Founding Team Lead, AI Research Engineering

This is Adyen

Adyen is the financial technology platform of choice for leading businesses, providing payments, data, and financial products in a single solution for global customers like Meta, Uber, and H&M. At Adyen, everything we do is engineered for ambition. We create an environment with opportunities for our people to succeed, backed by a culture that encourages ownership and provides the support to truly own your career. We are motivated individuals who tackle unique technical challenges at scale and solve them as a team, delivering innovative and ethical solutions that help businesses achieve their ambitions faster.

The Opportunity

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.

We’re looking for a highly technical, hands-on team lead who is deeply immersed in the latest AI research—especially Generative AI (GenAI), Large Language Models (LLMs), and agentic workflows—and is excited to translate ideas into scalable, production-ready systems. You’ll work closely with global teams to explore how AI can enhance our products, improve our infrastructure, and create real business impact.

While the initial focus is on technical depth and execution, we’re looking for someone who also brings experience mentoring others or leading small teams—and who’s excited to help shape and grow our AI presence in the Bay Area over time.

What you’ll do

• Build the founding team of Adyen’s San Francisco AI hub to 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.

Who You Are

• 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.

Nice to haves

• Experience working at the intersection of AI and fintech, infrastructure, or developer tooling.
• Familiarity with classical machine learning or experience building on-prem or hybrid infrastructure.
• External visibility through open-source work, conference talks, or publications.
• A strong product sense and the ability to identify where AI can create the most impact.

Compensation

The annual base salary range for this role is $228,000 - $400,000, plus RSUs; to learn more about our compensation philosophy, please click here.

Location

San Francisco. Office-first; we do not offer remote-only roles.

Why Adyen?

This is an exceptional opportunity to join a solid, established company with a startup mindset, characterized by small teams, direct communication, and work on important challenges. You’ll have direct access to massive global datasets (e.g., payments, identity data) and the ability to see your team's work have an immediate impact at scale. We offer an environment of ownership and speed, where a focused research team can make a significant difference. You will be at the forefront of bridging AI and fintech, shaping how these two critical areas intersect. We are looking for individuals who are eager to stay connected to the edge of AI innovation while ensuring we deliver practical value to our global platform. You will also be a founding member of the San Francisco AI research team, playing a crucial role in its growth and direction.

While this is a San Francisco-based role, we recognize that global mobility matters—especially for candidates navigating complex situations. Adyen has deep roots in Europe and a strong global presence, and we’re open to future relocation conversations to our offices in Amsterdam or Madrid if that better supports your personal or professional goals in the future. Our aim is to build a lasting foundation for you at Adyen—starting in San Francisco, but with the flexibility to adapt as life evolves.

Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion commitments

Our unique approach is a product of our diverse perspectives. This diversity of backgrounds and cultures is essential in helping us maintain our momentum. Our business and technical challenges are unique, and we need as many different voices as possible to join us in solving them—voices like yours. No matter who you are or where you’re from, we welcome you to be your true self at Adyen.

Studies show that women and members of underrepresented communities apply for jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. Does this sound like you? If so, Adyen encourages you to reconsider and apply. We look forward to your application!

What’s next?

Ensuring a smooth and enjoyable candidate experience is critical for us. We aim to get back to you regarding your application within 5 business days. Our interview process tends to take about 4 weeks to complete, but may fluctuate depending on the role. Don’t be afraid to let us know if you need more flexibility.

Apply now and lead the charge in building Adyen's AI research presence in San Francisco!