Head of AI ML Platform Engineering

Guardian Life; United States; Remote; USD 174,000 - 288,000; Full time

Job summary

Guardian Life is seeking a Head of AI Engineering and Operations to lead the integration of AI solutions into various enterprise functions. The role demands strategic leadership, innovative thinking, and proven experience in managing AI systems and teams, focusing on driving operational excellence and compliance within the insurance industry.

Qualifications

• 15+ years in AI/ML engineering with 5+ years in leadership.
• Proven success in scaling enterprise AI platforms.
• Fluency in Python and containerization tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and management of enterprise-scale AI solutions.
• Oversee cloud-native AI/ML platforms and MLOps pipelines.
• Collaborate with C-suite to align AI initiatives with business goals.

Skills

Leadership

AI/ML Engineering

Cloud-native platforms

Python

Communication

Education

Advanced degree in Computer Science or Data Science

Tools

AWS SageMaker

Kubeflow

TensorFlow

Kubernetes

Docker

Job description

Company Overview

Every day, Guardian gives 27 million people the security they deserve through our insurance and wealth management products and services. Since our founding in 1860, our long-term view has helped our customers prepare for whatever life brings whether starting a family, planning for the future, or taking care of employees.Today we’re a Fortune 250 company and a leading provider of life, disability and other benefits for individuals, at the workplace and through government sponsored programs.

Do you have the desire to be part of this collaborative & innovative technology group? Is a culture where “People Count” and “We do the Right Thing” and “We Hold Ourselves to Very High Standards” important to you?

The Role

The Head of AI Engineering and Operations will lead the development, deployment, and ongoing management of enterprise-scale AI solutions, including generative AI models, AI agent frameworks, and robust AI platforms. This role combines technical mastery with strategic leadership to embed AI into underwriting, claims processing, customer engagement, and risk management, while fostering a culture of innovation, operational excellence, and ethical AI practices.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic AI & Platform Leadership

• Define and execute the enterprise AI roadmap, prioritizing generative AI (LLMs, RAG pipelines), AI agent ecosystems, and AI-augmented decision-making.
• Architect, build, and evolve scalable, secure, and efficient AI/ML platform engineering to support a broad range of AI workloads, including generative AI, traditional ML, and autonomous agents
• Oversee the automation, deployment, scaling, and management of AI platform services, ensuring high availability, performance, and resilience
• Lead cross-functional teams of AI platform engineers, ML engineers, and decision engineers to deliver robust, production-ready AI solutions
• Collaborate with C-suite and business leaders to align AI and platform initiatives with business goals, such as reducing claims processing time or improving risk prediction accuracy.

AI Engineering & Operations

• Oversee the build and maintenance of cloud-native AI/ML platforms (AWS) with MLOps pipelines (Kubeflow, MLflow) and monitoring tools
• Implement and maintain CI/CD pipelines for AI model deployment, versioning, and rollback
• Ensure security, compliance, and responsible AI practices throughout the AI platform lifecycle, including bias detection, explainability, and adherence to insurance regulations (e.g., NYDFS, HIPAA)
• Monitor and troubleshoot platform issues to ensure seamless, uninterrupted AI operations

Innovation & Future-Readiness

• Pilot and scale emerging technologies:
• Generative AI workflows (automated document generation, synthetic data creation).
• AI agents for real-time customer interactions and claims triage.
• Collaborative "vibe coding" environments for rapid AI prototyping and innovation.
• Multimodal AI (voice + text) for empathetic customer interactions.
• Evaluate and integrate new AI technologies and tools, driving continuous improvement and operational excellence

People Leadership & Culture

• Build, lead, and mentor high-performing, diverse teams of AI engineers and platform specialists, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous learning
• Evangelize AI adoption and platform best practices across actuarial, customer service, and compliance teams.
• Manage vendor partnerships and internal talent development for AI platforms and technologies.

Qualifications

• Experience: 15+ years in AI/ML engineering, including 5+ years in leadership roles at financial services or insurance firms.
• AI Platform Expertise:
• Proven success in architecting, deploying, and scaling enterprise AI/ML platforms in regulated industries
• Deep knowledge of cloud-native AI/ML platforms (AWS SageMaker, GCP Vertex AI, Azure ML), MLOps frameworks, and AI infrastructure automation
• Experience with generative AI (LangChain, Hugging Face), AI agent frameworks (AutoGen, CrewAI), and vector databases.
• Technical Skills: Fluency in Python, PyTorch/TensorFlow, and containerization/orchestration tools (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Leadership: Track record of building and leading large, cross-functional teams of platform engineers, ML engineers, and data scientists
• Education: Advanced degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or related field.
• Other: Strong communication, business acumen, and ability to translate complex technical concepts for executive audiences.

Salary Range:

$174,760.00 - $287,102.50

The salary range reflected above is a good faith estimate of base pay for the primary location of the position. The salary for this position ultimately will be determined based on the education, experience, knowledge, and abilities of the successful candidate. In addition to salary, this role may also be eligible for annual, sales, or other incentive compensation.

Our Promise

At Guardian, you’ll have the support and flexibility to achieve your professional and personal goals. Through skill-building, leadership development and philanthropic opportunities, we provide opportunities to build communities and grow your career, surrounded by diverse colleagues with high ethical standards.

Inspire Well-Being

As part of Guardian’s Purpose – to inspire well-being – we are committed to offering contemporary, supportive, flexible, and inclusive benefits and resources to our colleagues. Explore our company benefits at www.guardianlife.com/careers/corporate/benefits . Benefits apply to full-time eligible employees. Interns are not eligible for most Company benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Guardian is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.

Accommodations

Guardian is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities.Guardian also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified job applicants (and employees) to accommodate the individual's known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would create an undue hardship. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact [e-mail] .

Current Guardian Colleagues: Please apply through the internal Jobs Hub in Workday.