AVP Actuary – Product R&D

Pacific Life

. Own and lead product R&D initiatives, which are critical to CMD achieving its growth and profitability targets, through innovative product offerings .

Posted 4/24/2026full-timeNewport Beach • California, New York, North Carolina • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $230,000 - $260,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Own and lead product R&D initiatives, which are critical to CMD achieving its growth and profitability targets, through innovative product offerings
Develop R&D strategy, manage feasibility and prioritization with product and CMD strategy teams, align R&D initiatives with product roadmap execution
Take full responsibility for the impact and risks associated with new product features, ensuring they meet or exceed risk and profitability targets
Oversee the development of risk management strategies, including investment, ALM, capital optimization, and hedging, for new product offerings
Manage annuity ideation pipeline, gathering and curating annuity product ideas from internal teams and industry sources, evaluating their feasibility and market potential, prioritizing them based on strategic importance, and securing prioritization buy-in from senior stakeholders
Accountable for researching Pacific Life target markets to understand distribution and product needs, identify gaps in current offerings, R&D solutions to fill those gaps, and collaborate with product strategy and distribution teams to develop features to meet unmet needs
Analyze key competitors’ product and distribution strategies, determine their go-to-market approach and differentiators, and evaluate designs that can capture market share from these competitors
Act as the primary liaison between CMD and the Enterprise Capital Solutions team, ensuring alignment on capital strategies for new business
Represent CMD new business in capital strategy decisions
Propose reinsurance structures and participate in the decision-making process to develop solutions that optimize capital efficiency for CMD’s new business offerings
Accountable for decision-making and resource allocation in Product R&D, balancing successful project delivery and talent development for a team of six professionals
Thought leader in innovation for CMD, actively promote design thinking principles, and build cross-functional relationships to deliver competitive, market-leading solutions

Requirements

What you’ll need

FSA with at 10+ years in life insurance and annuity, primarily in product development and associated roles
Extensive experience with life insurance and annuity design, pricing, hedging, risk management, and reinsurance strategies strongly preferred
Demonstratable experience of leading a team, including leading, delegating, mentoring, and developing team members
Strong interpersonal skills, working effectively across various disciplines and functions within the organization
Proven capability to lead, facilitate, and drive effective decisions cross-functionally
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, ability to manage relationships with stakeholders of varying seniority in Actuarial and non-Actuarial teams
Strong analytical skills and a demonstrable ability to plan and prioritize workloads and deliver to deadlines
Ability to be forward-looking and anticipate future needs, with proven track record of effectively delivering in a dynamic and fast-changing environment
Applies creative thinking to complex challenges, proactively offering ideas and solutions while anticipating potential obstacles

Benefits

Comp & perks

Medical, Dental, Vision, and Wellbeing Reimbursement Account that can be used on yourself or your eligible dependents
Generous paid time off options including: Paid Time Off, Holiday Schedules, and Financial Planning Time Off
Paid Parental Leave as well as an Adoption Assistance Program
Competitive 401k savings plan with company match and an additional contribution regardless of participation

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools

product R&Drisk managementcapital optimizationhedginglife insurance designannuity designpricing strategiesreinsurance strategiesdecision-makingproject delivery

Soft Skills

leadershipmentoringinterpersonal skillscommunication skillsanalytical skillscreative thinkingrelationship managementteam developmentcross-functional collaborationstrategic thinking

Certifications

FSA