Applied AI Engineer
Trafigura · London
Main Purpose
Trafigura is undergoing an exciting Digital Transformation, developing innovative AI technologies to change the way we work in Commodities Trading. The Document AI team is a key pillar of this initiative, unlocking data-rich proprietary documents to enable high-value process optimisation and data science use cases.
We are seeking an Applied AI Engineer to grow our Document AI platform, developing robust and scalable AI solutions that solve real business problems. As a document intensive industry, you will be building production-ready Agentic AI/LLM systems that radically transforms Commodities Trading.
This is a hands-on Individual Contributor role.
Required Qualifications
5-8+ years of experience building production AI/ML systems
Modern Python proficiency with deep knowledge of the ecosystem (Pydantic, FastAPI, asyncio, type safety)
Experience with modern AI frameworks (we currently favour Pydantic AI)
Production experience maintaining human-in-the-loop systems and AI monitoring/observability
Strong fundamentals in AI/ML evaluation frameworks
Experience building agentic systems including MCP, tool calling, memory systems, vector-based knowledge stores, guardrails
In depth understanding of modern software design principles (e,g. microservices, event-driven architectures, domain driven design, object oriented programming, test driven development)
In depth understanding of modern software development lifecycle (CI/CD, IaC, Containerisation)
Practical experience with cloud engineering (preference for AWS)
Preferred Qualifications
Prior experience in Commodities, Fixed Income, Equities, Asset Management is a plus
Key Responsibilities
Develop and maintain Python-based AI applications
Build and maintain document workflows using LLMs and classical NLP
Debug model performance issues, handle edge cases, and optimize system reliability
Write comprehensive tests and implement monitoring for AI/ML systems
Rapidly prototype new features, evaluate them, and implement to production
Participate in code reviews, technical design discussions, and architecture decisions
Communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders to understand and translate business requirements into production code
Example projects you might own in the first 6 months include:
Develop a specialised agent to automate highly complex commodity trading workflow
Develop an agent to operate within human workflows, including seamless UI integrations and long running durable executions
Develop a new AI product to extract key insights from firmwide market intelligence emails for front and middle office
Attributes for success
Engineering mindset focused on delivering practical solutions that solve real business problems
Self-directed and comfortable working autonomously with minimal supervision
Pragmatic approach to technology choices - you pick the right tool for the job rather than chasing trends
Deep appreciation for AI system reliability - you understand that making AI systems work consistently is the hardest part of the job
Intellectually curious and adaptable to rapidly evolving AI/ML landscape
Strong desire to help people solve problems
Key Relationships
You will work closely with the Digital Transformation Team to understand business requirements and rollout production-grade applications to solve them.
You will support the Data Science & Engineering teams as a Centre of Excellence for Agentic AI and related tech, providing support in the form of knowledge sharing and tool adoption.
Department Overview
The Digital Transformation Team is a joint venture between Trading Technology and the Data Science and Engineering Team, driving Trafigura's AI-powered evolution in commodities trading. As a Centre of Excellence for Agentic AI, we develop scalable applications that impact over 5,000 employees daily, supporting both immediate business needs and broader data science initiatives across Trafigura's global operations
Reporting Structure
You will report directly to the Document AI Lead.
Equal Opportunity Employer
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and take pride in a diverse workforce. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital or veteran status, medical condition or handicap, disability, or any other legally protected status.