Director, People AI Engineering & Innovation

The Director, People AI Engineering & Innovation is Assurant’s hands-on AI technical and product leader for the People Organization. This leader establishes the People Organization’s technical AI strategy, architecture, platform roadmap, engineering standards and delivery framework while partnering with SLT sponsors, People Organization teams and the Execution COE to shape and evaluate demand. The Director determines the right solution path and turns prioritized opportunities into secure, production-grade AI products with measurable value. The Director brings deep experience from outside traditional HR and works directly in discovery, prototyping, design review, troubleshooting and delivery when needed. Safety, security, privacy, roles and access, infrastructure readiness, responsible AI and human controls are built into every stage with enterprise technology and control partners. The role establishes clear operating interfaces and decision rights across AI Innovation, Workday and People Technology, People Data and Analytics, ERIN/Unify Experience, the Execution COE, People functional teams and enterprise partners. What will be my duties and responsibilities in this job? People AI Technical Strategy, Architecture & Delivery Framework Establish and evolve the People Organization’s technical AI strategy and roadmap, translating priorities and emerging capabilities into a clear architecture, platform direction and sequenced capability roadmap. Define reusable technical patterns, engineering standards, decision frameworks and delivery practices that move solutions securely from concept through production, stabilization and formal transfer. Partner with SLT sponsors, People teams and the Execution COE to help teams understand what is technically possible, shape opportunities and determine when AI is the right solution versus Workday, automation, process simplification or another platform. Maintain a clear point of view on architecture, platform choices, security, roles and access, responsible AI, production readiness and long-term supportability. Hands-On AI Architecture, Engineering & Delivery Serve as the technical and architecture authority for People AI solutions across approved platforms. Participate directly in prototyping, architecture, workflow and integration design, technical reviews, evaluations and troubleshooting. Lead approved solutions from discovery through design, build, validation, launch and a defined stabilization period. Establish reusable patterns, grounded-solution approaches, evaluation methods, documentation and engineering standards. Safety, Security, Access & Responsible AI Build safety, security, privacy, identity, roles, permissions, least-privilege access and People-data protection into every stage of the lifecycle. Partner at every stage with IT, Infrastructure, Information Security, Privacy, Legal and enterprise AI-governance teams. Ensure appropriate human oversight, escalation, monitoring, auditability and controls for sensitive decisions and higher-risk use cases. Retain approval authority over architecture, security, access, integrations, model changes and production readiness and pause changes that do not meet required standards. Value Realization, Governance & Product Lifecycle Define success measures for adoption, quality, capacity released, experience improvement, control effectiveness and sustained ROI. After stabilization, complete a formal transfer to a named business or product owner who owns adoption, business priorities, backlog and value realization. Retain technical governance over architecture, security, access, integrations, model or platform changes, evaluations, monitoring and production readiness. Partner with the Execution COE and product owners on quarterly results readouts and recommendations to scale, improve, hold or retire solutions. Operating Model, Decision Rights & Cross-Functional Partnership Establish and maintain clear operating interfaces across AI Innovation, Workday and People Technology, Data and Analytics, ERIN/Unify Experience, the Execution COE, functional teams and enterprise partners. Define and uphold decision rights, design authorities, service expectations, escalation paths, technical ownership and lifecycle accountabilities. Partner with SLT sponsors and functional teams on business problems; partner with the Execution COE on education, show-and-tells, discovery, intake, prioritization and portfolio governance. Partner with the Workday leader when solutions touch Workday data, processes, roles, integrations or transactions, preserving Workday as the authoritative system of record. Contribute technical perspective, demonstrations and reusable examples that help leaders recognize opportunities, without sole accountability for generating organizational demand. Talent & Team Leadership Build a high-performing, hands-on AI product and engineering team by setting a clear talent standard and meaningful accountability for outcomes. Develop talent through direct coaching, technical reviews, differentiated development, stretch assignments and clear expectations. Build bench strength and succession capability and prepare team members for broader product, technical and leadership responsibility. Evolve roles and hire capabilities where gaps exist, with emphasis on architecture, engineering, security, evaluation, responsible AI and production delivery. Use external partners selectively while maintaining internal architecture authority, technical knowledge, accountability and ownership. What are the requirements needed for this position?  Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, information systems, data science or a related technical field, or equivalent relevant experience. 10+ years of progressive technology, software, data or AI experience, including leadership of production and enterprise-grade solutions and teams. 3+ years of deep h