Banking

Synovus Is Building Its Own AI Agents in the Middle of a $117 Billion Merger

01

Synovus is hiring an AI Engineer to modernize its operations amid a merger with Pinnacle Financial Partners, which closed on January 2, 2026, creating a bank with approximately $117.2 billion in assets.

02

The job posting for the AI Engineer role emphasizes building production-grade agentic systems, but the formal job description aligns more with IT operations, indicating a potential gap in expectations.

03

The median base salary for an agentic AI engineer in U.S. banking is around $177,000, which is higher than that for general AI engineers and data scientists.

04

The market for agent orchestration in banking is rapidly growing, with mentions in job postings increasing significantly from the previous year, indicating a trend towards in-house development of AI agents.

05

The Federal Reserve and other regulatory bodies have introduced new guidance that excludes generative and agentic AI from existing model risk frameworks, presenting unique challenges for banks like Pinnacle that are building their own AI systems.