AI Engineer

Job Purpose CR2 is a leading provider of Internet, Mobile, ATM and card payment solutions to the global financial services industry. We are looking for an AI Engineer to help identify, design, build and validate high-value AI use cases that demonstrate measurable business benefit and can be safely transitioned into production where appropriate. The role will work closely with Technology, Product, QA, Architecture, Business Analysts, Operations and other business stakeholders to turn practical business problems into working AI solutions. The successful candidate will combine strong software engineering capability with applied AI, data engineering, cloud, security and product thinking, ensuring that PoCs are not simply technical experiments but are assessed against clear success criteria, business value, operational feasibility and production-readiness. The role will report into the Technology organisation and will work closely with the AI Innovation & Use Case Group, Engineering, Architecture, Product, QA and relevant business stakeholders. Our Hybrid Working Model requires employees to be on-site three days per week in Dublin Office. Key Responsibilities Work with business and technology stakeholders to identify, shape and prioritise AI use cases with clear business value, measurable outcomes and appropriate success criteria. Design, build and iterate AI proof of concept solutions using modern AI, machine learning, generative AI, automation and data engineering techniques. Assist the Governance team assess the feasibility, value, risks and limitations of AI PoCs, including data availability, model suitability, integration complexity, operational impact, cost and scalability. Develop AI prototypes that demonstrate practical value, including requirements extraction, knowledge retrieval, software engineering assistance, test generation, process automation, analytics or other relevant business use cases. Translate PoC learnings into clear recommendations for the Governance team on whether a solution should progress to pilot, production implementation, further refinement or closure. Design solutions with production-readiness in mind, including maintainability, observability, security, auditability, performance, error handling and integration with existing CR2 systems and delivery processes. Build AI-enabled services, APIs, workflows, prompts, retrieval pipelines, evaluation harnesses and supporting tooling as required for each PoC. Apply responsible AI practices, ensuring appropriate human oversight, data protection, confidentiality, security controls, explainability, bias awareness and governance are built into AI solutions from the outset. Collaborate with architects and engineering teams to align PoC designs with CR2’s target architecture, development standards, CI/CD practices and operational support model. Work with Product Management, Business Analysts and Subject Matter Experts to ensure AI-generated outputs are validated, accurate, relevant and aligned to business requirements. Document technical designs, assumptions, dependencies, evaluation results, risks and productionisation recommendations in a clear and structured manner. Monitor developments in AI tools, frameworks, models and cloud services, and advise on practical opportunities for CR2 to apply them safely and effectively. Support knowledge sharing and enablement across teams by demonstrating PoC outputs, explaining AI concepts clearly and helping colleagues understand how AI can be applied to real business problems. Any other related tasks as required by the line manager. Required Experience, Skills & Competencies Honours Degree or Diploma in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience. Strong software engineering background with experience designing, developing, testing and maintaining production-quality applications or services. Practical experience building AI, machine learning, generative AI, automation or data-driven solutions in a commercial environment. Strong programming capability, preferably in Python and/or Java, with the ability to build robust, maintainable and well-structured software. Experience using multiple AI platforms, APIs, cloud AI services, vector search, retrieval augmented generation, prompt engineering, model evaluation and/or AI orchestration frameworks. Good understanding of data preparation, data quality, data security, metadata, embeddings, search, classification, summarisation and information extraction techniques. Ability to define measurable PoC success criteria and evaluate outcomes against business value, accuracy, quality, cost, performance and operational feasibility. Understanding of secure software development practices, data protection, access control, auditability and responsible AI principles. Experience working with APIs, JSON, SQL, Git, CI/CD tooling and modern development practices. Ability to work effectively across technical and non-technical teams, translating business problems into practical AI solution designs. Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain complex AI and engineering concepts clearly and concisely in written and verbal form. High level of attention to detail, strong analytical ability and a practical, delivery-focused approach to solving problems. Desired Skills Experience with Claude, ChatGpt, Junie, GitHub Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, or similar enterprise AI and developer productivity tools. Experience designing or implementing retrieval augmented generation solutions over enterprise data sources such as code repositories, SharePoint, documents, Jira or knowledge bases. Experience with evaluation frameworks for AI outputs, including accuracy, hallucination reduction, relevance, groundedness, traceability and human validation workflows. Experience with banking, fintech, payments, regulated environments or enterprise software platforms. Understanding of legacy modernisation, requirements extraction, automated test generation, code analysis or software delivery lifecycle automation. Experience deploying AI-enabled services into production environments, including monitoring, cost management, model governance and operational support. Familiarity with containerisation, microservices, event-driven architecture, Spring Boot or cloud-native engineering practices. Knowledge of information security standards, compliance requirements and secure handling of sensitive or proprietary data. Qualifications & Experience Honours Degree or Diploma in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science or a related discipline is desirable. Equivalent professional experience in software engineering and applied AI will also be considered. Success Metrics Curious, innovative and pragmatic, with a strong interest in applying AI to real business problems rather than technology for its own sake. Self-starter with the ability to work independently, manage ambiguity and move quickly from idea to prototype to evidence-based recommendation. Commercially aware, with the ability to assess whether a technical solution is likely to deliver meaningful business value. Collaborative and team-oriented, comfortable working with engineers, analysts, architects, product owners, SMEs and senior stakeholders. Strong problem-solving ability, with the judgement to recognise when AI is appropriate and when simpler approaches may be more effective. Quality-focused, with a disciplined approach to testing, validation, documentation and production-readiness. Responsible and trustworthy, with a strong appreciation of confidentiality, security, governance and ethical AI considerations. Flexible and adaptable, with the ability to learn new tools, techniques and business domains quickly. Clear and articulate communicator, able to present findings, risks and recommendations to both technical and business audiences. Equal Opportunity Statement CR2 HPS Group is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.