About this role
AI Labs Overview
For more than three decades, BlackRock has combined world-class talent and technology to redefine what's possible in asset management. Today, AI is reshaping every aspect of our industry, from investments and client experiences to operations, risk management, and product innovation. BlackRock AI Labs sits at the center of that transformation.
AI Labs is BlackRock's advanced AI science and engineering organization. We partner with teams across the firm to solve some of the most complex and consequential challenges in financial services, applying generative AI, machine learning, optimization, and statistics to deliver measurable business impact. Our mission is simple but ambitious: combine human and machine intelligence to revolutionize asset management.
What sets AI Labs apart is our ability to move from idea to impact. We are not a research lab detached from the business, nor are we a traditional software engineering organization. We are a hybrid team of scientists and engineers who build solutions that run at scale in production environments and create capacity for our business partners. From AI-powered investment insights and risk management solutions to next-generation agentic workflows and enterprise AI platforms, our work is helping to shape the future of BlackRock.
Our teams work on some of the firm's highest priority strategic initiatives, including large-scale generative AI systems, intelligent agents, predictive analytics, optimization engines, operational risk solutions, and AI platforms that accelerate innovation across BlackRock. We help define best practices, establish technical standards, and enable teams throughout the organization to adopt AI safely, effectively, and at scale.
AI Labs has offices in New York, Edinburgh, Atlanta, San Francisco and Seattle.
We are looking for candidates with unique backgrounds and diverse skill sets with fresh perspectives to accelerate and amplify our efforts to make an impact at BlackRock.
In this role, you can expect to:
- Provide technical leadership, set architectural direction, and drive key design decisions across multidisciplinary teams.
- Design, build, and operate production AI/ML systems across areas such as generative AI, intelligent agents, predictive modeling, and optimization.
- Develop reusable AI platforms, services, and infrastructure that accelerate experimentation, deployment, monitoring, and adoption across the firm.
- Translate emerging AI capabilities into robust, scalable solutions that deliver measurable business impact.
- Define evaluation, testing, and observability approaches for AI systems, including non-deterministic and agentic applications.
- Optimize AI systems and workloads for latency, throughput, compute efficiency, reliability, security, and cost.
- Partner with business, engineering, data, risk, and control teams to take solutions from concept through production deployment and ongoing operation.
- Establish engineering standards, mentor engineers, and influence technical strategy across teams.
The minimum requirements for this position are:
- 8+ years of software engineering experience, including significant experience designing, building, and operating complex production systems.
- 4+ years of experience building and deploying AI/ML, optimization, or other model-driven applications in production.
- Strong proficiency in Python and a track record of developing maintainable, well-tested production software.
- Strong SQL skills and experience working with data-intensive applications and large-scale datasets.
- Experience designing and building APIs, services, data pipelines, or distributed systems that support AI/ML applications.
- Experience with containerization and orchestration technologies, such as Docker and Kubernetes.
- Demonstrated ability to lead complex technical solutions from architecture and design through production deployment, operation, and continuous improvement.
- Strong problem-solving, collaboration, and communication skills, with the ability to influence technical decisions across multidisciplinary teams.
Additional knowledge and experience we value includes:
- Experience collaborating with research teams in fast-moving environments, ideating quickly on research prototypes.
- Generative AI, large language models, AI agents, and architectures for production AI systems.
- Evaluation, experimentation, observability, debugging, and testing approaches for AI/ML systems, including non-deterministic and agentic applications.
- Machine learning and optimization frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or JAX.
- Distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, model serving, orchestration, data pipelines, and API design.
- Performance optimization across latency, throughput, compute utilization, reliability, scalability, and cost.
- Responsible AI, security, governance, and controls in enterprise or regulated environments.
- Experience with a systems- or performance-oriented programming language such as Rust, C++, C, Go, or Zig.
- Experience in financial services or another regulated industry.
Our benefits
To help you stay energized, engaged and inspired, we offer a wide range of benefits including a strong retirement plan, tuition reimbursement, comprehensive healthcare, support for working parents and Flexible Time Off (FTO) so you can relax, recharge and be there for the people you care about.
Our hybrid work model
BlackRock’s hybrid work model is designed to enable a culture of collaboration and apprenticeship that enriches the experience of our employees, while supporting flexibility for all. Employees are currently required to work at least 4 days in the office per week, with the flexibility to work from home 1 day a week. Some business groups may require more time in the office due to their roles and responsibilities. We remain focused on increasing the impactful moments that arise when we work together in person – aligned with our commitment to performance and innovation. As a new joiner, you can count on this hybrid model to accelerate your learning and onboarding experience here at BlackRock.
Guidance on AI use for candidates
At BlackRock, AI has long been part of how we work – enhancing decision-making, improving operations, and helping us deliver better outcomes for clients. We encourage candidates to use AI thoughtfully to learn, prepare, and work more effectively; but during our interview process, we want to focus on getting to know you through your own experiences, thinking, and judgment. To support you, we’ve provided guidance on when and how to use AI during our hiring process so you can approach each step with confidence and showcase your best self.
About BlackRock
At BlackRock, we are all connected by one mission: to help more and more people experience financial well-being. Our clients, and the people they serve, are saving for retirement, paying for their children’s educations, buying homes and starting businesses. Their investments also help to strengthen the global economy: support businesses small and large; finance infrastructure projects that connect and power cities; and facilitate innovations that drive progress.
This mission would not be possible without our smartest investment – the one we make in our employees. It’s why we’re dedicated to creating an environment where our colleagues feel welcomed, valued and supported with networks, benefits and development opportunities to help them thrive.
To learn more about BlackRock, please visit Careers.BlackRock.com. We also encourage you to get to know us on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, X, and TikTok.
BlackRock is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity to all applicants and existing employees, and we evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity/expression), sexual orientation, age, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, political affiliation, religion, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. View the EEOC’s Know Your Rights poster and its supplement and the pay transparency statement.
BlackRock is committed to full inclusion of all qualified individuals and to providing reasonable accommodations or job modifications for individuals with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation/adjustments are needed throughout the employment process, please email [email protected]. All requests are treated in line with our privacy policy.
BlackRock will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records in a manner consistent with the requirements of the law, including any applicable fair chance law.Skills Required
- 8+ years of software engineering experience, including designing, building, and operating complex production systems
- 4+ years of experience building and deploying AI/ML, optimization, or model-driven applications in production
- Strong proficiency in Python and experience developing maintainable, well-tested production software
- Strong SQL skills and experience with data-intensive applications and large-scale datasets
- Experience designing and building APIs, services, data pipelines, or distributed systems supporting AI/ML applications
- Experience with containerization and orchestration technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes
- Ability to lead technical solutions from architecture and design through production deployment, operation, and continuous improvement
- Strong problem-solving, collaboration, and communication skills, with ability to influence multidisciplinary technical decisions
- Experience collaborating with research teams in fast-moving environments
- Experience with generative AI, large language models, AI agents, and production AI architectures
- Experience with evaluation, experimentation, observability, debugging, and testing for AI/ML systems
- Experience with PyTorch, TensorFlow, or JAX
- Experience with distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, model serving, orchestration, data pipelines, or API design
- Experience optimizing latency, throughput, compute utilization, reliability, scalability, and cost
- Experience with responsible AI, security, governance, and controls in enterprise or regulated environments
- Experience with a systems- or performance-oriented language such as Rust, C++, C, Go, or Zig
- Experience in financial services or another regulated industry
BlackRock Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Retirement Support — A 401(k)/Retirement Savings Plan with a stated company match formula (subject to plan caps) alongside an Employee Stock Purchase Plan is prominently featured. Feedback suggests these elements make the financial-wellness offering a notable strength among large employers.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave of at least 16 weeks for primary caregivers, plus adoption support, fertility benefits, and child/elder back‑up care, is highlighted across materials. Offerings are substantial, with specifics varying by location.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Flexible Time Off for many U.S. salaried roles, paired with sick and bereavement leave, provides generous time‑away options. Wellness resources such as free access to Calm and an Employee Assistance Program further support rest and recovery.
BlackRock Insights
What We Do
As the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock partners with investors around the globe to help them (and those on whose behalf they invest) plan for life’s most important goals – like retirement, home ownership and their children’s education. Our clients range from governments, foundations and other large institutions to those investing on behalf of individuals, including firefighters, nurses, teachers and factory workers. BlackRock was founded with the idea of creating a better asset management firm — one that was purpose-driven, focused on clients and risk management, and propelled by data and technology. Our breakthrough Aladdin® platform is BlackRock’s technological backbone, helping investors see and manage their whole portfolios in one place – from constructing investments to monitoring risk and executing trades. Used by hundreds of external institutions around the world, Aladdin combines powerful analytics and a common language to help investment teams make faster, more informed decisions across public and private markets. It’s a key part of our business and one of the reasons we’re trusted to manage more assets than any other investment manager today. At BlackRock, we challenge conventions and raise the bar for what’s possible. We harness technology to unlock new solutions, simplify complexity, and deliver investment strategies that meet people where they are. Whether it’s retirement planning, wealth building or navigating market shifts, we’re here to help clients invest more easily, more affordably and with more choice as we chart a path toward financial well-being together. Learn more: Careers.BlackRock.com
Why Work With Us
Without our people, technology is irrelevant. When we combine the power of people with the power of technology, we amplify our ability to create better outcomes for our employees, clients, shareholders and society alike.
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BlackRock Teams
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Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
BlackRock has 25,000 employees across more than 100 offices in over 40 countries around the world.
