Technology Director

State Farm•Dunwoody, GA

About The Position

Being good neighbors – helping people, investing in our communities, and making the world a better place – is who we are at State Farm. It is at the core of how we operate and the reason for our success. Come join a #1 team and do some good! The State Farm Applied Innovation Lab is looking for a Technology Director (Innovation). In this role you will lead a team looking at future trends and innovative ways to solve Customer Problems. You will work closely with multiple departments to leverage Product Design principles to quantify outcomes and core issues, lead a team of Group Product Managers, and Engineering managers to prototype and test solutions, and partner with Enterprise Technology to scale viable solutions to the Enterprise. In addition, you will be responsible for partnering with ET to fully set up the physical Innovation Lab to allow for faster prototyping in State Farm environments (e.g., what would this solution look like in a prototype Agents Office). Success in this role occurs through exceptional collaboration across departments and external partners, empowering teams, facilitating open communication, and building shared accountability for business outcomes, all while championing diversity, inclusion, and a resilient, optimistic attitude. Leads and prioritizes broad, complex, and/or enterprise initiatives, shifting team resources to ensure focus on organizational priorities and executing on strategies that impact results Monitors product metrics and uses data-driven insights to make informed decisions that continuously improve business, financial, and customer experience outcomes. Leverages extensive technical and architecture knowledge to develop and execute strategic plans, resulting in measurable improvements in business outcomes (e.g., increased speed, enhanced quality, improved customer experience). Establishes and effectively communicates a clear vision and strategy that influences decisions within the area, department, and/or organization. Maintains a strong understanding of the industry’s direction in technology and architecture, proactively integrating relevant and innovative advancements into strategies and initiatives. Collaborates closely with business and senior leadership to define clear goals and establish shared accountability for business and technology outcomes. Promote professional growth through continuous learning, mentoring, and collaboration, ensuring teams possess the necessary skills to meet evolving organizational needs. Demonstrates a strong commitment to workforce, talent development, and succession planning by facilitating talent conversations and ensuring the successful execution of performance management processes.

Requirements

Innovation expertise: Ability to create, develop, and implement new ideas and processes.
Strategic thinking: Align innovation initiatives with organizational goals and anticipate trends.
Strategic Bridge-Building: Fluency in both startup/venture mindset AND traditional insurance operations.
Portfolio Management: Balance portfolio across incremental, adjacent, and transformational initiatives (with experience designing funding models that enable experimentation).
Product Management: Experience and understanding of feature prioritization, analytics interpretation, go-to-market timing.
Customer-Centric Design Thinking: Deep expertise in jobs-to-be-done, behavioral economics.
Rapid Prototyping: Leverages design sprints, MVP methodology, user testing velocity.
Process Mining: Identifies automation opportunities through data-driven process analysis.
Innovation Metrics & KPIs: Outcome focused, leveraging leading indicators (hypothesis validation), not just lagging indicators.
Change Management at Scale: Experience transforming large operations (1000+ FTE impact).
Data-driven decision making: Use analytics to evaluate opportunities and measure outcomes.
Advanced Analytics & ML: Not just understanding—championing ML applications in risk assessment and demonstrated ability to implement ML solutions.
Alternative Data Integration: Understanding and experience in usage of alternative data sources (telematics, satellite, behavioral) and validation.
AI/ML Strategy: Prioritize high-impact use cases, realistic timelines.
Omnichannel Architecture: Ability to design solutions that enable seamless digital, mobile, voice, IoT integration.
Technology awareness: Understanding emerging technologies and their impact on business models.
Empowerment & coaching: Build a culture of risk-taking and ownership.
Collaboration: Work across departments and external partners.
Empathy: Foster an inclusive and creative culture.
Adaptability & curiosity: Comfort with ambiguity and eagerness to explore new ideas.
Communication: Skilled at storytelling and influencing stakeholders at Senior Executive levels.
Attitude: Optimistic, resilient, and open-minded.
Diversity & inclusion awareness: Lead diverse teams and encourage healthy debate.
Continuous learning: Commitment to personal and team development.

Nice To Haves

Startup experience or proven intrapreneur with scale success and product management credibility.
Experience in insurance is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead a team looking at future trends and innovative ways to solve Customer Problems.
Work closely with multiple departments to leverage Product Design principles to quantify outcomes and core issues
Lead a team of Group Product Managers, and Engineering managers to prototype and test solutions
Partner with Enterprise Technology to scale viable solutions to the Enterprise.
Partner with ET to fully set up the physical Innovation Lab to allow for faster prototyping in State Farm environments
Leads and prioritizes broad, complex, and/or enterprise initiatives, shifting team resources to ensure focus on organizational priorities and executing on strategies that impact results
Monitors product metrics and uses data-driven insights to make informed decisions that continuously improve business, financial, and customer experience outcomes.
Leverages extensive technical and architecture knowledge to develop and execute strategic plans, resulting in measurable improvements in business outcomes (e.g., increased speed, enhanced quality, improved customer experience).
Establishes and effectively communicates a clear vision and strategy that influences decisions within the area, department, and/or organization.
Maintains a strong understanding of the industry’s direction in technology and architecture, proactively integrating relevant and innovative advancements into strategies and initiatives.
Collaborates closely with business and senior leadership to define clear goals and establish shared accountability for business and technology outcomes.
Promote professional growth through continuous learning, mentoring, and collaboration, ensuring teams possess the necessary skills to meet evolving organizational needs.
Demonstrates a strong commitment to workforce, talent development, and succession planning by facilitating talent conversations and ensuring the successful execution of performance management processes.

Benefits

Because work-life balance is a priority at State Farm, compensation is based on our standard 38:45-hour work week!
Potential starting salary range: $173,000 - $284,000
Starting salary will be based on skills, background, and experience
High end of the range limited to applicants with significant relevant experience
Potential yearly incentive pay up to 24% of base salary
At State Farm, we offer more than just a paycheck. Check out our suite of benefits designed to give you the flexibility you need to take care of you and your family!
Get Paid! On top of our competitive pay, you are eligible for an annual raise and bonus.
Stay Well! Focus on you and your family’s health with our robust health and wellbeing programs. State Farm pays most of your healthcare premium, and we offer multiple healthcare plan options, including a high deductible plan. All medical plans provide 100% coverage for in-network preventative care, AND you and your family have access to vision, dental, telemedicine, 24/7 mental health professionals, and much more!
Develop and Grow! Take advantage of educational benefits like industry leading training programs, top-notch tuition assistance programs, employee resource groups, and mentoring.
Plan Ahead! Plan for those big moments in life with benefits like fertility/IVF/adoption assistance, college coaching, national discount programs, interactive monthly financial workshops, free financial coaching, and more. You can also start a savings account or consider financing through our State Farm Federal Credit Union!
Take a Little “You” Time! You will have access to our generous time off policies designed so you can plan around holidays, family events, volunteering, or just to take a relaxing day off. With the opportunity to initially earn up to 20 days annually plus parental leave, paid holidays, celebration day, life leave (40 hours/year), bereavement leave, and community service/education support days, there will be plenty of time for you!
Give Back! We offer several ways to give back through our Matching Gift Program, Good Neighbor Grant Program, and the Employee Assistance Fund.
Finish Strong! Plan for retirement using free financial advisors and a 401(k) plan with company contributions of up to 7% of your salary.
Visit our State Farm Careers page for more information on our benefits, locations, and the hiring process of joining the State Farm team!