Engineering Director - AI Guardrails (Chicago)

At U.S. Bank, we’re on a journey to do our best. Helping the customers and businesses we serve to make better and smarter financial decisions and enabling the communities we support to grow and succeed. We believe it takes all of us to bring our shared ambition to life, and each person is unique in their potential. A career with U.S. Bank gives you a wide, ever-growing range of opportunities to discover what makes you thrive at every stage of your career. Try new things, learn new skills and discover what you excel at—all from Day One.Job DescriptionThe AI Guardrails Engineering Director leads the strategy, architecture, and delivery of AI Security products that will be part of the Enterprise AI Platform Offering. This role is responsible for building, customizing, and maintaining products that provide rulesets governing AI Models and AI Agents. The Engineering Director oversees a team of engineers, ensuring strong execution, operational discipline, and alignment with enterprise standards for risk, compliance, and responsible AI. Key ResponsibilitiesLead the vision, architecture, roadmap, and provide technical leadership across multiple engineering teams; develop engineering managers and senior engineers while establishing standards, guardrails, and governance models. Own cloud-native platform design and delivery across Azure and AWS, ensuring scalability, reliability, performance, and cost optimization. Ensure alignment with enterprise requirements for security, data privacy, compliance, and Responsible AI practices. Drive cross-functional collaboration with product, risk, security, and business stakeholders to enable secure and scalable AI adoption. Operational Leadership & Execution DisciplineMaintain strong awareness of team delivery, technical issues, and platform risks; step in to review designs, code, and architectural decisions as needed. Ensure Agile practices are consistently followed, including sprint planning, backlog refinement, and delivery tracking. Enforce operational rigor across teams, including keeping Jira artifacts current, transparent, and aligned to priorities. Provide ongoing feedback on team performance, resource allocation, and organizational effectiveness to optimize delivery outcomes. Manage core people leadership responsibilities, including addressing HR-related matters, supporting employee development, and ensuring team engagement. Ensure continuity of delivery through appropriate backup coverage, resource planning, and support during team member absences. Oversee administrative responsibilities such as time tracking and compliance with enterprise processes (e.g., timesheets, reporting). Continuously identify and drive improvements to increase team velocity, reduce friction, and accelerate platform delivery. Basic Qualifications- Bachelor's degree, or equivalent work experience - 10 or more years of relevant software engineering experience - Six or more years of experience leading multiple software engineering teams Required QualificationsBachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field. Minimum 5 years of experience managing engineering teams, including direct oversight of engineering managers and senior technical staff. 10+ years of experience in software engineering, platform engineering, or related disciplines. Proven experience designing and delivering large-scale, distributed systems and cloud-native platforms (Azure and/or AWS). Working knowledge of AI/ML and GenAI concepts, including familiarity with LLMs, RAG architectures, and AI application integration (deep specialization not required). Familiarity with AI Governance and Compliance principlesExperience implementing enterprise-grade security, compliance, and data governance frameworks. Expertise with Responsible AI, model risk management, or regulatory considerations. Demonstrated ability to influence and partner with senior technology and business leadership. Preferred QualificationsExperience supporting or partnering on AI/ML or GenAI platform initiatives. Experience with API-first platforms and event-driven architectures. Background in financial services or other highly regulated industries. Experience leading geographically distributed and multi-vendor engineering teams. This role requires working from a U.S. Bank location three (3) or more days per week. If there’s anything we can do to accommodate a disability during any portion of the application or hiring process, please refer to our disability accommodations for applicants. Benefits:Our approach to benefits and total rewards considers our team members’ whole selves and what may be needed to thrive in and outside work. That's why our benefits are designed to help you and your family boost your health, protect your financial security and give you peace of mind. Our benefits include the following:Healthcare (medical, dental, vision)Basic term and optional term life insuranceShort-term and long-term disabilityPregnancy disability and parental leave401(k) and employer-funded retirement planPaid vacation (from two to five weeks depending on salary grade and tenure)Up to 11 paid holiday opportunitiesAdoption assistanceSick and Safe Leave accruals of one hour for every 30 worked, up to 80 hours per calendar year unless otherwise provided by lawReview our full benefits available by employment status here. U.S. Bank is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or veteran status, and other factors protected under applicable law.E-VerifyU.S. Bank participates in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program in all facilities located in the United States and certain U.S. territories. The E-Verify program is an Internet-based employment eligibility verification system operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Learn more about the E-Verify program.The salary range reflects figures based on the primary location, which is listed first. The actual range for the role may differ based on the location of the role. In addition to salary, U.S. Bank offers a comprehensive benefits package, including incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase 401(k) contribution and pension (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). Pay Range: $159,970.00 - $188,200.00U.S. Bank will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment. U.S. Bank conducts background checks consistent with applicable local laws, including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act as well as the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. U.S. Bank is subject to, and conducts background checks consistent with the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA). In addition, certain positions may also be subject to the requirements of FINRA, NMLS registration, Reg Z, Reg G, OFAC, the NFA, the FCPA, the Bank Secrecy Act, the SAFE Act, and/or federal guidelines applicable to an agreement, such as those related to ethics, safety, or operational procedures.Applicants must be able to comply with U.S. Bank policies and procedures including the Code of Ethics and Business Conduct and related workplace conduct and safety policies.Posting may be closed earlier due to high volume of applicants.SummaryLocation: Chicago, IL; Minneapolis, MN; Cupertino, CA; Charlotte, NC; Cincinnati, OH; Minneapolis, MN; Hopkins, MNType: Full time