AI Solutions Director: GenAI, ML & Strategy

Manulife/John Hancock; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 127,000 - 236,000; Full time

Job summary

Manulife/John Hancock in Boston is seeking a Director, Artificial Intelligence to lead a team of AI Engineers and Data Scientists, shaping strategy and delivering production‑grade AI solutions for the Long Term Care business.

You will own complex AI initiatives from problem framing to deployment, partner with risk, compliance, and business leaders, and drive adoption of GenAI, LLMs, and modern MLOps in a regulated enterprise.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in AI, data science, machine learning, analytics, software engineering, or related technical fields.
• 3+ years of experience leading or managing technical teams, including Data Scientists, AI Engineers, or similar roles.
• Strong hands‑on background as an individual contributor in AI, data science, machine learning, or AI engineering.
• Proven experience delivering AI or ML solutions from concept to production, including business problem framing, model development, deployment, monitoring, and value measurement.
• Strong experience with traditional data science and predictive analytics, including supervised learning, model validation, performance measurement, and business interpretation of model outputs.
• Strong knowledge of GenAI and LLM‑based solution patterns, including prompt engineering, RAG, embeddings, vector databases, guardrails, model evaluation, and responsible AI practices.
• Advanced programming experience in Python and SQL.
• Experience with cloud platforms, preferably Azure, and modern AI/ML platforms such as Azure ML, Azure OpenAI, Databricks, MLflow, or similar tools.
• Strong understanding of MLOps, DevOps, CI/CD, testing, model monitoring, model governance, and production support.
• Ability to work with engineering teams on scalable AI architecture, APIs, data pipelines, cloud‑native services, and production deployment.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain complex AI concepts in simple business language for senior stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders and drive adoption of AI solutions across business and technology teams.
• Advanced degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, or a related quantitative field preferred; equivalent experience will also be considered.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of AI, ML, and GenAI solutions that support the Long Term Care business strategy in John Hancock and Manulife.
• Manage and develop a team of AI Engineers, Data Scientists, and technical professionals, providing coaching, technical guidance, performance management, and career development.
• Own complex AI initiatives from business problem definition through solution design, model development, engineering, deployment, adoption, and value measurement.
• Partner with business leaders and stakeholders to identify high‑value AI opportunities, translate business needs into technical solutions, and ensure AI products deliver measurable outcomes.
• Provide technical leadership across traditional data science, predictive modeling, machine learning, GenAI, LLMs, and production AI engineering.
• Guide the team in building modular, scalable, reusable AI and GenAI pipelines, including model development, feature engineering, model registries, automated retraining, and production deployment practices.
• Oversee the deployment of production‑grade AI services using modern cloud, MLOps, DevOps, and software engineering practices, including containerization, CI/CD, monitoring, observability, and model governance.
• Ensure AI solutions are reliable, secure, scalable, cost‑effective, well‑documented, and aligned with enterprise architecture, security, risk, and compliance standards.
• Lead the evaluation and adoption of GenAI patterns and tools, including LLMs, RAG, vector search, prompt engineering, guardrails, Azure OpenAI, Databricks, and internal AI platforms.
• Drive strong engineering and model management practices, including testing, monitoring, model performance tracking, drift detection, challenger testing, and continuous improvement.
• Communicate AI strategy, delivery progress, risks, business value, and model impact to senior leaders and cross‑functional partners in a clear and practical way.
• Build strong partnerships across business, technology, data, security, risk, compliance, and operations teams to support adoption and long‑term success.
• Stay current with advances in AI, GenAI, data science, engineering, cloud platforms, and emerging technology, and bring practical innovation into the team’s roadmap.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, and development of strong AI, data science, and engineering talent.

Skills

AI Leadership

Team Management

GenAI & LLMs

Python & SQL

Azure Cloud

Education

Advanced degree

Tools

Azure ML

Databricks

MLflow

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Manulife/John Hancock in Boston is seeking a Director, Artificial Intelligence to lead a team of AI Engineers and Data Scientists, shaping strategy and delivering production‑grade AI solutions for the Long Term Care business.

You will own complex AI initiatives from problem framing to deployment, partner with risk, compliance, and business leaders, and drive adoption of GenAI, LLMs, and modern MLOps in a regulated enterprise.