About this opportunity
Original employer description
FX Risk Lead Java Developer + AI (VP)
Engineer the future of global finance. At Citi, our Tech team doesn’t just support finance – we are helping to redefine it. Every day, $5 trillion crosses through our network. We do business in 180+ countries operating at a scale few can match. From deploying advanced AI to helping shape global markets, we build systems that matter. Look to join a team where your work helps influence economies, your ideas can drive innovation and outcomes, and your growth is backed by mentorship, continuous learning and flexibility with potential hybrid work opportunities. Help solve real-world challenges that touch millions and get the opportunity to build the future of finance with Citi Tech.
What We do / The Team
This isn't just another Java developer role. As a Lead Java Developer – Vice President within Citi's FX Risk technology team, you'll be at the intersection of high-stakes financial engineering and the next generation of AI-powered software development.
At Citi, we are actively redefining how technology drives global finance — every day, $5 trillion crosses our network. You'll architect and deliver the systems that power real-time FX risk management for one of the world's largest financial institutions, working in an environment where AI is not a future ambition — it's how we work today.
You'll have hands-on access to Citi's internal GenAI ecosystem: from GitHub Copilot and Devin.AI for agentic code generation, to Citi Squad for automated code reviews, to Stylus Workspaces — Citi's in-house GenAI platform powered by top-tier LLMs including Gemini, OpenAI, Claude, Llama, and local models. You'll use Prompt Engineering, Workflow Design, and GenAI Optimisation techniques as part of your everyday engineering practice.
This is the next generation of Lead Java Development — where your engineering instincts are amplified by AI, your decisions shape a strategically critical platform, and your impact is felt across global markets.
Role Overview/What will you do:
- Lead end-to-end delivery of complex, high-performance Java applications supporting FX risk management across global markets
- Architect scalable, low-latency solutions that process real-time risk data at scale — designing for resilience, performance, and security from day one
- Drive technical direction and key decisions — from system design and architectural choices to setting engineering standards across the team
- Translate complex business requirements into robust, high-quality code — working closely with quantitative analysts, traders, and business stakeholders
- Craft high-quality, scalable software in an agile environment, leveraging AI-powered coding tools to accelerate delivery without compromising standards
- Share expertise and raise the bar — act as a technical reference point for the team, influencing engineering quality through example, guidance, and knowledge sharing (this is an individual contributor role with no direct reports)
- Champion innovation — actively evaluate, propose, and adopt new technologies and frameworks; this team has the mandate and appetite to bring in better tools
- Own quality — participate in mandatory cross-team code reviews, supported by Citi Squad AI reviewers and peer engineers, ensuring adherence to security, quality, and compliance standards
- Operate in production — take ownership of L3 production support issues, provide timely resolutions, and deliver long-term remediation fixes that address root causes — not just symptoms
- Support testing cycles and post-production deployment — from writing TDD-first code to validating releases in a weekly cadence
- Contribute to Citi's technology strategy, influencing how the firm approaches risk technology at a global scale
Your AI-Powered Toolkit
At Citi, almost all of our 240,000 staff have access to AI tools — and our engineering teams are at the forefront of that adoption. Our FX Risk team has been actively using Citi's internal AI ecosystem for over a year. These are live, battle-tested tools embedded into our daily engineering workflow — not pilots, not promises:
Coding & Code Generation
- GitHub Copilot — multi-model AI coding assistant (GPT, Claude, Gemini) integrated directly into your IDE for code completion, generation, and explanation
- Devin.AI — agentic code generation for complex, multi-step development tasks
- Prompt Engineering & GenAI Optimisation — techniques actively used to get the best out of every model in the stack
Code Review & Quality
- Citi Squad — Citi's internal automated code review platform, catching issues before they reach production
- AI-assisted cross-team peer reviews — mandatory, structured, and supported by tooling that flags security risks, missing tests, and policy violations
LLMs & Stylus Workspaces
- Large Language Models: Gemini, OpenAI, Claude, Llama, and Local Models
- Stylus Workspaces — Citi's in-house GenAI platform (powered by Gemini), connected to internal systems including Jira, GitHub, Slack, and Teams — enabling agentic AI workflows across the SDLC
Deployment & DevOps
- Enterprise DevOps Pipeline — CI/CD with JIRA, Zephyr, GitHub, Harness, Artifactory
- Container orchestration: Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift
- Monitoring Tooling — production observability built in from day one
This is what it means to be a next-generation Lead Java Developer at Citi.
The Platform You'll Be Building On
This role is centred around a greenfield application — built from scratch, now 3 years in production, and with a 10+ year strategic commitment from the business. You won't be wrestling with decades of legacy code. Instead, you'll be:
- Working on a modern, purposefully designed codebase that the team is proud of — with wide exposure to technologies across all aspects of the SDLC
- Contributing to a platform with long-term investment and roadmap certainty — this is not a project, it's a strategic product
- Empowered to introduce and champion new technologies — the team has a genuine mandate to evolve the stack, not just maintain it
- Delivering weekly releases in a structured Scrum environment with daily stand-ups, keeping the team aligned and shipping consistently
- Benefiting from structured learning paths, mentorship, and continuous development — your growth is backed by the team and the wider Citi engineering community
- Gaining exposure to cloud strategy — contributing to cloud adoption initiatives, deploying Citi APIs on AWS and Azure
- Working with event streaming and messaging systems including Kafka, Flink, and Solace at enterprise scale
This is a rare opportunity in financial services — a stable, well-funded platform with the freedom to keep building it better, backed by one of the world's most ambitious technology organisations.
Key Skills and Experience required
- Proven hands-on Java development experience with strong focus on Core Java and multithreading in high-load, high-throughput systems
- Deep understanding of JVM performance optimisation — memory profiling, GC tuning, and squeezing performance where it counts
- Solid grasp of distributed systems architecture and in-memory computing concepts
- Proven production experience with Apache Ignite — you've used it at scale, not just evaluated it
- Strong MongoDB skills — CRUD operations, indexing strategies, and performance tuning in production environments
- Deep SQL knowledge and query optimisation in Oracle — you know how to make queries fast and keep them that way
- Solid experience with messaging technologies — Apache Kafka and/or Solace
- Proficiency in Linux environments and scripting — comfortable on the command line and automating where it matters
- Experience deploying and maintaining applications on cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or similar)
- A genuine passion for Test-Driven Development (TDD) — you write tests first and mean it
- Readiness to engage in L3 production support and own release activities end-to-end
Any Beneficial / Nice to have skills and experience:
- Experience in financial services technology, particularly in risk, trading, or capital markets
- Familiarity with FX products — spot, forwards, options, or derivatives
- Understanding of real-time risk calculation systems or market data platforms
- Exposure to low-latency, high-throughput distributed systems
This job description provides a high-level review of the types of work performed. Other job-related duties may be assigned as required.
What we’ll provide you
By joining Citi, you will not only be part of a business casual workplace with a hybrid working model (up to 2 days working at home per week), but also receive a competitive base salary (which is annually reviewed), and enjoy a whole host of additional benefits such as:
- 27 days annual leave (plus bank holidays)
- A discretional annual performance related bonus
- Private Medical Care & Life Insurance
- Employee Assistance Program
- Pension Plan
- Paid Parental Leave
- Special discounts for employees, family, and friends
- Access to an array of learning and development resources
Visit our About Us | Culture, Values & Benefits page to learn more.
Alongside these benefits Citi is committed to ensuring our workplace is where everyone feels comfortable coming to work as their whole self, every day. We want the best talent around the world to be energized to join us, motivated to stay and empowered to thrive.
#LI-AP2
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Job Family Group:
Technology
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Job Family:
Applications Development
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Time Type:
Full time
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Most Relevant Skills
Please see the requirements listed above.
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Other Relevant Skills
For complementary skills, please see above and/or contact the recruiter.
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Citi is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.
If you are a person with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation to use our search tools and/or apply for a career opportunity review Accessibility at Citi.
View Citi’s EEO Policy Statement and the Know Your Rights poster.
