Director, AI

At Banner Life Insurance Company, we lead with heart and ambition. Every day, we transform purpose into progress, guided by our unwavering commitment to be better for our customers, clients, and communities, not just today but long-term as well. Our people are the driving force behind everything we achieve. Their passion, purpose, and pursuit of innovation empower us to deliver cutting-edge solutions that support those we serve, ensuring we are here for you, here for good and striving for better.

We're a forward-thinking company energized by our work and how we show up for one another. Our culture is built on meaningful impact and genuine enjoyment, because we believe great work and great experiences should go hand in hand.

By offering career development opportunities, comprehensive benefits, and programs that support your wellbeing, we help you thrive personally and professionally. We are here for you, here for good and here for better.

The Director, Artificial Intelligence is a strategic and hands-on technology leader responsible for defining, developing, and scaling Artificial Intelligence capabilities across the enterprise. This role leads AI strategy and execution within the broader enterprise Data & AI organization led by IT, driving measurable business value through AI and generative AI solutions.

The Director of AI partners closely with IT Product, Operations, Underwriting, Actuarial, Claims, Distribution, Data Science and Risk teams to embed AI-driven capabilities into the enterprise digital platform and core business processes. The role has significant influence over AI investment strategy, including evaluation of build vs. buy decisions, vendor selection, and integration of best-in-class AI platforms.

The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise with strong business acumen, governance discipline, and a proven ability to lead enterprise AI initiatives in a regulated environment.

At Banner Life, we are embarking on an ambitious journey to grow our business. This growth will enable us to elevate our market position from #3 to #1. Over the past 5 years, we have successfully leveraged digital transformation to grow from approximately $100 million to over $200 million, and in the process, we have advanced from 8th place to 3rd place in the market. As a leader in financial services, we are committed to continuing this trajectory by embracing innovation, driving digital transformation, and continuously delivering value to our customers. The Director, AI will play a pivotal role in this transformation, delivering data-driven solutions that optimize business outcomes, improve customer experience, and position us as the market leader.

AI Strategy & Leadership

Define and execute the enterprise AI strategy aligned to business objectives and digital transformation priorities.
• Identify high-value AI use cases across underwriting, claims, customer experience, operations, and distribution.
• Establish a multi-year AI roadmap, including foundational capabilities, platform investments, and organizational maturity milestones.
• Advise executive leadership on AI opportunities, competitive landscape developments, regulatory implications, and investment priorities.

Enterprise AI Platform & Ecosystem Strategy

• Evaluate and integrate leading AI capabilities from Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google to ensure the organization leverages best-in-class innovation.
• Drive architectural decisions regarding multi-model and multi-vendor AI strategies while maintaining alignment with enterprise Azure standards.
• Assess emerging foundation models, generative AI platforms, copilots, and agent-based technologies for enterprise adoption.
• Establish standards for secure API integration, data protection, model interoperability, and performance benchmarking across AI providers.
• Ensure AI ecosystem decisions balance innovation, cost optimization, risk management, and long-term strategic flexibility.

Build vs. Buy Strategy & Vendor Management

• Lead evaluation and decision-making for build vs. buy AI solutions, balancing speed-to-market, total cost of ownership, scalability, security, and strategic differentiation.
• Assess third-party AI platforms, SaaS solutions, embedded AI within core systems, and hyperscaler AI offerings.
• Develop business cases and architectural recommendations for internally developed AI capabilities versus commercial products.
• Partner with Vendor Management, Architecture, Security, and Risk teams to evaluate vendors and support negotiation of AI-related technology investments.
• Establish governance and integration standards to ensure purchased AI solutions align with enterprise data architecture, compliance requirements, and Azure platform strategy.

AI Solution Development & Delivery

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of AI and generative AI solutions using Azure AI Services, Azure OpenAI, and other approved AI platforms.
• Oversee the full lifecycle of AI solutions including experimentation, validation, deployment, monitoring, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure AI solutions are production-ready, scalable, secure, and integrated into enterprise systems and digital platforms.
• Partner with IT Product teams to embed AI capabilities into customer-facing and internal applications.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with insurance regulatory requirements, data privacy laws, and internal risk policies.
• Ensure responsible AI usage across internally developed and externally sourced AI models.
• Partner with Risk, Legal, and Compliance, teams to formalize AI oversight, documentation, and audit processes.

Talent & Capability Development

• Establish best practices for experimentation, architecture design, vendor evaluation, and AI solution engineering.
• Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and measurable business impact within the AI function.
• Support enterprise capability development through upskilling initiatives and strategic partnerships with hyperscalers and AI providers.

Business Partnership & Value Realization

• Translate complex AI concepts into clear business outcomes and executive-level insights.
• Define and track KPIs to measure AI value realization (e.g., improved underwriting accuracy, reduced cycle time, automation rates, customer engagement lift).
• Drive enterprise adoption of AI capabilities through structured change management and stakeholder engagement.
• Ensure AI investments deliver tangible ROI and align with enterprise strategy.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or related field; Master's degree preferred.
• 15+ years of experience in technology, software development, and process improvements.
• 10+ years of leadership experience in enterprise technology environments.
• 5+ years working with Microsoft cloud technologies and within the Azure ecosystem.
• 3+ years working and implementing AI solutions.
• Experience leading teams through digital transformation and scaling AI capabilities.
• Demonstrated experience evaluating and integrating AI platforms from major hyperscalers and model providers (e.g., Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google).
• Experience with Lifepro/Btrieve desirable.
• Proven success delivering AI solutions in regulated industries.
• Experience creating machine learning model solutions to solve business problems and integrating these solutions into scaled business processes.

Skills

• Deep expertise in Microsoft Azure AI ecosystem and cloud-native architectures.
• Strong understanding of AI governance, fairness, explainability, third-party risk management, and regulatory considerations.

• Proficiency in Python and AI-related development frameworks.
• Experience working with large language models, machine learning models, and generative AI platforms.
• Large-scale data processing and enterprise integration concepts.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Fabric and modern data platforms.

Leadership & Communication

• Confident, collaborative leader who can influence both technical and executive audiences.
• Skilled at simplifying complex concepts for business partners and driving alignment.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Comfortable working in Agile environments and leading cross-functional teams.

What's in it for you?

The expected hiring compensation range for this position is $178,300 - $258,600 annually. This is a hybrid opportunity working in our Frederick, MD office.

The total compensation package for this position may include other elements, such as a sign-on bonus, long term incentives, and annual bonuses. This role is eligible to participate in the Annual Incentive Plan. The current target payment for the position is 20% of base salary, modified for corporate and individual performance. Bonuses are pro-rated based on start date. This role has 20 vacation days and 10 sick days that are accrued on a bi-weekly basis. Employees also have 9 paid holidays throughout the calendar year.

We have a competitive compensation and benefits package focused on your overall wellbeing. Employee benefits include health, life, and dental insurance; 401K with company match up to 6% as well as a pension package; generous time off; and wellbeing initiatives throughout the year (we like doing fun stuff). We're big on professional development and we'll support and mentor you in your career progression and expect you to help us pay it forward by helping us develop tomorrow's leaders and growth-focused professionals. We value our teams and our communities and believe in giving back. Enjoy time off to volunteer for those causes that matter most to you!

If hired, employee will be in an "at-will position" and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors. The Company reserves the right to change benefits plans at any time.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform essential job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.