Application Engineer - TDO, Associate

The Global Accounting and Product Services group (GAAPS) is one of the core functions within the Business Operations Group at BlackRock. GAAPS is responsible for Institutional and Commingled fund accounting, Fund Board management, Portfolio & Regulatory Compliance, Transfer Agent and operational infrastructure oversight for BlackRock's commingled funds (registered and unregistered). In addition, the teams also support Latin America Business Operations, strategic fund conversions, vendor oversight and product lifecycle events.

The role is part of the Technology and Development Operations (TDO) team, within the GAAPS COO function, and is responsible for designing, developing, and delivering technical solutions to the organization’s workflow challenges. The role requires a deep understanding of the functions within GAAPS to better comprehend the challenges faced by these functions.

Key responsibilities of the role include the following:

• Design, develop, and deliver technical solutions, including AI-based models, that will help the organization scale.

• Work with stakeholders to identify areas where technology can be leveraged to improve business processes.

• Make autonomous decisions on which solutions best fit the business problem presented.

• Test and validate AI models to ensure that they are accurate and aligned with the organization’s strategic goals.

• Play a key role in growing the core offering of the Aladdin Compliance and Accounting platforms 

• Drive engagement with partners to ensure that proper business requirements are established.

• Build relationships with other internal technology teams to ensure familiarity with all potential technology solutions while also holding them accountable for capturing and measuring business benefits.

Skills/Qualifications:

• 4+ years of experience in a developer role, exposure in developing and implementing AI-based solutions preferred.

• Proficiency in programming languages (e.g., Java, Python) as well as strong SQL and database knowledge.

• Understanding of machine learning models, including large language models (LLMs) and other neural networks will be an added advantage. 

• Familiarity with NLP techniques and tools such as sentiment analysis, named entity recognition, and topic modeling.

• Experience with cloud-based machine learning platforms such as Azure Machine Learning a plus.

• Experience using Agile methodologies – previous experience working from a backlog, sprints, retrospectives etc.

• Interest in the investment management industry and investment products.

• Familiarity with Robotic Process Automation (RPA), e.g., Blue Prism

• Familiarity with data visualization tools, e.g., Splunk, Tableau, Power BI

Competencies:

• The ability to manage projects from inception to completion, ensuring that they are delivered on time and within time estimates.

• Identification of risk or gaps in a process and implementing plans to resolve using technical solutions

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills (in English) to convey sophisticated concepts simply and clearly

• A deep understanding of the organization’s business processes, goals, and objectives

• Stay up to date with the latest developments in LLMs and machine learning andidentify opportunities to apply them to the organization’s business processes.