Principal AI Engineer

Description and Requirements
Role Value Proposition:
As an AI & Data Science Engineer focused on enterprise AI platform development, you will play a pivotal role in architecting, designing, and implementing the core AI and machine learning (ML) infrastructure that underpins our next-generation business applications. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams--including enterprise platform and architecture team, data engineers, DevOps, and business stakeholders--to deliver solutions that are not only technically sound but also aligned with the strategic goals of the organization.
Key Responsibilities:

• AI Platform Capability Development: Design, develop, and manage scalable enterprise AI capabilities that support the AI platform.
• Model Engineering: Design, train, and optimize machine learning and deep learning models for a variety of business use cases (e.g., SLM, computer vision, predictive analytics, recommendation systems).
• Data Pipeline Engineering: Collaborate with data engineers to design and implement robust data ingestion, transformation, validation, and feature engineering pipelines tailored for AI/ML workloads.
• Platform Integration: Enable seamless integration of AI capabilities into business applications and workflows through APIs, SDKs, and microservices.
• Automation & MLOps: Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines for ML models, ensuring automated testing, versioning, deployment, and monitoring in production environments.
• Performance & Scalability: Optimize platform components for efficiency, scalability, and reliability using best practices in distributed computing, resource management, and cloud-native architectures.
• Security & Compliance: Implement and advocate for security, privacy, ethical, and compliance best practices throughout the AI/ML platform and model development lifecycle.
• Innovation & Research: Stay abreast of the latest trends and advancements in AI, ML, and platform engineering. Evaluate and prototype emerging technologies for inclusion in the enterprise platform.
• Documentation & Knowledge Sharing: Produce clear technical documentation and participate in knowledge sharing to mentor team members and enable collaboration across the organization.

Essential Business Experience and Technical Skills:
Required:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in computer science, Data Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field. A PhD is a plus.
• 7+ years of experience in AI/ML engineering, GenAI, data science, or related roles.
• Proficiency in machine learning frameworks and libraries (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-learn, XGBoost, Hugging Face).
• Strong software engineering skills with experience in Python (required).
• Proven experience designing, developing, and deploying Generative AI (GenAI) solutions using large language models (LLMs) such as GPT, Llama, Claude, etc.
• Experience with modern GenAI frameworks and libraries (e.g., LangChain, LlamaIndex, Hugging Face Transformers).
• Familiarity with best practices for responsible AI, including data privacy, bias mitigation, and model monitoring.

Preferred:

• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and orchestration tools.
• Hands-on expertise with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures, including integrating external data sources and vector databases to enhance LLM outputs.
• Strong understanding of prompt engineering, fine-tuning, and evaluation of generative models for real-world applications.
• Ability to build, optimize, and scale GenAI pipelines for tasks such as document Q&A, summarization, chatbots, and knowledge retrieval.

At MetLife, we're leading the global transformation of an industry we've long defined. United in purpose, diverse in perspective, we're dedicated to making a difference in the lives of our customers.
Location Expectation: This is a hybrid role requiring a minimum of 3 days per week in office.
The expected salary range for this position is $140,000 to $185,700. This role may also be eligible for annual short-term incentive compensation. All incentives and benefits are subject to the applicable plan terms.
Benefits We Offer
Our U.S. benefits address holistic well-being with programs for physical and mental health, financial wellness, and support for families. We offer a comprehensive health plan that includes medical/prescription drug and vision, dental insurance, and no-cost short- and long-term disability. We also provide company-paid life insurance and legal services, a retirement pension funded entirely by MetLife and 401(k) with employer matching, group discounts on voluntary insurance products including auto and home, pet, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and accident insurance, as well as Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and digital mental health programs, parental leave, volunteer time off, tuition assistance and much more!
About MetLife
Recognized on Fortune magazine's list of the "World's Most Admired Companies", Fortune World's 25 Best Workplaces™, as well as the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®, MetLife, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the world's leading financial services companies; providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to individual and institutional customers. With operations in more than 40 markets, we hold leading positions in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Our purpose is simple - to help our colleagues, customers, communities, and the world at large create a more confident future. United by purpose and guided by our core values - Win Together, Do the Right Thing, Deliver Impact Over Activity, and Think Ahead - we're inspired to transform the next century in financial services. At MetLife, it's #AllTogetherPossible . Join us!
MetLife is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All employment decisions are made without regards to race, color, national origin, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information, citizenship status (although applicants and employees must be legally authorized to work in the United States), uniformed service member or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law ("protected characteristics").
If you need an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at [email protected]. This information will be held in confidence and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the application process.
MetLife maintains a drug-free workplace.
$140,000 to $185,700
#BI-Hybrid