Data Engineer | Enterprise Technology & Security Development Program

DATA ENGINEER | ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY & SECURITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Get ready to make your mark! Jumpstart your career through hands-on, impactful work, comprehensive training and development, and exposure to executive leadership, paving the way for a robust career at Citizens.

We know that everything is driven by technology. At Citizens, we invest in the humans who build the logic, ideas and innovations that bring new technologies to life. It’s why we’ve made a substantial investment to build and support our in-house tech firm. In our Enterprise Technology & Security Development Program (ETSDP), you will help build next-generation services and collaborate with fintech partners on innovative solutions. Bring your whole self to work, including your passion for what’s possible and your critical thinking skills. Joining us on our transformation journey means you’ll get to reinvent what banking looks and feels like for millions of people!

This program has a Start Date of June 28, 2027, and will be based out of one of our headquarters in Johnston, RI, Phoenix, AZ, or Plano, TX

Data Engineer Rotation

In this year-long program you will develop the skills and knowledge necessary to have a successful career. You’ll complete three different Data Engineer rotations across various teams within the business line. Each of these rotations will offer unique opportunities to participate in meaningful, hands-on projects. You’ll leverage advanced analytics and big data techniques to derive valuable insights from enterprise data and deliver those insights back to stakeholders. You will filter, tag, join, parse, and normalize data sets and work appropriately to design ingestion mechanisms. Finally, you will create integrated views based on customer requirements. 

Through hands-on experience in this role, you will:

• Deepen expertise in modern cloud-native data platforms (AWS) and building high-scale batch and real-time data pipelines.
• Advance skills in distributed data systems (Spark) and programming languages including Java, Python, and SQL.
• Strengthen knowledge of data modeling, ETL/ELT pipelines (Snowflake Pipe, Kafka streaming, etc.), and data product engineering for structured and unstructured data.
• Develop the ability to design and scale enterprise AI platforms supporting machine learning, predictive analytics, and generative/agentic AI workloads.
• Gain hands-on expertise in LLM-based architectures, RAG, embeddings, vector databases, and agentic AI systems, including autonomous workflows, orchestration, and multi-agent patterns with real-world production deployment experience.
• Increase capability to build and operate AI solutions at scale through APIs, microservices (FastAPI/Django), observability, and secure platform integration.

All ETSDP colleagues will spend their first 5 weeks together for onboarding, orientation, and our in-house Tech Made Ready Academy.

Early Career Development Program (ECDP)

All ETSDP colleagues will participate in the Early Career Development Program (ECDP) this robust program is designed to give our new colleagues a solid foundation to Citizens. Through the ECDP, you’ll experience:

• 4-day in-person event with bank-wide development program colleagues 
• Professional development workshops (including Presence & Presentation)
• Networking opportunities with senior leadership across all areas of Citizens
• Dedicated community service activities to include direct service or skills-based volunteering to local organizations across our footprint.

Life after the program

Upon successful completion of the ETS Development Program, colleagues will be placed on a team where you will continue to develop your Data Engineering career.

What you’ll need to apply

Basic qualifications:

• Successfully complete a video interview assessment within 4 days of receiving the link. If not completed within the timeframe, your application will be automatically withdrawn from consideration.
• Recently completed a bachelor’s degree in computer science, mathematics, statistics, engineering, or other technology-related degree.
• Graduation date of Spring 2027
• Minimum GPA 3.0.
• Experience working with raw as well as prepared datasets
• Understanding of master data management principles and processes
• Demonstrated ability to operate in a team environment, strong interpersonal and communication skills

Preferred qualifications:

• Previous professional exposure to data engineering.
• Familiarity with ETL, ELT, Star Schema, Hadoop, Apache Spark, Beam, Flink, and/or message brokers/messaging platforms such as Apache Kafka
• Understanding of the banking industry, specifically the functions of custodial and consumer banking.

The position offers $80,000 per year as a starting rate. 

We offer competitive pay, comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits, maternity/paternity leave, flexible work arrangements, education reimbursement, wellness programs and more. Note, Citizens’ paid time off policy exceeds the mandatory, paid sick or paid time-away policy of every local and state jurisdiction in the United States. For an overview of our benefits, visit https://jobs.citizensbank.com/benefits 

Find out more information about the Enterprise Technology & Security Early Career Programs HERE

Please note that permanent work authorization in the United States is required. This position is not eligible for CPT, OPT, or visa sponsorship, now or in the future.

Hours and Work Schedule
Hours per Week: 40
Work Schedule: M-F 8:30am - 5pm

Equal Employment Opportunity

Citizens, its parent, subsidiaries, and related companies (Citizens) provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all colleagues and applicants for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, citizenship, physical or mental disability, perceived disability or history or record of a disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, genetic characteristic, marital or domestic partner status, victim of domestic violence, family status/parenthood, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, pregnancy/childbirth/lactation, colleague’s or a dependent’s reproductive health decision making, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or any other category protected by federal, state and/or local laws. At Citizens, we are committed to fostering an inclusive culture that enables all colleagues to bring their best selves to work every day and everyone is expected to be treated with respect and professionalism. Employment decisions are based solely on merit, qualifications, performance and capability.

Equal Employment and Opportunity Employer

Job Applicant Data Privacy Policy

Background Check

Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the candidate successfully passing a background check, which may include initial credit, motor vehicle record, public record, prior employment verification, and criminal background checks. Results of the background check are individually reviewed based upon legal requirements imposed by our regulators and with consideration of the nature and gravity of the background history and the job offered. Any offer of employment will include further information.