Agentic Developer, LLMNative / Enterprise (Contractor), West Coast/ NYC

Lab49 is looking for a Senior Agentic Developer, engineer who doesn't just use AI tools but writes software through them.

This is not a role focused on "adding AI features" or "building AI platforms." Instead, we are seeking an experienced developer who generates production-grade enterprise code using large language models as a primary interface, particularly while modernizing or extending complex, legacy systems in highly regulated environments.

You will operate as a vibe coder in the best sense of the term: combining deep engineering intuition, strong system design instincts, and fluent command of LLMs to move faster than traditional development workflows- without compromising rigor, compliance, or reliability.

Los Angeles, CA is the primary location for this role, requiring frequent office presence. For NY candidates frequent travel to LA will be required.

What You'll Do

• Generate, refactor, and extend enterprise-grade codebases by orchestrating LLMs as first-class development tools, not just assistants
• Modernize and evolve legacy systems (often written in traditional enterprise stacks) using AI-driven development workflows
• Apply "vibe coding" practices responsibly within highly regulated domains such as financial services, capital markets, or other compliance-heavy environments
• Design and guide agentic workflows where LLMs reason, iterate, and produce code aligned with business and architectural constraints
• Validate, test, and harden AI-generated code to meet production, security, and audit standards
• Collaborate closely with product managers, architects, and clients to translate ambiguous requirements into working systems - fast
• Influence how Lab49 and its clients adopt LLM-native software engineering practices at scale

What We're Looking For

• Strong software engineering background with experience in enterprise or legacy systems
• Hands-on experience manufacturing production-grade software in AI-assisted way at scale (not just autocomplete or chat usage, but sustained code production through prompts, agents, or workflows)
• Experience working within mature CI/CD environments, with automated testing fully integrated into the delivery pipeline
• Comfort working in regulated, risk-aware environments, where correctness, explainability, and traceability matter
• Ability to reason about system behavior, edge cases, and failure modes- even when the code is AI-generated
• Fluency in at least one major enterprise language or ecosystem (e.g., Java, C#, Python, JVM-based stacks, etc.)
• Strong intuition for when to trust the model- and when not to
• Leading teams through the AI adoption journey and helping enterprises build scalable, robust AI software factory frameworks

Nice to Have

• Experience designing or using agentic development workflows (multi-step prompting, tool-using agents, code-generation loops)
• Exposure to modernization programs (monolith - services, legacy refactors, platform rewrites)
• Opinions about how software engineering should evolve in an LLM-first world - and the ability to defend them

Lab49 is a specialist strategy, design, and technology consulting company dedicated to the financial services industry. We were founded in 2002 to fill a need in the Financial Technology marketplace for high-end execution and reliable delivery of technology projects.

Our consultants are experts in strategy, user experience, architecture, engineering, and delivery management. We combine knowledge of the latest trends in technology with deep domain expertise to deliver innovative solutions with accelerated time-to-market.

We have office hubs in Midtown Manhattan, Washington DC, London, Budapest, New Delhi and Sydney.

Lab49/ION is committed to maintaining a supportive and inclusive environment for people with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We respect the varied identities, abilities, cultures, and traditions of the individuals who comprise our organization and recognize the value that different backgrounds and points of view bring to our business.

Lab49/ION adheres to an equal employment opportunity policy that prohibits discriminatory practices or harassment against applicants or employees based on any legally impermissible factor.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.