment-based visas (e.g., such as an H-1B). In order to be a successful applicant, you must be legally authorized to work in the United States, without the need for employer sponsorship/support now or at any time in the future.

Notice Regarding Guardian’s Use of Artificial Intelligence in Recruitment

As part of Guardian’s job application process, Guardian may use artificial intelligence tools (“AI Tools") to automate the sorting and filtering of information provided by applicants as part of its preliminary screening. This preliminary screening may be used to help identify applicant materials and resumes relative to their indication that the applicant meets the requirements for the specific job for which they are applying, as specified in the listing posted on Guardian’s jobs website (Careers at Guardian at https://www.guardianlife.com/careers). At Guardian, we do not use AI Tools to substantially assist or replace human judgment or discretionary decision making in our hiring process. All hiring decisions will be made by Guardian colleagues.

Please be aware that if you apply for a specific position with Guardian, you will have the choice of opting out of Guardian’s use of AI Tools during the job application process. If you would like to request an alternative process that does not utilize AI Tools or would like to request a reasonable accommodation, within ten business days of your position application, you must email your request to [email protected], making sure to provide your name and job requisition identification number. Guardian will retain your applicant materials and resume and all information therefrom in accordance with Guardian’s document retention policy, a copy of which you may request via [email protected].

Additionally, at applicable times, Guardian will make public the most recent bias audit results for such AI tools, which may be found here. 

Current Guardian Colleagues: Please apply through the internal Jobs Hub in Workday.