Lead Applied AI Engineer

Lead Applied AI Engineer

The Sr. Applied AI Engineer designs and builds intelligent services and agentic workflows that sit on top of the cloud, data, and application stack. This role creates production-ready solutions for ranking, summarization, retrieval, classification, recommendation, and decision support using Python and governed enterprise AI development practices.

What you'll be doing:

• Leads the design and implementation of AI solutions for ranking, summarization, extraction, classification, recommendation, and conversational workflows across complex or multi-stakeholder use cases.
• Develops prompt-based and model-based solutions using Python and modern AI orchestration patterns, independently evaluating technical options and recommending scalable approaches.
• Works across structured and unstructured data in cloud and enterprise data environments to design reliable, governed AI workflows that integrate with broader data and application ecosystems.
• Establishes and enhances evaluation, testing, and monitoring approaches for AI-enabled workflows and agentic systems to improve accuracy, quality, reliability, and operational readiness.
• Partners with business, engineering, product, and governance stakeholders to translate ambiguous operational pain points into production AI features, success measures, and implementation plans.
• Advances reusable prompt libraries, agent patterns, and service interfaces for internal AI products, promoting consistency, scalability, and adoption across teams.
• Applies and helps strengthen responsible AI practices, including grounding, escalation paths, review controls, policy constraints, and measurable success criteria for AI-enabled solutions.
• Provides technical guidance to peers and project teams by sharing best practices, reviewing solution approaches, and influencing adoption of effective AI engineering patterns.

What we're looking for:

Must Haves:

• 4 Year/Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience (4 years of experience in lieu of Bachelor's)
• 5 – 7+ Years of experience in ML engineering, applied AI, NLP, LLM engineering, that directly aligns with the specific responsibilities for this position.
• Strong Python experience.
• Experience productionizing AI or ML workflows on AWS or similar cloud platforms.
• Familiarity with Databricks, MLflow, model evaluation, and governed data environments.
• Experience working with SQL and distributed processing tools such as PySpark.
• Experience with SageMaker Studio, AgentCore are plus.
• Strong communication and product collaboration skills.

Application Deadline:

Applications for this position will be accepted through September 30, 2026, subject to earlier closure due to applicant volume.

What's it like to work here?

At Lincoln Financial, we love what we do. We make meaningful contributions each and every day to empower our customers to take charge of their lives. Working alongside dedicated and talented colleagues, we build fulfilling careers and stronger communities through a company that values our unique perspectives, insights and contributions and invests in programs that empower each of us to take charge of our own future.

What's in it for you:

Clearly defined career tracks and job levels, along with associated behaviors for each of Lincoln's core values and leadership attributes Leadership development and virtual training opportunities PTO/parental leave Competitive 401K and employee benefits Free financial counseling, health coaching and employee assistance program Tuition assistance program Work arrangements that work for you Effective productivity/technology tools and training

The pay range for this position is $152,250 - $243,600 with anticipated pay for new hires between the minimum and midpoint of the range and could vary above and below the listed range as permitted by applicable law. Pay is based on non-discriminatory factors including but not limited to work experience, education, location, licensure requirements, proficiency and qualifications required for the role. The base pay is just one component of Lincoln's total rewards package for employees. In addition, the role may be eligible for the Annual Incentive Program, which is discretionary and based on the performance of the company, business unit and individual. Other rewards may include long-term incentives, sales incentives and Lincoln's standard benefits package.

About The Company:

Lincoln Financial (NYSE: LNC) helps people to confidently plan for their version of a successful future. We focus on identifying a clear path to financial security, with products including annuities, life insurance, group protection, and retirement plan services. With our 120-year track record of expertise and integrity, millions of customers trust our solutions and service to help put their goals in reach.

Lincoln Financial is the marketing name for Lincoln Financial Corporation and its affiliates including The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, Fort Wayne, IN, and Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York, Syracuse, NY. Lincoln Financial affiliates, their distributors, and their respective employees, representatives and/or insurance agents do not provide tax, accounting or legal advice.

Lincoln is committed to creating an inclusive environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.