Founding Team Lead, Adyen

• You have 10+ years of professional experience in software engineering, machine learning, or applied research, with a proven ability to drive high-impact AI initiatives end to end
• You’re a highly technical research engineer with a strong understanding of the latest advancements in AI, especially GenAI and LLMs
• You thrive in ambiguity and are motivated by building from scratch, not inheriting a playbook
• You have a track record of implementing cutting-edge research into robust, scalable, and well-tested code
• You bring a strong engineering mindset and write clean, efficient code that performs reliably in production
• You’ve had some experience mentoring or guiding others—formally or informally—and are excited by the opportunity to help shape a new team
• You measure the impact of your work and provide clear visibility into what you’re building and why it matters
• You’re energized by both individual contribution and the chance to influence the direction and culture of an early-stage AI team within a global fintech platform
• You understand the unique challenges and opportunities in bridging scientific research with real-world applications—particularly within a fintech environment

Desirable

• Adyen is building a top-tier AI research engineering team in San Francisco to help drive our next chapter of innovation
• This is a rare opportunity to join as a founding engineer and play a critical role in shaping how we apply AI across our global platform
• You’ll work closely with global teams to explore how AI can enhance our products, improve our infrastructure, and create real business impact
• Act as a founding member of Adyen’s San Francisco AI hub—rapidly prototype AI features and implement research into production-quality systems
• Translate cutting-edge research papers into robust, scalable code that delivers measurable business value
• Collaborate closely with global engineering and product teams to integrate AI into existing products and internal tooling
• Contribute to research efforts in areas such as AI agents for operational workflows, human-in-the-loop systems for Integrity Risk, and experimentation with foundational models
• Stay connected to the AI research community in San Francisco, attending key events and surfacing relevant trends or partnership opportunities
• Help shape the long-term vision for AI at Adyen, including how AI interacts with consumers, merchants, and financial institutions
• Define and track success metrics for your research implementations, ensuring they drive meaningful and visible impact
• Optionally, contribute to hiring and mentoring as we grow the team in San Francisco