Sr/Lead AI Backend Data Engineering - GenAI

FICO (NYSE: FICO) is a leading global analytics software company, helping businesses in 100+ countries make better decisions. Join our world-class team and fulfill your career potential as a Senior or Lead Backend Engineer on our Applied AI team. You will be at the forefront of integrating robust data engineering with next-generation AI capabilities, designing and maintaining scalable backend systems and data pipelines that power critical functions across our platform.

About the role

In this role, you will champion high data quality, system reliability, and stringent governance across all AI-driven initiatives, making a lasting impact on FICO's platform. Collaborate with a high-caliber team to drive meaningful innovation through deep expertise in backend engineering and applied AI.

Responsibilities

• Design and deploy scalable backend systems and data pipelines that seamlessly integrate applied AI capabilities into FICO's analytics and decision management platform.
• Build high-quality solutions for data ingestion, transformation, and storage, ensuring reliable, high-throughput data flow for real-time analytics.
• Design and implement LLM-powered solutions for decision automation, fraud investigation, and process automation within FICO's platform.
• Develop sophisticated prompting strategies and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures tailored to high-stakes, mission-critical applications.
• Partner with data scientists, ML engineers, and product teams to develop microservices and APIs that enable intelligent, data-driven decision-making.
• Optimize distributed architectures and implement real-time processing frameworks to support high-volume, low-latency workloads.
• Implement advanced monitoring, testing, and performance optimization techniques to ensure system reliability, security, and scalability.
• Define and evolve architectural patterns that support FICO's analytics and decisioning solutions at scale.
• Lead and mentor engineering team members, promoting best practices in software development, data engineering, AI integration, and systems design.

Requirements

• In-depth experience in backend or data engineering, with a demonstrated track record of delivering complex, large-scale production systems.
• Strong coding skills in Python, Go, Java, or equivalent languages, with a commitment to clean, maintainable, and well-tested code.
• Hands-on experience with big data frameworks (e.g., Apache Spark, Kafka, Hadoop) and a strong understanding of both relational and NoSQL databases.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and container orchestration tools such as Docker and Kubernetes.
• Proven ability to design, build, and maintain scalable, production-grade backend systems with a focus on reliability and performance.
• Solid experience with testing frameworks (including A/B testing), performance optimization, and production monitoring/observability practices.
• Demonstrated experience integrating AI/ML solutions into production systems, including working with Large Language Models (LLMs) and related techniques.
• Experience with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures and familiarity with vector databases (e.g., Pinecone, Weaviate, pgvector) is strongly preferred.
• Strong problem-solving and communication skills, with the ability to mentor engineers, influence technical direction, and collaborate effectively across disciplines.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field. An advanced degree is a plus but not required.

Benefits

• An inclusive culture strongly reflecting core values: Act Like an Owner, Delight Our Customers, and Earn the Respect of Others.
• Opportunity to make an impact and develop professionally through valuable learning experiences.
• Highly competitive compensation, benefits, and rewards programs.
• Engaging, people-first work environment offering work/life balance, employee resource groups, and social events.

Pay

The targeted base pay range for this role is $140,000 to $220,000, reflecting differences in candidate knowledge, skills, and experience.

About FICO

At FICO, you can develop your career with a leading organization in Big Data analytics. You’ll play a part in helping businesses use data to improve decision-making through advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and optimization. FICO makes a real difference in how businesses operate worldwide, including:

• Credit Scoring — FICO® Scores are used by 90 of the top 100 US lenders.
• Fraud Detection and Security — 4 billion payment cards globally are protected by FICO fraud systems.
• Lending — 3/4 of US mortgages are approved using the FICO Score.

We help many of the world’s largest banks, insurers, retailers, telecommunications providers, and other firms reach new levels of success. Our success depends on talented people who thrive on collaboration and innovation in a diverse and inclusive environment.