Zip Co · 4 hours ago
Principal Engineer, Generative & Agentic AI
New York, NY
Full-time
Hybrid
Lead/Staff
$215K/yr - $270K/yr
15+ years expZip Co is entering a new chapter by reimagining their platform with Generative AI and Agentic systems. They are seeking a Principal Engineer for Generative and Agentic AI to design and deliver resilient production systems that enhance customer experiences and drive measurable product value.
FinanceFinancial ServicesFinTechPayments
Responsibilities
Design and build intelligent, autonomous systems that directly enhance the customer experience, enabling AI-powered interactions, personalized repayment journeys, intelligent support agents, and the foundation for a new generation of AI-first products in a dynamic, regulated fintech environment
Prototype quickly, scale deliberately, evaluating emerging frameworks and models, running experiments, and hardening the most promising approaches for production deployment in real-world financial systems
Collaborate across engineering, product, design, compliance, and applied research to identify high-impact use cases and deliver intelligent systems that are resilient, secure, and deeply aligned with user needs
Architect the AI foundation, selecting and integrating the right mix of LLMs, orchestration frameworks, vector databases, memory strategies, and tooling to give our agentic systems both intelligence and structure
Champion and evangelize AI-powered engineering, establish and uphold best practices across performance, observability, scalability, and responsible AI, ensuring that everything we build operates with trust, regulatory compliance, and enterprise-grade reliability at scale
Mentor and inspire engineers, cultivating a culture of technical depth, curiosity, and bold innovation as we grow ZIP’s AI capabilities from team-level efforts to a core pillar of our platform strategy
Build fast and learn faster, operating with urgency, deploying frequently, and using real feedback from customers and stakeholders to iterate and improve continuously
Stay at the frontier of agentic AI, tracking new developments across academia and industry, and selectively introducing promising techniques that align with our mission to deliver intelligent, adaptive, and customer-centric fintech experiences
Qualification
Required
BS and MS in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field
15+ years of software engineering experience
5+ years of focused, hands-on work with Large Language Models (LLMs), Agentic AI, and generative AI systems
Demonstrated success leading the design, development, and deployment of production-grade AI/ML systems, including large-scale inference, context management, and continuous learning
Deep expertise in backend systems and distributed architecture
Python required
Extensive experience with agent frameworks, memory/contextual planning systems, and orchestration of long-running, stateful agents
Strong command of cloud-native development, microservices, and MLOps pipelines (e.g., with Azure, GCP, AWS)
Architect-level skill in breaking down complex, emergent problems into scalable, modular, and maintainable systems
Applied experience integrating RLHF, embedding models, RAG (retrieval-augmented generation), and vector databases into modern applications
Exceptional ability to mentor, influence, and align cross-functional engineering teams without formal authority
Strong collaborator across product, design, data science, and security
High emotional intelligence and low-ego leadership style
Strong written and verbal communication skills
You are a builder at heart, driven by intellectual curiosity and a desire to push boundaries in how machines learn and operate
You care deeply about system resilience, ethical AI, data privacy, and customer trust
You thrive in early-stage initiatives, and are energized by ambiguity, iteration, and bold goals
Clear communicator and thoughtful builder—able to mentor, align, and influence without ego
High intellectual curiosity, ownership mindset, and a passion for building systems that learn, adapt, and improve
Preferred
PhD in AI, ML, or a related domain strongly preferred
Experience in regulated domains (e.g., fintech, healthcare) is a plus
Additional fluency in languages such as C#, C++, Go, or Rust are a plus
Benefits
Flexible working culture
Incentive programs
20 days PTO every year
Generous paid parental leave
Leading family support policies
Company-sponsored 401k match
Learning and wellness subscription stipend
Beautiful Union Square office with a casual dress code
Industry-leading, employer-sponsored insurance for you and your dependents, with several 100% Zip-covered choices available
Company
Zip Co
Zip Co Limited (ASX: ZIP) is a digital financial services company, offering innovative, people-centred products that bring customers and merchants together.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Zip Co has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (4)
2024 (9)
2023 (4)
2022 (4)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$1.55BKey Investors
Victory Park CapitalWestpacNational Australia Bank
2025-12-15Post Ipo Debt· $283M
2024-07-17Post Ipo Equity· $146.05M
2024-01-16Post Ipo Debt· $225M
Leadership Team
Cynthia Scott
Managing Director and Group CEO
Peter Gray
Co-founder & Global COO
Recent News
2025-12-03
MarketScreener
2025-12-03
Company data provided by crunchbase