Executive Director, AI Engineering

CVS Health • Hartford, CT

1d

About The Position

CVS Health is seeking a hands-on AI engineering leader to serve as the senior AI technical authority for its Third-Party Administrator (TPA) and Payer Solutions Technology organization, including Meritain Health and Wholesale businesses. The role will define how AI is engineered, delivered, governed, and scaled across a multi-year transformation affecting members, employers, brokers, and providers.

The Executive Director will lead a team of AI engineers and partner with the transformation leader to own the AI engineering approach, technical foundation, agentic framework, AI software development lifecycle (AI SDLC), and AI operating model. The role will also act as a distinguished engineer across the broader organization, raising AI capability and identifying ways to create value across engineering, product, and business teams. Success depends on close collaboration with CVS Health and Aetna enterprise AI, data, architecture, security, compliance, legal, and privacy teams, while delivering business-specific outcomes.

Requirements

• 15+ years in software engineering, data, or AI/ML, including leadership of AI engineering or advanced analytics teams in a large enterprise.
• Hands-on experience personally designing, building, and shipping production AI solutions, with the ability to review architecture, code, and model evaluation approaches.
• Production experience with generative AI and agentic systems, including orchestration, retrieval and grounding, evaluation, guardrails, observability, and cost management.
• Working command of the AI stack, including ML and LLM platforms, MLOps and LLMOps, cloud-native architecture, data pipelines, and enterprise integration.
• Experience establishing AI engineering practices, such as an AI SDLC, platform standards, and an operating model adopted across multiple teams.
• Proven ability to lead and influence without direct authority and raise technical capability across a broad organization.
• Experience ensuring AI meets ethical, privacy, security, and regulatory requirements in partnership with legal, compliance, and risk teams.
• Strong executive presence and ability to explain technical trade-offs to VP and C-suite stakeholders and influence investment and technology decisions.
• Demonstrated record of recruiting, developing, and mentoring high-performing engineers and technical leaders.
• Adept at execution and delivery, business intelligence, collaboration, problem solving, decision making, and growth mindset, including agility and developing oneself and others.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, data science, information systems, or a related quantitative discipline, or equivalent work experience and professional qualifications.

Nice To Haves

• Graduate degree.
• Experience applying AI in healthcare payer, TPA, or managed care settings, including production use of generative AI and intelligent automation in a regulated environment.
• Experience operating in a highly matrixed enterprise with shared services across Product, Architecture, Data, Security, and Infrastructure.
• Experience with AI-assisted software engineering and measurable gains in developer productivity and delivery quality.
• Recognized technical leadership, such as distinguished or principal engineer experience, patents, publications, or external speaking.
• Experience with natural language processing, computer vision, or document intelligence at enterprise scale.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior AI technical authority for TPA and Payer Solutions Technology, setting AI engineering strategy aligned with business goals and CVS Health and Aetna enterprise AI direction.
• Partner with the transformation leader to define and deliver the AI engineering approach and technical foundation, including reference architectures, reusable components, and sequencing of AI capabilities.
• Define the agentic AI framework, including agent design patterns, orchestration, tool and data integration, evaluation, guardrails, and human-in-the-loop controls.
• Establish the AI SDLC for designing, building, testing, evaluating, deploying, monitoring, and retiring AI solutions, including AI-assisted software engineering practices.
• Define the future-state AI operating model, including team structures, roles and skills, intake and prioritization, build-versus-buy and vendor guidance, platform and tooling standards, and interfaces with enterprise teams.
• Lead development and implementation of AI solutions across generative AI, natural language processing, machine learning, computer vision, and intelligent automation, targeting production outcomes in claims, enrollment, prior authorization, and member and provider service.
• Advise leaders and teams on technology selection, standards, best practices, and industry trends, including recommendations on models, platforms, and vendors.
• Ensure AI solutions meet ethical, privacy, and regulatory requirements, including HIPAA, in partnership with legal, compliance, privacy, and security teams.
• Measure AI quality, reliability, cost, adoption, and business impact, and report realized value and managed risks to senior leadership.
• Build and develop a high-caliber AI engineering team by defining talent profiles, hiring, and developing technical leaders while fostering innovation, rigor, and continuous learning.
• Coach engineering leaders, review designs, and run enablement programs to raise AI skills across the broader TPA and Payer Solutions organization.
• Collaborate with business and technology leaders to identify AI opportunities that improve processes, enhance member experience, or drive innovation, while aligning stakeholders to business objectives.

Benefits

• CVS Health bonus, commission, or short-term incentive program, in addition to base pay.
• Award target in the company’s equity award program.
• Medical coverage.
• Dental coverage.
• Vision coverage.
• Paid time off.
• Retirement savings options.
• Wellness programs.
• Other resources, based on eligibility.

What This Job Offers

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