OP Lab is OP Pohjola’s internal innovation unit, a team of around 30 people who identify emerging trends, bring them into a business context, and test whether they hold real opportunity. We run ventures that use new technologies and ways of working to accelerate and strengthen OP's businesses.

We're looking for a Tech Acceleration Lead to lead the technical delivery of these projects in close collaboration with OP's business units. 

A few words about the job

As a Tech Acceleration Lead at OP Lab, you'll own the technical direction for projects that build future capabilities and open new paths for the business. You'll shape architecture, make key technology decisions, and lead a team of engineers from early experimentation through to production, all while staying close to the code yourself.

This role sits at the intersection of innovation and execution. You'll translate business needs into technical vision, drive the quality bar across the team, and ensure that what we build today can scale tomorrow. You'll also play a central role in growing engineering talent and cultivating a culture of curiosity, craftsmanship, and pragmatic innovation. 

What we expect from you?

You're a seasoned engineering leader who combines strong technical judgment with the ability to influence teams and stakeholders. You know how to guide product and service development end-to-end, take ownership of complex delivery efforts, and make sound trade-offs between speed, quality, and long-term sustainability. You champion experimentation and entrepreneurial thinking, encouraging the team to explore new ideas and technologies rather than defaulting to the familiar. You stay close to the latest technology trends and bring a genuine passion for innovation.

Your experience in a nutshell

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, including 3+ years in a lead, architect or CTO role.
• Proven track record of scaling both software products and teams from experimentation to production, with a clear emphasis on engineering leadership.
• Strong architecture and system design skills, you're comfortable owning technical decisions and their consequences.
• Hands-on experience with distributed systems and cloud-native infrastructure.
• Practical experience integrating cutting edge AI features by orchestrating agentic workflows for complex business processes. Hands-on expertise in advanced RAG architectures, graph & vector databases, multi-model routing and LLMOps.
• Experience in a regulated industry (banking, insurance, or similar), with proven track record of building robust, secure and compliant solutions.
• Strong stakeholder management and the ability to communicate technical direction to both engineers and business leaders.
• Proficiency across multiple languages, AI frameworks, and cloud services, for example, Elixir, JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, LangChain, PyTorch, Azure, AWS, Kubernetes, Terraform, SQL, and vector databases.
• Fluency in English 

Why OP Pohjola?

Real impact. In this role, you'll directly shape OP Pohjola's future solutions and business direction. OP Lab's work is varied by nature, and you'll have genuine influence over what you work on and where your career goes.

Strong peers, no silos. You'll work alongside pioneering experts who challenge and support each other. We value every individual's growth, your colleagues and leadership are invested in your success, and you won't be navigating it alone.

Room to grow. We follow a 70-20-10 principle: 70% of your time goes to core work, 20% to refining how you work, and 10% is yours to freely explore new skills and ideas. You can also deepen your expertise through OP Software Academy. Whether you want to go deeper into technology or broaden into new domains, we'll back you.

Flexibility as standard. We work with sliding hours and remote work as the default, coming together onsite two days a week in Helsinki or Oulu.

As a counterbalance to responsible work, we take care of your well-being and future-oriented work arrangements. We offer you a stable environment where responsibility, human touch, and mutual success are key values.

You get access to our versatile employee benefits, which include staff-based banking, insurance, and loan services. We also offer comprehensive occupational health care, extensive medical expense insurance, and full-time accident insurance. We invest in everyday balance and flexibility as well as offering you lunch, exercise, and cultural benefits and the opportunity for inexpensive vacations in OP Pohjola vacation shares.

Further information and application instructions

Great, we would love to hear from you. Please submit your resume and a cover letter highlighting your relevant experience and achievements. The application period is open until 15.4.2026. Any questions on your mind? Head of OP Lab Anssi Okkonen (tel. +358 40 776 9979). 

We operate in the financial sector and our business is founded on trust and accountability. For this reason, we will check the successful candidate's credit history, corporate connections and potential conflicts of interest. In addition, the successful candidate must take a drug test.

OP Pohjola – We have something in common

Diversity and equality are highly prized at OP Pohjola. We want everyone to feel welcome and valued, and we appreciate that diversity enriches us and brings new perspectives. We invite job applications from everyone, because we all have something in common. We’re thrilled that you want to join us on our shared journey.

Owned by our customers, we are the most attractive financial sector employer in Finland. OP Pohjola employs more than 14,000 professionals. We have a mission – to promote the sustainable prosperity, security and wellbeing of our owner-customers and operating region. What we do matters, both to our employees and society in general. As the largest provider of financial services in Finland, we are building a better tomorrow; this has been our goal for more than 120 years.

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