AVP, Applied AI

The Hartford

. Own delivery, performance, and risk outcomes for one or more large, complex Applied AI portfolios spanning multiple teams, domains, or lines of business.

Posted 4/21/2026full-timeChicago • Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $182,400 - $273,600 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Own delivery, performance, and risk outcomes for one or more large, complex Applied AI portfolios spanning multiple teams, domains, or lines of business.
Translate enterprise and business‑unit AI priorities into multi‑year portfolio roadmaps and investment plans.
Ensure applied AI solutions deliver measurable business value while meeting standards for security, reliability, explainability, fairness, safety, and cost efficiency across solution types including generative and agentic AI, retrieval‑augmented systems, forecasting, recommendation systems, anomaly or fraud detection, and multimodal use cases.
Lead and develop Sr. Directors and Directors.
Build leadership bench strength through succession planning, coaching, and capability development.
Ensure consistent application of the Applied AI operating model, decision rights, delivery discipline, and escalation paths across the portfolio.
Reinforce shared expectations for quality, evaluation rigor, and production readiness.
Provide portfolio‑level technical direction and rigorous oversight, partnering closely with Principal ICs, Architecture, AI Platform, and Centers of Excellence.
Ensure consistent adoption of approved AI standards, patterns, and guardrails.
Review and thoughtfully evaluate portfolio‑level architectural choices, evaluation approaches, production readiness, and operational risk signals, guiding leaders through disciplined trade‑offs across quality, grounding, latency, cost, scalability, and regulatory risk.

Requirements

What you’ll need

12+ years of applicable experience with a Bachelor’s degree; fewer years may be accepted with a higher degree.
Master’s or Ph.D. preferred in Machine Learning, Applied Mathematics, Data Science, Computer Science, or a similar analytical field, or progress towards a relevant professional designation.
7–10+ years leading leaders, large portfolios, or complex programs.
Demonstrated experience leading large, complex Applied AI portfolios in regulated enterprise environments.
Proven ability to lead Sr. Directors and Directors, building durable leadership capacity and consistent operating discipline across organizations.
Strong technical and regulatory fluency across applied AI, including generative and agentic AI, retrieval‑augmented systems, evaluation and monitoring practices, and production AI operations, sufficient to review, inform, and govern senior‑level decisions.
Applied understanding of unstructured data and retrieval approaches, including document ingestion pipelines, OCR, layout‑aware extraction, embeddings, hybrid and dense retrieval, reranking, metadata and lineage management, and PII controls.
Deep familiarity with AI governance, model risk management, responsible AI practices, and compliance‑by‑design expectations.
Demonstrated success translating strategy into coordinated execution and investment decisions across multiple teams over multi‑year horizons.
Ability to influence VPs and senior partners through clear, data‑driven communication of technical trade‑offs, evaluation outcomes, portfolio risks, and business impact.

Benefits

Comp & perks

short-term or annual bonuses
long-term incentives
on-the-spot recognition

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

Machine LearningApplied MathematicsData ScienceComputer ScienceGenerative AIAgentic AIRetrieval-Augmented SystemsAnomaly DetectionFraud DetectionProduction AI Operations

Soft Skills

LeadershipCoachingCapability DevelopmentDecision MakingCommunicationInfluencingStrategic PlanningEvaluation RigorRisk ManagementCollaboration

Certifications

Master’s DegreePh.D.Professional Designation