below marketmost similar roles pay hereabove market
This role pays more than
57%
of similar roles. Most pay
$193,825–$262,600
— the blue band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$235k
versus about
$228k
for comparable roles.
Based on 240 similar postings.
Employer
About Citi
Citi is one of the world’s most trusted financial institutions, proudly serving millions of customers across the United States.
Citi currently has
268 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$125,760–$188,640
across 251 roles with salary data.
The Forward Deployed Engineer - Director is a senior strategic technical leader within the Technology group, responsible for shaping AI-powered solutions for Citi Payment Express. This role involves leading the technical strategy, architecture, and delivery roadmap for market rollouts while managing a high-performing engineering team. You will work directly with clients and stakeholders to translate complex business challenges into production-grade systems, overseeing full-stack development, platform engineering, and security. Key responsibilities include building agentic AI solutions using the Google Agent Development Kit and Model Context Protocol Servers. You must possess expert proficiency in Python, Java, Kubernetes, and AWS services like EKS and Lambda. The role focuses on solving business problems through scalable APIs, microservices, and event-driven architectures using tools like Apache Kafka and MongoDB.
Own the technical strategy, architecture, and delivery roadmap for Citi Payment Express market rollouts.
Design and build agentic AI solutions using Google Agent Development Kit and Model Context Protocol.
Develop scalable APIs and backend services using Python and Java across the full software development lifecycle.
Deploy, operate, and maintain production services on Kubernetes and AWS cloud-native infrastructure.
Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing engineering team while maintaining hands-on involvement in architecture and code.
Translate client workflows and business challenges into production-grade engineering solutions and measurable business value.
Champion AI Product Development Lifecycle practices and drive continuous improvement through DORA metrics and KPIs.
Lead migration and integration initiatives across strategic internal platforms including ARC AgentFlow.
What we're looking for
15+ years of experience as a Senior Engineering Leader, Engineering Manager, or Technical Architect.
Proven ability to lead, coach, and mentor engineers while fostering a culture of technical excellence and accountability.
Experience operating in customer-facing, consulting, or Forward Deployed Engineering environments to translate business challenges into technical solutions.
Expert-level proficiency in Python and Java with strong architectural skills in API design, microservices, and distributed systems.
Extensive hands-on experience architecting, deploying, and operating services on Kubernetes and AWS (EKS, Lambda, S3, RDS, DynamoDB).
Experience with containerization technologies including Docker, multi-stage builds, and container registries.
Experience with event-driven architectures and message brokers such as Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ, AWS SNS/SQS, or Google Pub/Sub.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; Master’s degree preferred.