Executive Manager - AI Science, Mortgages

Westpac Bank; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 290,000; Full time

Job summary

Westpac Bank is seeking an Executive Manager AI Science, Mortgages to lead the mortgaged AI strategy and roadmap. You will translate customer, lending and operational priorities into measurable outcomes, guiding models from concept to production in a regulated banking environment.

You will build and coach a high-performing team, shape governance and risk controls, and partner with product leaders to deliver customer-centric AI solutions with impact across lending processes.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in data science and applied AI, including senior leadership, in banking or similar regulated domains.
• Deep capability in predictive modelling, experimentation, optimisation and model validation.
• Proven track record taking analytics/AI solutions into controlled production with MLOps/LLMOps lifecycles.
• Practical understanding of LLMs, document intelligence and agent workflows with prudent usage.
• People leadership: building/scaling teams, hiring, coaching senior practitioners, setting direction.
• Executive influence and clear communication to cross-functional partners.
• Strong risk mindset with fair, explainable customer outcomes.
• Exposure to mortgages, credit or lending decision science workflows.
• Experience contributing reusable models or agent patterns across wider practice.
• Ability to shape AI portfolios and deliver impactful lessons across teams.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain the Mortgages AI strategy and roadmap with product leaders.
• Frame and prioritise use cases with clear customer problems, benefits and data needs.
• Provide technical direction across predictive AI, optimisation, document intelligence and agentive systems.
• Ensure quality from problem definition to validation, implementation and monitoring.
• Embed privacy, security, model risk, Responsible AI, explainability and governance from the start.
• Align portfolio priorities with enterprise AI capabilities and defined interfaces.
• Monitor delivery, model performance and realised value, escalating risks when needed.
• Build reusable patterns and grow the AI Science practice through coaching and knowledge sharing.

Skills

Data science leadership

Applied AI in finance

Predictive modelling

MLOps/LLMOps

Executive communication

Responsible AI & risk

Team building & coaching

Mortgages domain knowledge

Document intelligence

Agent workflows

Production AI experience

Job description

• Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane Location / Hybrid Working Model
• Build trusted AI that improves how customers experience lending

The Opportunity

Westpac is building the next chapter of AI capabilities across Consumer Mortgages, and this newly created role leads it.

As Executive Manager AI Science, Mortgages, reporting to the Head of AI, you will own the Mortgages AI strategy, target state and roadmap, and translate customer, lending and operational priorities into measurable outcomes aligned with divisional and enterprise AI direction.

This is a hands-on leadership role. Your credibility will come from deep, recent data and AI science practice in complex, highly regulated financial services. You will review modelling choices, sharpen experiments, guide agent and solution design, and help teams move from a well-framed problem to safe, reliable production adoption.

You will also build capability for the future: recruiting and growing a high-performing team, coaching technical leaders and creating an environment where different perspectives improve decisions and customer outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and maintain the Mortgages AI strategy and roadmap with product leaders, aligned to divisional and enterprise AI strategies, priorities and approved capability direction.
• Partner with product leaders to frame and prioritise use cases with clear customer problems, users, benefits, success measures, data needs, delivery ownership and risk classification.
• Provide technical direction across predictive AI, optimisation, document intelligence, generative AI and agentic systems.
• Be accountable for solution quality from problem definition and experimentation through validation, implementation, monitoring and retirement.
• Ensure every use case meets Group AI risk policies and guidelines, embedding privacy, security, model risk, Responsible AI, explainability, fairness, human oversight and operational resilience from the outset.
• Connect portfolio priorities with enterprise AI, data, technology and operating capabilities, agreeing interfaces, acceptance criteria, implementation plans and accountable owners.
• Monitor delivery, adoption, model performance, control effectiveness and realised value, intervening or escalating where outcomes, controls or timelines are at risk.
• Build reusable patterns and grow the broader AI Science practice through shared standards, technical review, coaching and knowledge sharing.

Key Ingredients for Success …

• 10+ years in data science and applied AI, including senior leadership, with recent hands-on practice in banking, lending, insurance or another complex, highly regulated financial services domain.
• Deep capability in predictive modelling, experimentation, optimisation and model validation.
• A track record of taking advanced analytics or AI solutions into controlled production use, with sound knowledge of MLOps or LLMOps and end-to-end lifecycle management.
• Practical understanding of LLMs, document intelligence and agent workflows, paired with disciplined judgement on where they should and should not be used.
• People leadership experience including building or scaling technical teams, hiring capability, coaching senior practitioners and setting clear technical direction.
• Executive influence and communication skills: you can make complex technical, customer and risk trade-offs understandable and actionable while staying credible with data scientists, engineers, product, operations and risk partners.
• A sound risk mindset and a demonstrated commitment to fair, explainable and well-controlled customer outcomes.
• Exposure to mortgages, credit or lending decision science, including document-heavy or servicing workflows.
• Experience contributing reusable models, agent patterns or evaluation approaches across a wider practice or community.

You will shape an important AI portfolio, build capability from the ground up and contribute reusable models, agent patterns, evaluations and delivery lessons across the broader AI Science community.

Importantly, your work will help deliver customer and lending outcomes that are useful, fair, explainable and built to last.

Does this sound like you?

We’re all about creating a supportive and inclusive community. We welcome everyone – no matter your age, gender, background, or abilities. We also provide added support to welcome our veterans, Indigenous Australians, and neurodiverse community.

If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, you can find out more information and additional contact details by visiting the "People with Disability and/or needing Accessibility Requirements" page on our website.