IT Director-Policy Modernization Technology

USAA•San Antonio, TX

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

USAA is seeking an IT Director for the Policy Modernization team, a critical role in P&C's most significant business transformation investment. This role is responsible for crucial technical milestones within the strategic plan, aiming to yield substantial benefits through updated systems, reimagined products, and streamlined processes. The Director will shape technical architecture, ensure alignment with established standards, and supervise daily software development activities of various internal and external Agile teams. This position acts as the primary point of contact for escalating risks and issues identified by development teams. Leveraging a thorough knowledge of Agile methodologies and a collaborative spirit, the Director will work alongside stakeholders, subject matter experts, and the development team to encourage innovation and ensure the successful execution of this program. The role involves directing, planning, and organizing activities of staff engaged in providing information technology services, providing technical leadership in the plan, design, development, testing, implementation, or maintenance of business solutions, and offering high-level consultation and influence on technical solutions, including emerging technologies. The Director will lead and direct change management, process improvement, or technical support initiatives cross-departmentally and within the assigned unit, contribute to and execute long- and short-term strategic direction, and advise senior management to aid in decision making. This position offers a flexible work environment requiring 4 days in the office per week and is based in San Antonio, TX or Plano, TX, with relocation assistance available.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree; OR 4 years of relevant education and/or experience.
8+ years of experience in technology functions in software engineering, application development, or infrastructure
3+ years of direct leadership or management experience leading IT professionals
Experience developing or integrating applications within a Guidewire ecosystem (e.g., PolicyCenter, ClaimsCenter, Contact Manager)
Experience with event-driven architecture and Kafka messaging
Experience with AWS Platform (EKS and Lambda-based applications)
Demonstrated ability to manage a broad portfolio of production applications in a complex enterprise environment
Experience overseeing the full technology lifecycle — requirements, design, build, test, deploy, and support
Strong financial acumen: budgeting, forecasting, and cost benefit analysis
Proven ability to explain complex technical decisions to technical and non-technical audiences at all organizational levels
Experience managing third-party vendors, staff augmentation, and distributed development teams
Ability to influence decisions and drive organizational change at both the team and executive level

Nice To Haves

Experience with large-scale mainframe system migrations to modern cloud-based platforms

Responsibilities

Lead and develop a high-performing engineering team responsible for production ownership and delivery across a portfolio of Policy Modernization applications, including Guidewire xCenter integrations, Core Customer data platforms, partner-facing systems, and shared P&C engineering utilities.
Ensure operational stability and availability of critical P&C technology systems by applying strong change and incident management practices.
Develop and maintain metrics (KPIs, SLAs, KRIs) that reflect the health, pace, and quality of technology delivery for assigned capabilities.
Create and execute a multi-year technology strategy for the assigned portfolio, with clear milestones, deliverables, and realization targets.
Build trusted relationships with IT and business leaders across the P&C organization by understanding business needs, acting as a strategic advisor, and ensuring cost-effective delivery.
Communicate complex technical decisions clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences, including senior and executive leaders.
Oversee departmental budgets, forecasts, vendor relationships, service agreements, and distributed team resources.
Identify and manage technology risks in accordance with enterprise risk and compliance policies.
Stay current on industry trends in cloud, integration, and P&C insurance technology to ensure the team's environment can evolve at pace with the business.