AVP, GenAI & Agentic Data Science

Unum Group • Portland, ME

5d

About The Position

Unum is seeking an accomplished AVP, GenAI & Agentic Data Science to lead a team of Data Scientists and GenAI Engineers building, deploying, and scaling GenAI and agentic solutions across the enterprise. This technical leadership role calls for experience taking agentic AI from experimentation into production at scale, combining expertise in GenAI and Agentic AI with strong foundations in Data Science and Machine Learning to deliver trusted, scalable solutions to business problems. The role will help transform Unum into an AI-first digital insurance company.

The AVP will help execute the advanced analytics roadmap and lead AI-first products, offerings, and capabilities. The role partners with product leaders and functions including Finance, Marketing, and Operations to operationalize AI in business processes and digital products, with measurable business value. It also leads production agentic AI design and deployment, enterprise AI practices, and cross-functional programs, while influencing executives on AI strategies and investments.

The position manages and develops technical professionals, including Data Scientists and GenAI Engineers, and promotes reusable AI patterns, frameworks, and capabilities across the enterprise. It requires staying current with evolving AI technologies, advocating for architecture standards, and applying sound judgment about where GenAI and Agentic AI are appropriate.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; background in computer science, mathematics, Data Science, or Operations Research.
• 10+ years of experience designing and building scaled AI/ML products or capabilities.
• Proven experience building and deploying agentic AI systems into production at meaningful scale within a large enterprise or business unit.
• Demonstrated expertise designing production agent architectures, including orchestration, multi-agent systems, tool use, memory/state, evaluation, observability, and human oversight.
• Deep expertise in LLMs, GenAI, Agentic AI, RAG, evaluation, and production AI systems.
• Strong foundations in traditional Data Science, Machine Learning, statistical methods, and experimentation.
• Experience building AI systems requiring enterprise-grade governance, security, reliability, monitoring, and operational controls.
• Excellent knowledge of computer programming, software engineering, DevOps/MLOps practices, and production AI systems.
• Experience with AI toolsets such as SageMaker, TensorFlow, and H2O, as well as modern GenAI/LLM technologies and frameworks.
• Strategic innovation experience, including pushing boundaries and reimagining possibilities.
• Ability to think strategically and act tactically, take ideas to scale, and exercise judgment about where GenAI and Agentic AI are or are not appropriate.
• Experience bridging theoretical concepts and applied solutions.
• Proven ability to communicate an AI vision and relevant experience to non-technical stakeholders.
• Demonstrated depth of IT knowledge and breadth of technical experience, with credibility as a technology partner in solution design and architecture.
• Formal people-leadership experience developing highly technical Data Scientists, GenAI Engineers, ML Engineers, or similar talent.
• Proven track record translating emerging AI technologies into scalable solutions that deliver measurable business value.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree preferred.
• Experience designing and building scaled capabilities such as virtual agents, predictive systems, cognitive process automation, computer vision applications, knowledge virtualization, GenAI, and Agentic AI solutions.

Responsibilities

• Provide input to and support execution of the advanced analytics roadmap.
• Lead AI-first digital products, offerings, and capabilities, including GenAI and Agentic AI solutions.
• Partner with product innovators and managers to integrate and operationalize AI in business processes and digital products, delivering measurable business value.
• Lead the design and deployment of production Agentic AI solutions, including agent orchestration, tool use, RAG, memory and state management, multi-agent architectures, and human-in-the-loop workflows.
• Establish practices for AI and agent evaluation, observability, monitoring, guardrails, governance, security, reliability, and responsible AI.
• Influence senior executives and business leaders on AI strategies and investments.
• Lead and manage Data Science and Information Technology professionals working on analytics, GenAI, Agentic AI, and machine-learning software and applications.
• Develop, coach, and engage employees to achieve higher levels of performance.
• Lead cross-functional, cross-disciplinary teams to drive AI-centric programs and develop reusable AI patterns, frameworks, and capabilities that scale across the enterprise.
• Advocate for and follow architecture standards, practices, and processes.
• Stay current with evolving GenAI and Agentic AI technologies and translate emerging capabilities into practical enterprise applications.
• Identify high-value business opportunities for GenAI and Agentic AI and lead solutions from concept through production and scale.
• Support efforts to evangelize and democratize AI across the enterprise.

Benefits

• Health, vision, and dental benefits
• Short- and long-term disability insurance
• Performance-based incentive plans
• Paid time off, including paid time to volunteer
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match up to 5% and an additional 4.5% contribution whether or not the employee contributes
• Mental health support
• Career advancement opportunities
• Student loan repayment options
• Tuition reimbursement
• Flexible work environments

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive