Program/Project Management Senior

USAA Life Insurance Company; San Antonio (TX); Hybrid; USD 103,000 - 198,000; Full time

Job summary

USAA Life Insurance Company is seeking a Program/Project Management Senior to drive planning, execution, and delivery of moderately complex non-IT work efforts aligned with business goals. You will partner with data science and AI/ML teams to ensure scalable deployment and governance.

The role emphasizes end-to-end AI/ML lifecycle management, cross-functional coordination, and adherence to risk management policies, with potential remote/hybrid flexibility consistent with policy and business

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree; OR 4 years of relevant education and/or experience.
• 6 years of relevant experience in project or program management, including planning, tracking and delivery.
• Comprehensive knowledge and demonstrated application of project management tools and methodologies.
• Collaboration skills in a matrixed environment including providing consultative guidance to help solve enterprise level issues.
• Understanding of scope definition, process and solution mapping; process structures and components; and standard project planning methodologies.
• Experience supporting projects with complex deliverables including information technology and dependencies across organizations.
• In-depth understanding of risk management policies and procedures.

Responsibilities

• Drives implementation of low to moderately complex work efforts, including AI/ML-driven initiatives; works with Data Scientists and AI/ML Engineers to bridge model development and production deployment.
• Plans, directs, and coordinates activities for complex work efforts with end-to-end AI/ML lifecycle focus.
• Facilitates collaboration on alternatives to work challenges with subject matter experts; leverages AI patterns and architectural constraints for operationalizing models.
• Removes obstacles to meet business objectives; addresses data pipeline integration, feature store management, model monitoring, and transition from prototyping to production.
• Assists in defining control and delivery of work efforts; ensures teams have infrastructure, compute resources, and governance frameworks.
• Identifies and applies best practices; drives adoption of MLOps standards and CI/CD for ML; challenges processes to improve velocity and quality.
• Coordinates between Data Scientists and AI/ML Engineers; manages dependencies and handoffs for performance, scalability, and security in production.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Risk management

Stakeholder communication

Education

Bachelor's degree or 4 years of relevant education

Tools

PM tools & methodologies

Job description

Why USAA?

At USAA, our mission is to empower our members to achieve financial security through highly competitive products, exceptional service and trusted advice. We seek to be the #1 choice for the military community and their families.

Embrace a fulfilling career at USAA, where our core values - honesty, integrity, loyalty and service - define how we treat each other and our members. Be part of what truly makes us special and impact.

We are proud to support active-duty military spouses. USAA roles may offer remote or hybrid flexibility for active-duty military spouses consistent with applicable policy and business needs.

The Opportunity

As a dedicated Program/Project Management Senior, you will facilitate and drive the planning, execution, and delivery of moderately complex non-IT work efforts intended to accomplish business goals and objectives within prescribed timeframes and budgets. You will demonstrate an advanced understanding of how activities contribute to the achievement of strategic business goals and operational objectives. You will collaborate with key stakeholders, vendors and project/program teams to identify mutually beneficial outcomes for competing priorities and negotiate timelines to ensure objectives are met.

What you will do:

• Drives implementation of low to moderately complex work efforts, including AI/ML-driven initiatives; works closely with cross-functional teams, including Data Scientists and AI/ML Engineers, to bridge the gap between experimental model development and robust production deployment.
• Plans, directs, and coordinates activities for complex work efforts-with a focus on the end-to-end AI/ML lifecycle-ensuring project plans account for both model development milestones and the engineering requirements for scalable deployment.
• Facilitates collaboration on creative alternatives to work efforts challenges with subject matter experts, leveraging familiarity with common AI application patterns (e.g., RAG, predictive modeling, LLM orchestration) and the architectural constraints involved in operationalizing AI models.
• Removes obstacles and impediments to ensure business and operational objectives are met, specifically addressing technical hurdles such as data pipeline integration, feature store management, model monitoring, and the transition from model prototyping to engineering production.
• Assists in defining the control and the overall delivery of work efforts, ensuring that Data Science and AI/ML Engineering teams have the necessary infrastructure, compute resources, and governance frameworks to meet project goals and success criteria.
• Identifies and applies best practices and needed process improvements; drives adoption of MLOps standards and CI/CD pipelines for machine learning, challenging existing processes to improve the velocity and quality of model delivery.
• Ensures effective coordination between Data Scientists and AI/ML Engineers, managing the technical dependencies and handoffs required to maintain model performance, scalability, and security in production environments.

What you have:

• Bachelor's degree; OR 4 years of relevant education and/or experience.
• 6 years of relevant experience in project or program management, including planning, tracking and delivery.
• Comprehensive knowledge and demonstrated application of project management tools and methodologies.
• Collaboration skills in a matrixed environment including providing consultative guidance to help solve enterprise level issues.
• Possess an understanding of scope definition, process and solution mapping; process structures and components; and standard project planning methodologies.
• Experience supporting projects with complex deliverables including information technology and dependencies across organizations.
• In-depth understanding of risk management policies and procedures.

Compensation range: The salary range for this position is: $103,450 - $197,730

USAA does not provide visa sponsorship for this role. Please do not apply for this role if at any time (now or in the future) you will need immigration support (i.e., H-1B, TN, STEM OPT Training Plans, etc.).

Compensation: USAA has an effective process for assessing market data and establishing ranges to ensure we remain competitive. You are paid within the salary range based on your experience and market data of the position. The actual salary for this role may vary by location.

Employees may be eligible for pay incentives based on overall corporate and individual performance and at the discretion of the USAA Board of Directors.

The above description reflects the details considered necessary to describe the principal functions of the job and should not be construed as a detailed description of all the work requirements that may be performed in the job.

Benefits: At USAA our employees enjoy best-in-class benefits to support their physical, financial, and emotional wellness. These benefits include comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans, 4