Executive Director, Data, AI Strategy & Governance

Nelnet; Oklahoma; On-site; USD 180,000 - 290,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

HSA/FSA

401K

Student loan repayment

Life insurance

AD&D insurance

Employee assistance program

Employee stock purchase

Tuition reimbursement

Incentive pay

Disability insurance

Wellness program

Job summary

Nelnet Business Services seeks a Managing Director, Data & AI to own the segment's data strategy and align governance, engineering, and AI execution across the organization. You will lead senior leaders, partner with C-suite stakeholders, and drive end-to-end data & AI outcomes for Nelnet's education and payment platforms.

The role emphasizes strategic direction, governance, and a modern data operating model to enable trusted data-driven decisions and intelligent automation across the enterprise.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in related fields.
• 10+ years leading data organizations at enterprise scale, including leading leaders.
• Proven executive-level influence with C-suite and business stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Owns the segment-wide data strategy, target-state vision, operating model and multi-year roadmap.
• Unify data engineering, governance, and AI/automation into a single operating model; balance funding and capacity tradeoffs.
• Oversee data platform ecosystem; governance, cost, and roadmap prioritization.
• Position governance as a business enabler with policy, lineage, quality, and access practices.
• Set strategy for applying AI and automation to business processes; oversee adoption and Citizen Developer program.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Executive influence

Stakeholder management

Prioritization

Critical thinking

Team management

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

Nelnet Business Services seeks a Managing Director, Data & AI to own the segment's data strategy and align governance, engineering, and AI execution across the organization. You will lead senior leaders, partner with C-suite stakeholders, and drive end-to-end data & AI outcomes for Nelnet's education and payment platforms.

The role emphasizes strategic direction, governance, and a modern data operating model to enable trusted data-driven decisions and intelligent automation across the enterprise.