VP, Head of Responsible AI Engineering

New York Life•New York, NY

1d•$270,000 - $320,000•Hybrid

About The Position

As AI adoption expands rapidly across the enterprise, New York Life’s governance function must evolve significantly beyond the traditional review-and-approval model. The current team has established a strong foundation in AI model validation; the next phase requires a technology-enabled governance organization centered on automation, enablement, and continuous oversight. The Head of AI Governance will build and lead that capability. The role pairs deep governance, risk, and regulatory expertise with hands-on command of modern AI technology — because the governance itself will increasingly be delivered through AI agents operating across the software development lifecycle. Equally important is the operating philosophy: AI Governance acts as a coach and enabler, not simply a judge. The objective is to help business and delivery teams adopt AI safely and quickly, rather than to say "no."

Requirements

12+ years of experience across technology risk, model risk management, AI/ML governance, compliance, or a closely related discipline, including significant leadership responsibility.
Demonstrated experience building or substantially modernizing a governance function — not solely operating an existing one.
Hands-on fluency with modern AI technology: foundation models, agentic systems, MLOps, evaluation and monitoring tooling, and AI security concerns such as prompt injection, data leakage, and supply-chain risk.
Working command of the AI regulatory and standards landscape relevant to U.S. insurance and financial services, including NIST AI RMF, NAIC model guidance, NYDFS expectations, SR 11-7 model risk principles, and emerging state and international AI regulation.
Proven ability to influence and partner with Legal, Compliance, Risk, Audit, Information Security, and Procurement at a senior level.
Experience governing third-party and vendor-embedded AI capabilities.
Executive communication skills, including the ability to present to board-level and regulatory audiences.

Nice To Haves

Insurance or financial services experience in a regulated, enterprise-scale environment.
Prior engagement in external AI governance, standards, or industry working groups.
Technical background sufficient to specify and oversee the build of governance automation and agents.
Advanced degree in law, risk, computer science, statistics, or a related field.

Responsibilities

Lead the design, development, and operation of a suite of AI governance agents, including: AI model security and backdoor scanning agents operating at and after deployment; AI model risk classification and monitoring agents spanning the full SDLC through post-deployment; AI compliance agents operating continuously across planning, development, deployment, and production; AI legal agents that assess terms of use, contracts, licensing obligations, permitted use cases, and regulatory requirements; AI auditing agents spanning the full SDLC through post-deployment.
Ensure the governance agents integrate with existing enterprise systems and control frameworks, including audit, compliance, risk, and security platforms, so that oversight is continuous, evidenced, and auditable rather than point-in-time.
Lead a highly experienced team responsible for reviewing complex scenarios that cannot be fully resolved by governance agents.
Ensure the team does not function as a simple approval-or-rejection body. When a proposal cannot proceed as requested, the team identifies alternative approaches and practical paths forward.
Establish service levels, escalation paths, and decision rights that keep governance responsive to the pace of delivery.
Build governance literacy across the business and technology organizations through guidance, patterns, and reusable controls.
Represent New York Life AI in enterprise governance, risk, compliance, legal, and technology forums, including senior committees.
Participate in external AI governance, legal, regulatory, and industry working groups to ensure New York Life remains aligned with evolving standards and best practices.
Support regulatory examinations, audits, and due diligence requests relating to AI.
Continuously identify emerging governance needs and risks as the technology and regulatory landscape evolves.
Define, update, and improve AI guardrails, standards, policies, and control frameworks.
Ensuring governance remains practical, business-aligned, and responsive to the pace of AI innovation.
Establish metrics and reporting that give senior leadership a clear, current view of AI risk posture across the enterprise.
Lead governance across three distinct tiers: Tier 1 — Enterprise AI applications operating within New York Life-managed environments and tenants; Tier 2 — Employee productivity tools, personal AI assistants, and agentic workflows; Tier 3 — Vendor-provided AI and SaaS solutions where AI capabilities operate outside New York Life-managed environments. Tier 3 is expected to require substantial focus. Vendors vary significantly in how they process, retain, govern, and utilize New York Life business data, and effective governance in this area will become increasingly critical as AI capabilities are embedded into more third-party platforms.