Garda is looking to hire a Software Engineer (AI Tooling) to be a part of our Research and Technology (R&T) group to design and build systems that integrate modern AI capabilities across the firm. The selected candidate will develop backend services, automation workflows, and integrations that help research, trading, and operations teams work more effectively with AI-powered tools.

This is a hands-on engineering role focused on building practical, production-ready systems—not research or model training. You'll work with LLM APIs, build internal applications, create automation workflows, and integrate AI capabilities into existing systems. The ideal candidate is excited about the potential of AI tools but wants to focus on engineering and delivery rather than ML research. Experience in financial services or capital markets is strongly preferred.

Position Responsibilities

• Build internal applications and services that integrate LLM APIs and other AI capabilities into firm workflows
• Develop backend infrastructure for AI-powered tools (API gateways, vector search, chat backends, monitoring)
• Create automation workflows and integrations between AI platforms and internal systems
• Implement data processing pipelines that prepare and route information to AI services
• Work with stakeholders across trading, research, and operations to understand requirements and gather feedback
• Build and maintain integrations with vendor AI platforms and third-party tools
• Participate in design, development, testing, and deployment of new features and systems
• Support and improve existing AI-powered applications and workflows
• Collaborate with infrastructure teams to ensure solutions are secure, scalable, and well-monitored

Qualifications & Desired Skills

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Finance, or related field
• 2-5 years of software engineering experience
• Strong programming skills in Python (primary language for this role) or ability to learn quickly
• Experience building backend services, APIs, or internal applications
• Comfortable working with REST APIs, databases, and data processing workflows
• Interest in AI and modern development tools; no ML/deep learning experience required
• Understanding of fixed income, trading operations, or investment management workflows is a plus
• Capital markets experience strongly preferred
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to learn new technologies quickly
• Clear communication skills and comfort working with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple priorities
• Self-motivated with interest in building practical tools that people actually use