Senior Product Underwriting Counsel (Remote)

First American; Santa Ana (CA); On-site; USD 129,000 - 172,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

401k

PTO / paid leave

Employee stock purchase plan

Job summary

First American in Santa Ana, CA is seeking a Product Underwriting Counsel to lead AI-enabled underwriting strategy and manage title insurance risk. You will collaborate with product, engineering, and data science teams to deploy innovative workflows and ensure regulatory compliance.

The role requires a JD, bar admission, and 3–10 years of related experience, with strong communication, real estate law knowledge, and adaptability to emerging technologies.

Qualifications

• Law Degree required.
• Admitted to law practice in manner appropriate for the position and location.
• 3-5 years of experience as product underwriting counsel; or 7-10 years of title underwriting or real estate law practice experience and demonstrated aptitude for the position.
• Understanding of AI-assisted workflows, generative AI tools, machine learning concepts, and automation technologies relevant to underwriting and real estate transactions.
• Ability to evaluate AI-generated outputs for accuracy, explainability, consistency, and underwriting applicability.
• Superior verbal and visual communication skills.
• Superior understanding of land titles, real estate law, and conveyancing process.
• Superior understanding of federal and state laws related to title insurance and settlement services.
• Demonstrated curiosity and adaptability regarding emerging technologies and digital transformation.
• Strong business acumen and strategic agility that influences outcomes and successfully negotiates for resources.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with keen ability to explain complex concepts across the organization and to large audiences.
• Successful track record of designing, developing, and executing complex projects.

Responsibilities

• Leads underwriting vision and strategy for a technology or AI-enabled product or product line.
• Identifies, evaluates, communicates, and manages title insurance, regulatory, operational, and model-related risk.
• Provides underwriting, title insurance, real estate conveyancing, and underwriting workflow subject matter expertise to product teams.
• Partners with product, engineering, and data science teams to design and deploy AI-assisted underwriting tools.
• Collaborates with legal, compliance, information security, and risk management stakeholders to support responsible use of AI technologies.
• Serves as a strategic liaison between transaction underwriters and technology teams to align products with underwriting practices.
• Holds a leadership role in product strategy discussions and clears roadblocks to product success.
• Translates complex title insurance and real estate concepts for non-experts to influence product strategy.
• Executes tasks on the product roadmap and drives evolution with the product manager.
• Mentors and trains junior counsel and advances underwriting principles across the enterprise.

Skills

Verbal communication

Visual communication

Interpersonal skills

Business acumen

Strategic agility

Adaptability

AI workflow knowledge

AI output evaluation

Title insurance knowledge

Leadership / mentoring

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Bar admission

Job description

Who We Are

Join a team that puts its People First! Since 1889, First American (NYSE: FAF) has held an unwavering belief in its people. They are passionate about what they do, and we are equally passionate about fostering an environment where all feel welcome, supported, and empowered to be innovative and reach their full potential. Our inclusive, people-first culture has earned our company numerous accolades, including being named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list for eleven consecutive years. We have also earned awards as a best place to work for women, diversity and LGBTQ+ employees, and have been included on more than 50 regional best places to work lists. First American will always strive to be a great place to work, for all. For more information, please visit www.careers.firstam.com.

What We Do

Product Underwriting Counsel roles provide title insurance underwriting expertise to teams building modern technology products that involve or affect title insurance policies or underwriting processes. These roles serve on multidisciplinary product teams, typically comprised of product managers, designers, researchers, and engineers, where they identify and manage title insurance risk, and provide subject matter expertise in title insurance law, title insurance coverage, real estate conveyancing law, and real estate transaction pathways. Product Underwriting Counsel roles interface with transactional underwriters across the organization, and also interface with Legal Department colleagues who are responsible for legal issues outside the realm of title insurance coverage.

What You'll Do

• Leads underwriting vision and strategy for a technology or AI-enabled product or product line, including tools that augment underwriting decision-making, risk evaluation, and operational efficiency.
• Identifies, evaluates, communicates, and manages title insurance, regulatory, operational, and model-related risk associated with a technology or AI-enabled underwriting tool.
• Provides underwriting, title insurance, real estate conveyancing, and underwriting workflow subject matter expertise to product managers, designers, researchers, engineers, and data science/AI teams.
• Partners with product, engineering, and data science teams to design and deploy AI-assisted underwriting tools and workflows.
• Collaborates with legal, compliance, information security, and risk management stakeholders to support responsible and compliant use of AI technologies.
• Serves as a strategic liaison between transaction underwriters and technology teams to ensure AI-enabled products align with real-world underwriting practices.
• Holds a leadership role in product strategy discussions.
• Interfaces with stakeholders in other departments and helps clear roadblocks to product success.
• Demonstrates deep knowledge of market dynamics, competitive threats, and competitive advantages.
• Translates complex title insurance and real estate concepts into clear ideas accessible to product team members in ways that influence product strategy.
• Translates complex technology product concepts into clear ideas accessible to transaction underwriters in ways that influence transaction underwriting protocol.
• Executes tasks and assignments on the product roadmap.
• Partners with product manager to drive product evolution and priorities.
• Mentors and trains more junior product underwriting counsel.
• Contributes to the development and advancement of product underwriting principles throughout the enterprise.

What You'll Bring

• Law Degree required.
• Admitted to law practice in manner appropriate for the position and location.
• 3-5 years of experience as product underwriting counsel; or 7-10 years of title underwriting or real estate law practice experience and demonstrated aptitude for the position.
• Understanding of AI-assisted workflows, generative AI tools, machine learning concepts, and automation technologies relevant to underwriting and real estate transactions.
• Ability to evaluate AI-generated outputs for accuracy, explainability, consistency, and underwriting applicability.
• Superior verbal and visual communication skills.
• Superior understanding of land titles, real estate law, and conveyancing process.
• Superior understanding of federal and state laws related to title insurance and settlement services.
• Demonstrated curiosity and adaptability regarding emerging technologies and digital transformation.
• Strong business acumen and strategic agility that influences outcomes and successfully negotiates for resources.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with keen ability to explain complex concepts across the organization and to large audiences.
• Successful track record of designing, developing, and executing complex projects.
• Note that the following statements only apply to candidates who will be working from an unincorporated area within Los Angeles County. ** First American will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws (e.g., the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act). First American intends to conduct a review of an applicant’s criminal history in connection with a conditional offer. First American reasonably believes that a criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following material job duties for this position potentially resulting in the withdrawal of the conditional offer of employment: handling of confidential, proprietary or trade secret information belonging to First American or its customers, administrating or facilitating financial transactions, and the ability to meet customer-imposed criminal history requirements.

What We Offer

By choice, we don’t simply accept individuality – we embrace it, we support it, and we thrive on it! Our People First culture is inclusive for all employees - not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it's the key to our success. We are proud to foster an authentic and inclusive workplace For All. You are free and encouraged to bring your entire, unique self to work. First American is an equal opportunity employer in every sense of the term.

Based on eligibility, First American offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401k, PTO/paid sick leave and other great benefits like an employee stock purchase plan.

Pay Range: $129,300.00 - $172,300.00 Annually

This hiring range is a reasonable estimate of the base pay range for this position at the time of posting. Pay is based on a number of factors which may include job-related knowledge, skills, experience, business requirements and geographic location.