The AI Engineer will join the Group Functions AI team, focusing on designing and shipping production-grade AI services that power Global Risk, Compliance, Procurement, and emerging GenAI solutions across the enterprise. The ideal candidate should be an advanced programmer with a strong grasp of Data Science, Data Engineering, Application Development, Software Engineering, and DevOps who has a mix of software craftsmanship, cloud-native engineering, and machine-learning know-how to turn data-science prototypes into reliable, business-critical products.

Position Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with Data Scientists and Data Engineers to build modular, reusable ML & GenAI pipelines (feature stores, model registries, automated retraining).

• Engineer and optimize models for performance, cost, and scalability; run A/B or challenger tests and track data/model drift.

• Own production deployment : containerize models (Docker), orchestrate with Kubernetes/AKS, and automate CI/CD with GitHub Actions or Azure DevOps.

• Stand-up and maintain observability stacks (logging, tracing, metrics, alerting) to ensure SLA/SLO compliance.

• Integrate AI services into Risk, Compliance, Procurement, etc. workflows via robust REST/GraphQL APIs and event streams.

• Guide solution architecture with Cloud & Security teams—infra-as-code (Terraform/Bicep), network policies, secrets management.

• Evaluate and implement GenAI patterns (prompt orchestration, RAG, guardrails) on Azure OpenAI, Databricks, and internal LLMs.

• Champion engineering best practices and mentor peers on clean code, test automation, and MLOps standards.

• Stay current with advances in ML, GenAI, and DevSecOps; introduce fit-for-purpose tools and frameworks to the team.

Required Qualifications:

• 5+ years delivering high-availability software in Python

• Proven experience operationalizing ML/GenAI models in cloud environments (Azure preferred) using Docker, Kubernetes/AKS, MLflow or Azure ML.

• Hands-on with CI/CD pipelines, unit/integration tests, code-quality scanning, and blue-green or canary releases.

• Advanced SQL skills and proficiency with both relational (PostgreSQL, SQL Server) and NoSQL/analytic stores (CosmosDB, Delta Lake).

• Big-data processing using Spark/Databricks; ability to build high-throughput ETL/ELT and feature-engineering workflows.

• Experience deploying or fine-tuning LLMs and working with vector databases (Elastic, Azure Cognitive Search, Pinecone).

• Demonstrated ability to balance urgency with delivering high-quality, well-documented solutions.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, Mathematics, or a related technical field (or equivalent industry experience).

• Master’s or PhD degree in a relevant discipline is an asset and may substitute for part of the required experience.

When you join our team:

• We’ll empower you to learn and grow the career you want.

• We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible, inclusive environment where well-being truly matters.

• As part of our distributed Group Function AI team, you’ll shape the next generation of AI that drives Manulife’s global success.

#LI-Hybrid

About Manulife and John Hancock

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. To learn more about us, visit https://www.manulife.com/en/about/our-story.html .

Manulife is an Equal Opportunity Employer

At Manulife/John Hancock, we embrace our diversity. We strive to attract, develop and retain a workforce that is as diverse as the customers we serve and to foster an inclusive work environment that embraces the strength of cultures and individuals. We are committed to fair recruitment, retention, advancement and compensation, and we administer all of our practices and programs without discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion or religious beliefs, creed, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, genetic characteristics, veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, or any other ground protected by applicable law.

It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment. A Human Resources representative will work with applicants who request a reasonable accommodation during the application process. All information shared during the accommodation request process will be stored and used in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws and Manulife/John Hancock policies. To request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact recruitment@manulife.com .

Referenced Salary Location

Toronto, Ontario

Working Arrangement

Hybrid

Salary range is expected to be between

$75,880.00 CAD - $140,920.00 CAD

If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location, please contact recruitment@manulife.com for the salary range for your location. The actual salary will vary depending on local market conditions, geography and relevant job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience, and education/training. Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance.

Manulife offers eligible employees a wide array of customizable benefits, including health, dental, mental health, vision, short- and long-term disability, life and AD&D insurance coverage, adoption/surrogacy and wellness benefits, and employee/family assistance plans. We also offer eligible employees various retirement savings plans (including pension and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources. Our generous paid time off program in Canada includes holidays, vacation, personal, and sick days, and we offer the full range of statutory leaves of absence. If you are applying for this role in the U.S., please contact recruitment@manulife.com for more information about U.S.-specific paid time off provisions.