Senior Associate - Forward Deployed Analyst

New York Life•New York, NY

1d•$124,000 - $177,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Forward Deployed Analyst is a highly autonomous problem solver embedded with strategic transformation teams, accountable for converting complex business and solution intent into implementation-grade specifications for high-value, ambiguous outcome areas. The role works directly with senior business stakeholders, Product Owners, Business Discovery & Solution Strategy leaders, Domain Technology Leads, architects, data specialists, and engineers. The Senior Forward Deployed Analyst goes beyond traditional business analysis. The role independently structures ambiguity, challenges incomplete requirements, drives prototype-based clarification, and creates the detailed workflow, decision logic, data requirements, agent behavior, exception handling, controls, and acceptance criteria required for rapid AI-assisted engineering. The analyst is expected to use AI extensively to accelerate specification development while applying strong judgment to ensure completeness, consistency, and business fidelity.

Requirements

8+ years of progressively responsible experience in business analysis, product analysis, technology strategy, consulting, engineering, data/analytics, or related disciplines, including leadership of complex cross-functional initiatives.
Demonstrated success translating ambiguous, high-value business problems into implementation-ready specifications and executable solutions.
Strong experience facilitating senior stakeholders and driving clarity and decisions across competing perspectives.
Excellent systems thinking and ability to connect business workflows, data, technology, controls, and user behavior.
Strong understanding of modern software delivery, data and analytics, APIs/integration, and AI-enabled or agentic solutions.
Experience working directly with engineering and architecture teams through build, validation, and production readiness.
Advanced ability to use generative AI and AI-assisted tools for analysis, specification development, scenario generation, and quality improvement.
Exceptional written, verbal, facilitation, and problem-solving skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience with product discovery, product strategy, design thinking, service design, or management consulting.
Experience in financial services, insurance, finance, investments, or another regulated enterprise environment.
Technical or engineering background enabling deep collaboration with software, data, and AI engineers.
Experience establishing business analysis, specification engineering, or product operations practices across teams.

Responsibilities

Independently own specification and solution clarity for complex outcome areas or multiple related pods from early discovery through implementation and validation.
Translate future-state strategy and product intent into detailed workflows, decision logic, business rules, data requirements, interaction models, exception paths, controls, and measurable acceptance criteria.
Facilitate senior business and SME working sessions, challenge ambiguity and conflicting requirements, and drive decisions needed to unblock engineering.
Partner with Product Owners on prioritization while owning the depth, completeness, and internal consistency of the implementation specification.
Lead rapid prototype feedback cycles and ensure learnings are reflected continuously in the PRD or equivalent specification.
Use AI tools to synthesize complex inputs, generate and test specifications, identify missing scenarios, maintain traceability, and accelerate analysis without lowering the quality bar.
Define expected behavior for AI and agentic capabilities, including deterministic boundaries, tool use, human checkpoints, escalation logic, controls, and evaluation criteria.
Work directly with Forward Deployed Engineers and architecture/data teams to resolve complex feasibility and dependency questions without prematurely constraining the future state.
Establish reusable specification patterns, templates, and practices that improve quality and speed across outcome teams.
Coach other analysts and contribute to the evolution of a modern, specification-driven delivery model.