Vice President, Data & AI Platforms

Prudential Financial • Newark, NJ

23h

About The Position

This is an enterprise leadership role within Global Technology, responsible for the strategy, governance, and delivery of Prudential’s enterprise data and AI platforms. This includes the central platform, AI/ML platform, data platforms, data engineering, enterprise data management, modeling, analytics operations, and supporting tooling and shared services. The role is accountable for platform vision, roadmap, investment alignment, and operational excellence, ensuring platforms scale securely, reliably, cost-effectively, and consistently across the enterprise. It oversees ML operations (MLOps), data operations, engineering operations, FinOps, and platform site reliability engineering (SRE) as core enterprise capabilities. In partnership with the CTO, this role leads the enterprise data and AI platform organization, defining core capabilities, shared frameworks, and operational standards to enable reuse, interoperability, reliability, and secure self-service across business units. This position requires collaboration with business functions, enterprise architecture, infrastructure, security, and application technology teams, and seeks a leader with strong technical depth, enterprise product and operational leadership, and the ability to translate strategy into scalable platforms, align stakeholders, and build high-performing engineering organizations.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience (including military experience).
• Progressive leadership experience across data platforms, AI/ML platforms, central platforms, and enterprise engineering organizations delivering solutions at global scale.
• Deep experience building and operating MLOps, data operations, platform SRE, engineering operations, and FinOps capabilities in complex enterprise environments.
• Proven ability to define platform strategy, operating models, and investment priorities, including enterprise tooling, shared services, and cloud-based data and AI infrastructure.
• Experience managing platforms and strategic capabilities in federated environments while driving enterprise-wide adoption and standardization.
• Strong experience overseeing enterprise data and AI tooling, platforms, and vendor-provided solutions.
• Expertise in agile delivery, modern engineering practices, DevOps, reliability engineering, and Test-Driven Development (TDD).
• Proven ability to build, develop, and lead high-performing global product and engineering teams.
• Ability to lead through influence in highly matrixed environments across business, application, infrastructure, and security teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; experience working in global and multilingual environments preferred.
• Commitment to inclusive leadership, collaboration, transparency, and trust.
• Strong business and financial acumen, with the ability to align platform, operational, and investment decisions to enterprise outcomes.
• Curiosity and adaptability to continuously learn and apply new skills, technologies, and approaches.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in financial services or insurance is a plus, but not required.
• Familiarity with enterprise data strategy, AI enablement, or digital transformation programs.
• Understanding of lean delivery and modern operating models.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the enterprise vision, strategy, and roadmap for data, AI/ML, and central platforms, aligned to Prudential’s business, data, AI, and technology strategies.
• Lead enterprise platform engineering, including the central platform, AI/ML platform, and data platforms, encompassing architecture, engineering, and modernization efforts.
• Centrally manage core data and AI platforms and shared services, driving consistency, reuse, scalability, operational maturity, and adoption across business units and functions.
• Oversee ML Operations (MLOps) to ensure reliable model development, deployment, monitoring, and lifecycle management at enterprise scale.
• Establish and lead data operations and engineering operations, including platform support models, run-time stability, on-call practices, and continuous improvement of delivery and operational metrics.
• Own platform SRE capabilities, ensuring resilience, availability, performance, incident management, and platform observability across data and AI platforms.
• Lead FinOps practices for data and AI platforms, including cloud cost visibility, optimization, forecasting, and investment alignment in partnership with finance and infrastructure teams.
• Oversee enterprise data and AI applications (e.g., Enterprise Data Platform), partnering closely with Division Technology Leaders to ensure alignment, value realization, and responsible platform usage.
• Manage enterprise data and AI tooling and services, including marketplace capabilities, data catalog, ModelOps tooling, and CDO operational platforms.
• Establish and govern enterprise standards, policies, and controls for data and AI platforms, services, and tooling, ensuring alignment with information security, risk, and compliance requirements.
• Partner with Enterprise Architecture to define and evolve reference architectures, solution patterns, and shared frameworks for data and AI platforms.
• Define and enable self-service platform capabilities that expand access to approved data and AI features while maintaining governance, reliability, and controls.
• Liaise with platform and tooling vendors to evaluate, procure, and manage enterprise capabilities, features, and services.
• Lead and inspire global engineering and product teams, partnering closely with CIO and CTO organizations on DevOps pipelines, APIs, platform reliability, and operational excellence.
• Foster a culture of inclusion, curiosity, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Communicate clearly and effectively with executive stakeholders, product partners, and delivery teams.

Benefits

• Market competitive base salaries, with a yearly bonus potential at every level.
• Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability insurance, Paid Time Off (PTO), and leave of absences, such as parental and military leave.
• 401(k) plan with company match (up to 4%).
• Company-funded pension plan.
• Wellness Programs including up to $1,600 a year for reimbursement of items purchased to support personal wellbeing needs.
• Work/Life Resources to help support topics such as parenting, housing, senior care, finances, pets, legal matters, education, emotional and mental health, and career development.
• Education Benefit to help finance traditional college enrollment toward obtaining an approved degree and many accredited certificate programs.
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan: Shares can be purchased at 85% of the lower of two prices (Beginning or End of the purchase period), after one year of service.
• Eligibility to participate in a discretionary annual incentive program is subject to the rules governing the program, whereby an award, if any, depends on various factors including, without limitation, individual and organizational performance.

What This Job Offers

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