Director of AI
Candescent
Candescent is the largest non-core digital banking provider. We bring together the transformative technologies that power and connect account opening, digital banking and branch solutions for banks and credit unions of all sizes on any core. Our Candescent solutions power the top three U.S. mobile banking apps and are trusted by banks and credit unions of all sizes.
We offer an extensive portfolio of industry-leading products and services with an extensible ecosystem of out-of-the-box and integrated partner solutions. In addition, our API-first architecture and developer tools enable financial institutions to optimize and expand upon their existing capabilities by seamlessly integrating custom-built or third-party solutions. And our connected in-person, remote and digital experiences reinvent customer service across all channels.
Self-service configuration and marketing tools give financial institutions greater control of their branding, targeted messaging and overall user experience. And data-driven analytics and reporting tools provide valuable insights to help drive continued growth and profitability. From conversions and implementations to custom development and customer care, our clients get expert, end-to-end support at every step.
Key Responsibilities
Define and execute Candescent’s AI vision aligned with product and platform strategy.
Lead development of AI-powered features across the digital banking platform, including fraud detection, smart personalization, chat and voice assistants, and intelligent automation.
Champion AI used cases in open banking—powering smarter financial decisions through data aggregation, partner integrations, and predictive analytics.
Drive integration of third-party AI tools and services into Candescent’s platform through APIs and SDKs.
Partner with Product and Engineering to design secure, compliant, and scalable AI capabilities across our customer-facing and internal platforms.
Lead internal AI adoption to accelerate developer productivity, automate testing, and improve support operations.
Oversee full AI/ML lifecycle—ideation, experimentation, deployment, monitoring, and iteration.
Establish and enforce best practices in model governance, bias mitigation, responsible AI, and model explainability.
Represent AI strategy in executive forums, customer meetings, and industry events.
Hire, mentor, and grow a high-performing global team of ML engineers, data scientists, and platform AI specialists.
Requirements
10+ years of experience in AI/ML, with at least 5 years of leadership capacity.
Deep expertise in machine learning, generative AI (LLMs), NLP, and real-time decisioning systems.
Hands-on experience integrating AI and ML into enterprise SaaS platforms; fintech or banking domain experience strongly preferred.
Proven success embedding third-party AI tools and APIs into core product workflows.
Familiarity with Open Banking standards, APIs, and data-sharing frameworks.
Experience with cloud-native data and ML platforms (GCP preferred), modern ML toolkits and vector databases
Strong understanding of responsible AI principles, data privacy, and security.
Excellent leadership, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
EEO Statement
Integrated into our shared values is Candescent’s commitment to diversity and equal employment opportunity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, age, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, military service, genetic information, or any other characteristic or conduct protected by law. Candescent is committed to being a globally inclusive company where all people are treated fairly, recognized for their individuality, promoted based on performance and encouraged to strive to reach their full potential. We believe in understanding and respecting differences among all people. Every individual at Candescent has an ongoing responsibility to respect and support a globally diverse environment.
Statement to Third Party Agencies
To ALL recruitment agencies: Candescent only accepts resumes from agencies on the preferred supplier list. Please do not forward resumes to our applicant tracking system, Candescent employees, or any Candescent facility. Candescent is not responsible for any fees or charges associated with unsolicited resumes.