Lead Machine Learning Engineer – AI Innovation Teams
Fitch Ratings, one of the world’s top three credit rating agencies, is building an AI‑powered future of financial analysis in Toronto. We are looking for a Lead Machine Learning Engineer to architect and build sophisticated AI systems that will reshape global credit decisions. The role offers enterprise support, modern tech stacks, and the opportunity to create real impact at scale.

Our fast‑growing Toronto innovation hub focuses on production‑grade AI for credit analytics. If you are motivated by proving new ideas possible and thrive in a collaborative, outcome‑driven environment, this is where you’ll thrive.

What We Offer

Ground‑floor ML leadership with enterprise resources to define architecture, technical standards, and engineering practices for Fitch’s AI future.

Build breakthrough ML systems that matter – generative AI platforms, multi‑agent orchestration, and intelligent automation that process billions in credit decisions.

Access to cutting‑edge ML infrastructure and research, including LLMs, foundational models, GPU clusters, and collaboration with academic researchers.

Toronto as Fitch’s AI center of excellence, connecting with the Vector Institute, ML meetups, and the global AI ecosystem.

Shape ML governance and standards: establish engineering practices, model governance frameworks, and AI integration patterns that guide worldwide decisions.

Real production impact: develop systems that analysts and financial professionals use daily, solving hard problems at NLP, document intelligence, and production‑scale deployment.

Accelerated career trajectory with visibility to C‑suite, clear paths to Principal ML Architect or AI Research Lead roles.

Responsibilities

Design and architect net‑new generative AI solutions, agentic workflows, and intelligent platforms using advanced ML frameworks.

Lead exploration of generative AI, multi‑agent systems, RAG architectures, model fine‑tuning, and prompt engineering,



turning research into production quality capabilities.

Define ML technical vision and architecture, influencing engineering standards and technology choices across Fitch.

Manage a small team of 4–5 ML engineers while partnering with product squads and business stakeholders.

Implement robust CI/CD pipelines, scalable APIs (e.g., FastAPI), and address technical challenges at the intersection of AI research and production systems.

Ensure adherence to AI/ML governance guidelines, monitor SLAs, and optimize model performance and reliability.

Shape team culture and technical direction, fostering experimentation, learning, and risk‑taking in a greenfield environment.

Qualifications

12+ years of professional experience building production AI/ML systems; strong Python proficiency and deep expertise in ML algorithms and frameworks.

Demonstrated experience designing scalable ML systems from scratch and making bold architectural decisions.

Extensive hands‑on experience with generative AI, large language models, agentic systems, and RAG architectures.

Bachelor’s degree in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Data Science, or related field (Master’s or PhD preferred).

Expertise in ML operations: containerization (Docker, Kubernetes/AWS EKS), cloud platforms (AWS/Azure), orchestration (Airflow), automated testing, and API development.

Leadership and people management experience, driving initiatives in fast‑moving environments.

Innovation mindset: proven ability to translate emerging research into production solutions, comfortable with ambiguity.

Outstanding collaboration and communication skills,



able to articulate technical vision to diverse audiences.

What Would Make You Stand Out

Track record of moving breakthrough AI from research to enterprise‑grade production deployments.

Technical thought leadership, open‑source contributions, conference speaking, or research publishing.

Hands‑on experience building multi‑agent or agentic workflow systems.

Deep cloud‑native ML infrastructure expertise and cost‑performance optimization for LLM deployments.

Financial services or credit analysis domain knowledge; familiarity with credit rating agencies.

Experience in quick‑paced innovation teams or 0‑to‑1 ML initiatives.

Active participation in Toronto’s AI/ML community and connections to research groups.

About Fitch Group and EEO Statement
Fitch Group is a global leader in financial information services with operations in more than 30 countries. It is wholly owned by the Hearst Corporation and comprises Fitch Ratings, Fitch Solutions, and Fitch Learning. Fitch is committed to providing global securities markets with objective, timely, independent credit opinions. To protect Fitch’s credibility and reputation, employees must avoid conflicts of interest or any appearance thereof.

Fitch Group is proud to be an Equal Opportunity and Affinitive Action Employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, or other statuses protected by law.

Toronto Compensation
Expected base pay rates for the role will be between 200,000 CAD and 250,000 CAD. Actual salaries will be determined on an individualized basis and may vary based on factors including education, training, experience, past performance, and other job‑related factors. Base pay is one part of Fitch’s total compensation package, which may also include commission earnings, discretionary bonuses, long‑term incentives, and other benefits.

#J-18808-Ljbffr

📌 Lead Machine Learning Engineer - AI Innovation Teams (Ontario)
🏢 Fitch Ratings
📍 Ontario