Senior Director - Applied Data & AI

1611 Ally Bank; Charlotte (NC); On-site; USD 170,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Bonus eligibility

Equity

Travel allowances

Job summary

Ally Financial seeks a visionary Senior Director of Applied Data & AI to lead a multidisciplinary team delivering data, analytics, AI, and automation solutions at scale. You will partner with business and technology leaders to translate opportunities into production-ready capabilities and measurable outcomes.

You will shape the enterprise data & AI strategy, mentor senior engineers, and drive cloud-native, API-first practices while balancing risk and regulatory considerations.

Qualifications

• Experience leading large-scale data, AI, and software teams in enterprise environments.
• Proven track record delivering technology solutions with measurable business value.
• Ability to align business strategy with data assets and AI capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead Ally's Applied Data & AI engineering organization across data, analytics, and automation.
• Partner with business and tech leaders to identify high-value opportunities and scale them.
• Shape technology roadmaps and investment priorities for enterprise AI.
• Develop and mentor tech leaders while fostering an inclusive, high-performance culture.
• Drive risk-aware, cloud-native, API-first engineering practices.

Skills

Data leadership

AI leadership

Strategic thinking

Executive communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Technical vision

People leadership

Education

Advanced degree

12+ years experience

Tools

Cloud platforms

APIs

Data engineering

Job description

Ally and Your Career Ally Financial only succeeds when its people do - and that’s more than some cliché people put on job postings. We love this stuff! We see our people as, well, people - with interests, families, friends, dreams, and causes that are all important to them. Our focus is on the health and safety of our teammates as well as work-life balance and diversity and inclusion. From generous benefits to a variety of employee resource groups, we strive to build paths that encourage employees to stretch themselves professionally. We want to help you grow, develop, and learn new things. You’re constantly evolving, so shouldn’t your opportunities be, too?

Work Schedule

Ally designates roles as (1) fully on-site, (2) hybrid, or (3) fully remote. Hybrid roles are generally expected to be in the office a certain number of days per week as indicated by your manager. Your hiring manager will discuss this role's specific work requirements with you during the hiring process. All work requirements are subject to change at any time based on leader discretion and/or business need.

Opportunity

At Ally, we believe Data & AI will define the next generation of customer experiences, operational excellence, and business innovation. We're seeking a visionary Senior Director of Applied Data & AI to lead a multidisciplinary organization focused on transforming Ally's data, analytics, AI, and automation capabilities into measurable business outcomes. This leader will operate at the intersection of technology, business, and innovation, partnering closely with business executives, technology leaders, and the Data & AI Platforms organization to deliver scalable solutions that solve critical business challenges and accelerate value creation across the enterprise. The Applied Data & AI organization serves as the bridge between Ally's Data & AI platform capabilities and business outcomes, applying modern data, AI, analytics, and software engineering practices to create innovative products, intelligent solutions, and operational efficiencies at scale. This role is ideal for a leader who thrives on building high-performing teams, influencing enterprise strategy, and leveraging technology to transform how organizations operate and compete.

Work Itself

Lead Ally's Applied Data & AI engineering organization, responsible for delivering business-facing data, analytics, AI, and intelligent automation solutions across the enterprise. Partner with business and technology leaders to identify high-value opportunities and translate them into scalable, production-ready capabilities that drive measurable outcomes. Work closely with the Senior Director of Data & AI Platforms to leverage, extend, and influence the evolution of Ally's core data and AI platforms, ensuring investments align with current and emerging business needs. Lead the delivery of AI-powered products and intelligent solutions that enhance customer experiences, improve operational efficiency, reduce risk, and accelerate growth. Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to senior leaders, helping shape technology roadmaps, investment priorities, and enterprise Data & AI adoption strategies. Influence enterprise technology strategy and help define the future direction of Ally's Data & AI capabilities. Champion modern engineering practices, including cloud-native architectures, platform engineering, API-first development, AI-enabled software engineering, automation, and DevSecOps. Foster deep partnerships across product, engineering, data science, analytics, risk, operations, and business teams to deliver solutions that create meaningful business impact. Build, inspire, and develop a world-class organization of engineers, architects, and technical leaders while fostering an inclusive, high-performance culture.

Qualifications

We’re looking for a technology executive with a proven track record of leading large-scale engineering organizations and delivering innovative solutions that create measurable business value.

• Significant technical experience leading data, AI, and software engineering organizations in complex enterprise environments.
• Demonstrated success partnering with business leaders to deliver technology solutions that drive revenue growth, operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, or risk reduction.
• Deep expertise across modern Data & AI ecosystems, including cloud platforms, data engineering, analytics, APIs, machine learning, generative AI, intelligent applications, and automation technologies.
• Demonstrated ability to connect business strategy, data assets, AI capabilities, and engineering execution into cohesive solutions that deliver measurable outcomes.
• Exceptional collaboration, communication, and influence skills, with the ability to align diverse stakeholders around a shared vision, strategy, and roadmap.
• Strategic and future-oriented mindset with the ability to challenge the status quo, anticipate emerging opportunities, and work backward from long-term business goals to deliver transformational solutions.
• A people-first leadership approach that balances ambition, accountability, curiosity, and humility while building high-performing teams.
• Proven success developing technical leaders and creating inclusive, high-performing organizations that attract and retain top talent.
• Experience leading organizational transformation and driving enterprise adoption of emerging technologies, including AI and automation.
• Experience operating in highly regulated, complex environments where technology innovation must be balanced with risk management, security, and governance.
• Advanced degree preferred.

Minimum Qualifications

• 12+ years of relevant experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• High school Diploma or GED equivalent.

How We’ll Have Your Back

Ally's compensation program offers market-competitive base pay and pay-for-performance incentives (bonuses) based on achieving personal and company goals. Our Total Rewards program includes industry-leading compensation and benefits plus additional incentives that are designed to meet your needs and those of your family so you can get the most out of your career and your life, including:

• Time Away: Program starts at 20 paid time off days in addition to 11 paid holidays and 8 hours of volunteer time off yearly (time off days are prorated based on start date and program varies based on full or part-time status and management level).
• Planning for the Future: plan for the near and long term with an industry-leading 401K retirement savings plan with matching and company contributions, student loan pay downs and 529 educational save up assistance programs, tuition reimbursement, employee stock purchase plan, and financial learning center and financial coach access.
• Supporting your Health & Well-being: flexible health and insurance options including medical, dental and vision, employee, spouse and child life insurance, short- and long-term disability, pre-tax Health Savings Account with employer contributions, Healthcare FSA, critical illness, accident & hospital indemnity insurance, and a total well-being program that helps you and your family stay on track physically, socially, emotionally, and financially.
• Building a Family: adoption, surrogacy and fertility assistance as well as paid parental and caregiver leave, Dependent Day Care FSA back-up child and adult/elder care days and childcare discounts.
• Work-Life Integration: other benefits including Mentally Fit Employee Assistance Program, subsidized and discounted Weight Watchers program and other employee discount programs.
• Other Compensations: depending on the role for which you are considered, you may be eligible for travel allowances, relocation assistance, a signing bonus and/or equity.
• To view more detailed information about Ally’s Total Rewards, please visit this link: https://www.ally.com/content/dam/pdf/corporate/ally-total-rewards-snapshot.pdf

Who We Are

Ally Financial is a customer-centric, leading digital financial services company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions. We are relentlessly focused on "Doing it Right" and being a trusted financial-services provider to our consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. For more information, visit www.ally.com.

Ally is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy status, marital status, military or veteran status, genetic disposition or any other reason protected by law.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if after review of the position expectations, you believe that you may need a medical accommodation to fulfill the duties of this role, please email [e-mail] with details of your accommodation request.

Base Pay Range $170,000.00 - $300,000.00

An individual's position in the range is determined by the specific role, the scope and responsibilities of the role, work experience, education, certification(s), training, and additional qualifications. We review internal pay, the competitive market, and business environment prior to extending an offer.

Incentive Compensation: This position is eligible to participate in our annual incentive plan.

We all work better as allies. Join a team that thrives on doing it right — whether we're helping people live their best financial lives or helping each other grow in our careers.

We’re a leading financial services company serving over 11M customers through banking, auto financing, insurance and investment services.

Our team's approach of celebrating differences and lifting each other up is consistently recognized on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For list.

Here, you’ll find people who care about doing work that matters and making an impact in the communities we serve.

Good enough is never enough for us — we're always looking for ways to be better, together.

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