Director - AI Technology Platform and Solutions

Markel•Richmond, VA

13h•Hybrid

About The Position

The role blends strategy and execution: setting near- and long-term direction for AI technology while directing the design, build, and delivery of reusable, enterprise-grade AI capabilities. The successful candidate will proactively identify enterprise AI needs, monitor the fast-moving AI innovation landscape, and accelerate responsible adoption across business units — all in service of Markel's strategic and business objectives. As the primary relationship owner between the AI Enablement Center and IT application delivery and enterprise governance bodies, this leader ensures AI investments are prioritized against organizational goals, measured for business impact, and governed in line with risk and regulatory requirements. The role also provides senior-level engagement with business unit executive leadership and works closely with Forward Deployed AI Leads embedded in each business unit.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
10+ years of technology experience, including 5+ years in a leadership role delivering enterprise technology platforms or solutions.
Demonstrated experience defining and executing AI/ML or emerging technology strategy at enterprise scale.
Strong understanding of the modern AI landscape — including generative and agentic AI, LLMs, orchestration, MLOps/LLMOps, and cloud AI platforms.
Proven track record of delivering reusable, production-grade technology capabilities and driving cross-organizational adoption.
Experience partnering with governance, risk, security, and architecture functions; familiarity with AI governance and regulatory considerations.
Exceptional executive communication and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to influence at senior levels and translate between technical and business audiences.
Experience leading engineering teams and managing partner/vendor relationships.
US Work Authorization required. Markel does not provide visa sponsorship for this position, now or in the future.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (Master’s / MBA) in a relevant field.
Experience in insurance, financial services, or another regulated industry.
Hands-on experience operationalizing AI within a Center of Excellence or platform operating model.
Familiarity with FinOps practices for AI/cloud cost management.
Knowledge of responsible AI frameworks and evolving AI regulation (e.g., EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF).

Responsibilities

Develop and own the short- and long-term AI technology strategy, ensuring tight alignment with Markel's enterprise and business unit goals.
Continuously research, monitor, and evaluate emerging AI innovation, trends, and vendors; translate developments into actionable opportunities for the enterprise.
Partner with the AI Enablement Center, AI Leads, and business leaders to translate prioritized AI opportunities into scalable technology capabilities, platform investments, and enterprise solutions.
Direct the design, execution, and delivery of reusable, scalable AI platform capabilities (e.g., agentic AI, orchestration, observability, model and tooling infrastructure) that can be leveraged across business units.
Establish engineering standards, reference architectures, and a “paved road” that accelerates safe, consistent AI development and reduces duplicated effort.
Oversee the pilot-to-production lifecycle, ensuring solutions scale reliably from proof of concept to enterprise production.
Enable scaled adoption through the delivery of secure, reliable, reusable AI platforms and services that can be leveraged across business units.
Provide senior-level engagement with business unit executive leadership on strategic alignment, portfolio priorities, and escalation resolution.
Partner with the AI Enablement Center, enterprise architects, and technology leaders to evaluate solution approaches and ensure alignment with enterprise AI standards and platform strategy.
Serve as the primary relationship owner between the AI Enablement Center and IT application delivery and enterprise governance bodies.
Ensure AI investments are aligned to organizational priorities, measured for business impact, and governed according to risk, security, and regulatory requirements.
Establish metrics and reporting — adoption, business impact, cost/FinOps, and usage — to demonstrate value and inform decision-making.
Lead, mentor, and grow a small team of AI engineers; manage partner and vendor teams.
Cultivate strong dotted-line relationships with IT Leaders and Architecture teams to ensure alignment and integration with the broader technology landscape.
Foster a culture of innovation, responsible AI, collaboration, and continuous learning.