About this role:Wells Fargo is seeking a hands-on, forward-thinking Senior Research & Innovation Engineer to help build and scale a high-impact practice focused on identifying and evaluating emerging technologies across IT, Investment Banking, and Commercial Banking. This is a unique opportunity to shape the technical foundation of a repeatable innovation pipeline that drives strategic investments, intellectual capital development, and enterprise transformation.
You will be responsible for designing, building, and operating a secure, scalable, and automated Proof of Concept (PoC) system that enables rapid, parallel, and isolated evaluations of vendor technologies across OpenShift Container Platform (OCP), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure, and various LLM environments.
This role is ideal for an engineer who thrives in fast-paced environments and has deep experience with modern infrastructure, tech and AI technologies-especially Large Language Models (LLMs) and agent frameworks, which will be central to evaluating and automating PoC workflows. You'll play a critical role in validating vendor solutions, generating intellectual capital, and informing strategic investment decisions. Join a strategic initiative at the intersection of technology and finance, where innovation drives business transformation.
In this role, you will:- Design, build, and operate a secure, scalable, and modular PoC system architecture that supports multiple concurrent and isolated PoCs across OpenShift, GCP, Azure, and LLM environments.
- Build and maintain individual PoC environments to spec, leveraging infrastructure-as-code (IaC) and modern AI technologies for automation and repeatability.
- Ensure enterprise-grade security, privacy, and compliance, including access controls, data segregation, and audit logging across all PoC environments.
- Collaborate with technology, business, and vendor teams to define PoC goals, success criteria, and testing plans, ensuring technical feasibility and strategic alignment.
- Partner with Enterprise Architecture, InfoSec and Risk teams to validate PoC system designs and ensure adherence to regulatory and internal standards.
- Apply AI/ML techniques to automate PoC scoring, environment provisioning, and result analysis.
- Build tools to extract insights from PoC outcomes and generate whitepaper-style summaries for strategic documentation.
- Document PoC architecture, execution plans, and results in a centralized library for transparency and reuse.
- Provide technical input during vendor assessments and investment reviews to support decision-making.
- Contribute to the development of an AI-driven vendor scouting and assessment engine to streamline intake and prioritization.
Required Qualifications:- 4+ years of Software Engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated through one or a combination of the following: work experience, training, military experience, education
- 4+ years of hands-on engineering experience designing, building, and deploying applications in cloud and containerized environments.
- 2+ years of years of hands-on experience evaluating Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) solutions and executing Proof of Concepts (PoCs).
- 1+ years of hands-on experience with automated deployment and testing.
- 1+ year of experience hands-on experience with AI/ML frameworks including LLMs (Large Language Models) and agent-based architectures
Desired Qualifications:- 4+ years in solution architecture, innovation labs, or R&D engineering roles
- 2+ years of experience with Terraform and infrastructure-as-code (IaC) practices
- Deep understanding of enterprise security, privacy, and compliance standards
- Solid grasp of agile delivery, sprint planning, and iterative development
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
- Strong technical writing and presentation skills for documenting PoC outcomes and communicating with stakeholders
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, cross-functional innovation environment
- Experience evaluating emerging technologies across domains such as AI, data platforms, and fintech
- Familiarity with enterprise architecture, integration patterns, and sandbox environments
- Certifications in cloud architecture (AWS, Azure, GCP) or agile methodologies
- Experience contributing to AI-driven automation and vendor assessment tools
- Demonstrated ability to translate technical insights into strategic recommendations
Job Expectations:- This position offers a hybrid work schedule.
- Relocation assistance is available for this position
- Ability to travel up to 15% of the time
Pay RangeReflected is the base pay range offered for this position. Pay may vary depending on factors including but not limited to achievements, skills, experience, or work location. The range listed is just one component of the compensation package offered to candidates.
$100,000.00 - $196,000.00
Benefits Wells Fargo provides eligible employees with a comprehensive set of benefits, many of which are listed below. Visit Benefits - Wells Fargo Jobs for an overview of the following benefit plans and programs offered to employees.
- Health benefits
- 401(k) Plan
- Paid time off
- Disability benefits
- Life insurance, critical illness insurance, and accident insurance
- Parental leave
- Critical caregiving leave
- Discounts and savings
- Commuter benefits
- Tuition reimbursement
- Scholarships for dependent children
- Adoption reimbursement
Posting End Date:5 Oct 2025
* Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants. We Value Equal OpportunityWells Fargo is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other legally protected characteristic.
Employees support our focus on building strong customer relationships balanced with a strong risk mitigating and compliance-driven culture which firmly establishes those disciplines as critical to the success of our customers and company. They are accountable for execution of all applicable risk programs (Credit, Market, Financial Crimes, Operational, Regulatory Compliance), which includes effectively following and adhering to applicable Wells Fargo policies and procedures, appropriately fulfilling risk and compliance obligations, timely and effective escalation and remediation of issues, and making sound risk decisions. There is emphasis on proactive monitoring, governance, risk identification and escalation, as well as making sound risk decisions commensurate with the business unit's risk appetite and all risk and compliance program requirements.
Applicants with DisabilitiesTo request a medical accommodation during the application or interview process, visit Disability Inclusion at Wells Fargo .
Drug and Alcohol PolicyWells Fargo maintains a drug free workplace. Please see our Drug and Alcohol Policy to learn more.
Wells Fargo Recruitment and Hiring Requirements:a. Third-Party recordings are prohibited unless authorized by Wells Fargo.
b. Wells Fargo requires you to directly represent your own experiences during the recruiting and hiring process.
