Lead AI Architect

Lead AI Architect (AI)

Cigna Healthcare is a global health service company dedicated to transforming healthcare. With roots in the U.S. and operations in over 30 countries, we serve more than 180 million customers and patients worldwide. Ranked 13th on the Fortune 500 in 2025, Cigna is recognized as one of the most trusted and influential names in the industry.

Our mission is to improve the health, well-being, and peace of mind of those we serve.

Join our globally recognized brand, where trust, communication, and a positive culture are at the core of everything we do. Our leadership is consistent, approachable, and supportive-ensuring your well-being and work-life balance.

We're looking for individuals who thrive in collaborative environments, are passionate about meaningful change, and want to grow in a company that puts people first.

At Cigna, you'll be part of a purpose-driven team that values innovation, compassion, and impact. Whether you're shaping better care experiences or supporting customers through life's key moments, your work will matter.

Grow with us-and help shape the future of healthcare.

Purpose of this Role

• The Lead AI Architect (AI) is responsible for defining, adopting, and assuring AI-enabled data architectures that are commercially viable, technically robust, and aligned to Cigna's enterprise and data strategy.
• As part of the International Health Global Architecture function, this role sets architectural direction and ensures strategic priorities are realized through data and AI delivery.
• This role will drive innovation, productivity and operational improvements, and customer experience transformation by applying modern AI architecture in a secure, scalable, and responsible manner.
• This role collaborates closely with business leaders, product teams, engineering, and third-party partners to ensure data and AI investments deliver measurable value while meeting regulatory, operational, and security requirements.

Main Duties / Responsibilities

Strategy & Architecture Leadership

• Architect and own enterprise-scale Generative AI platforms supporting multiple business use cases, including internal pilots, automation assistants, knowledge discovery, and customer-facing AI experiences.
• Define and maintain reference target-state data and AI architectures for International Markets, aligned to enterprise architecture standards and data strategy.
• Act as a senior architectural authority for AI-enabled data solutions, ensuring consistency, reuse, and long-term sustainability across the landscape.
• Advocate for AI-driven data design, embedding modern AI and analytics patterns into enterprise data platforms and services.
• Maintain an active awareness of emerging trends in data architecture, AI/ML, and enterprise technology, assessing their potential impact and value for Cigna, advising senior leadership on AI strategy, feasibility and adoption paths.

AI Architecture

• Define architectural patterns and standards to support AI model lifecycle management, AI and data pipelines, feature engineering, and associated design artefacts.
• Architect and own enterprise-scale Generative AI platforms supporting multiple business use cases, including internal pilots, automation assistants, knowledge discovery, and customer-facing AI experiences.
• Define and maintain reference architectures and design patterns for LLM-based applications, covering model access, orchestration, retrieval, prompt management, evaluation, and observability.
• Ensure that AI architectures support the needs of data science, analytics, and AI use cases, including scalability, performance, data quality, and governance.
• Work with Solution Architects and engineering teams to translate business and technical requirements into coherent end-to-end data and AI solution designs.

Delivery & Governance

• Participate across the full delivery lifecycle, from early concept shaping and investment cases through to design assurance and governance during build and implementation.
• Provide architecture governance through design reviews, standards definition, and participation in architecture review and approval forums.
• Capture and manage architectural risks, issues, and assumptions, articulating their financial, operational, and delivery impacts.
• Support sponsors in the creation of well-rounded and compelling business cases for data and AI-led change.

Stakeholder & Commercial Leadership

• Proactively engage with stakeholders across Business, IT, and third-party partners to ensure solutions are cost-effective, appropriate, and aligned to business outcomes.
• Take a lead role in the selection and assessment of third-party data and AI solutions, establishing and maintaining effective supplier and partner relationships where required.
• Apply strong commercial awareness, including financial planning, budgeting, and cost-benefit considerations, in architectural decision-making.

Capability Building & Mentoring

• Provide high-level mentoring and guidance to architects, design, and development teams to embed data and AI…