Director, AI Acceleration, Business Strategy (PL)

Charles Schwab; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 250,000 - 380,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) with company match

Paid time for vacation, volunteering,

sabbatical after every 5 years of non-

Paid parental leave and family

Tuition reimbursement

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Job summary

Charles Schwab seeks a Director to lead the AI Acceleration function, translating AI strategy into measurable business outcomes. You will oversee end-to-end AI execution, from concept acceleration to enterprise-scale enablement, reporting to the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer.

This role requires broad financial-services experience, credible AI fluency, and the ability to drive work across multiple business and technology teams.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in financial services.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide AI initiatives spanning multiple businesses.
• Leading large-scale transformation programs, including AI Acceleration.
• Credible AI fluency with knowledge of tools, vendors and trends.
• Experience operating at the intersection of business and technology leadership.
• Excellent executive communication skills.
• Experience negotiating complex agreements with AI/tech providers.
• Ability to own the collective AI roadmap across portfolios.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead a high-performing AI Acceleration team across multiple functions.
• Own the firmwide AI roadmap for high-priority products/use cases.
• Partner with executive leadership to shape AI strategies and required infrastructure.
• Build and scale functions to deliver business impact from AI.
• Design and implement governance across AI initiatives including risk and compliance.
• Provide executive-level reporting on AI progress, risks and outcomes.
• Negotiate enterprise AI and data agreements with strategic partners.
• Coordinate AI platforms, tooling, and data capabilities across the org.

Skills

AI strategy

Executive leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Program leadership

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

Business-technology liaison

Roadmap planning

Communication skills

Enterprise architecture

Job description

Your opportunity

We believe in the importance of in-office collaboration and fully intend for the selected candidate for this role to work on site in the specified location(s).

At Schwab, you’re empowered to make an impact on your career. Here, innovative thought meets creative problem solving, helping us challenge the status quo and transform the finance industry together.

The Strategy & Innovation organization, led by the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, is responsible for corporate strategy, strategic planning and programs, innovation, and AI across the business. The organization partners with executive leadership and business units to shape Schwab’s direction and drive high-priority, cross-enterprise initiatives.

Within Strategy & Innovation, the AI Strategy, Acceleration and Program team (ASAP) helps shape, organize, and accelerate Schwab’s AI goals in close partnership with enterprises/businesses, technology, and data teams.

We are seeking a Director to lead the AI Acceleration function that is responsible for translating AI strategy into measurable business outcomes. The team includes leaders that run functions (e.g., AI firm‑wide product roadmap, cross‑enterprise platform partnerships with AI providers, AI risk governance) that allow Schwab to accelerate and scale the use of AI across the businesses. The Director will oversee the firm’s end‑to‑end AI execution model – from concept acceleration to enterprise‑scale enablement. The Director will report to the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer.

Experience knowing and leading very large, enterprise‑wide AI initiatives is required for this role.

We are looking for a leader who brings three things: broad and relevant financial‑services business experience, credible AI fluency, and the leadership and integrative ability to drive work across multiple businesses and technology teams.

Leadership in this role means owning the collective picture. The Director does not simply manage an individual AI workstream; they integrate multiple efforts, understand how they connect, independently build and drive the roadmap, and move comfortably between business and technology.

You Will

• Develop and lead a high-performing AI Acceleration team, fostering strong collaboration across functions including AI Strategy, AI Program, Technology, Data, Cybersecurity, Product, Risk, Legal, Finance and HR
• Own the collective picture of AI across the firm: independently build and drive the firmwide roadmap for the highest priority AI products / use cases across the company, integrating multiple AI efforts and driving alignment across them for efficient and coordinated delivery
• Partner with executive leadership across multiple financial‑services businesses to shape how they think about delivering their AI strategies, and ensure the technical teams understand what AI enablement / infrastructure is required to accelerate those strategies
• Build out the functions that will help Schwab accelerate and scale delivery of business impact from AI
• Ensure effective governance frameworks are designed and implemented across AI initiatives, including model risk, compliance, supervision and responsible AI
• Provide executive-level reporting on AI progress, risks, and outcomes
• Partner with external technology providers and lead negotiations for enterprise AI and data‑related agreements with strategic AI partners
• Ensure coordination and integration of AI platforms, tooling, and data capabilities across the organization

What you have

Required Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in financial services, with broad and relevant exposure across multiple financial‑services business teams
• Demonstrated experience knowing and leading very large, enterprise‑wide AI initiatives spanning multiple businesses and technology teams
• Significant experience leading large‑scale transformation programs, including AI Acceleration
• Credible AI fluency: strong knowledge of the AI landscape (tools, vendors, and emerging trends) and conversant in models, orchestration, context layers, Model Context Protocol (MCP), and the core capabilities required to deploy AI at scale. Candidates do not need to be engineers
• Experience operating at the intersection of business and technology leadership, moving comfortably between business and technology teams
• Experience negotiating and managing complex agreements with AI and technology providers
• Strong program leadership skills, with the ability to own the collective picture: integrate multiple AI efforts, understand how they connect, and independently build and drive the roadmap across large, interdependent portfolios of work (beyond managing a single AI workstream)
• Excellent executive communication skills, including ability to convey complex technical concepts in business terms
• Strong understanding of enterprise technology architectures, data platforms, and AI ecosystems
• Experience overseeing both product‑oriented teams and platform / enablement functions
• Ability to balance strategic vision with execution focus
• Strong stakeholder management and influence across executive leadership

What’s in it for you

At Schwab, you’re empowered to shape your future. We champion your growth through meaningful work, continuous learning, and a culture of trust and collaboration—so you can build the skills to make a lasting impact. Our Hybrid Work and Flexibility approach balances our ongoing commitment to workplace flexibility, serving our clients, and our strong belief in the value of being together in person on a regular basis.

We offer a competitive benefits package that takes care of the whole you – both today and in the future:

• 401(k) with company match and Employee stock purchase plan
• Paid time for vacation, volunteering, and 28-day sabbatical after every 5 years of service for eligible positions
• Paid parental leave and family building benefits
• Tuition reimbursement
• Health, dental, and vision insurance