Sr. Director, AI Center of Excellence; Remote

Sr. Director, AI Center of Excellence (Remote)

Join to apply for the Sr. Director, AI Center of Excellence (Remote) role at Inspira Financial.

Take the next step in your journey at Inspira Financial. You will help businesses and individuals thrive today, tomorrow, and into retirement. We are people‑centric and client‑obsessed, focused on driving results to deliver our mission with an unwavering commitment to integrity.

Remote locations are available in the following states: AL, AZ, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, NC, NE, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA and WV. Employees within a 90‑minute radius of our Oak Brook, IL headquarters must adhere to a 4‑day‑per‑month in‑office requirement from 10 am to 2 pm (one of the days must be a Monday or Friday). This requirement does not apply to support specialist positions.

Relocation is not provided.

We encourage diverse candidates to apply even if not all requirements are met.

The Senior Director, AI Center of Excellence (CoE) is a visionary leader responsible for setting the strategic direction, roadmap, and governance for the company’s AI initiatives. This role bridges executive leadership and technical teams, ensuring the AI strategy accelerates the company’s transformation from services to software.

• Set the vision, strategy, and governance model for the AI Center of Excellence, ensuring alignment with company transformation goals.
• Act as the primary liaison between executive leadership and technical teams, translating business objectives into actionable AI initiatives.
• Lead the identification, prioritization, and execution of high‑impact AI use cases, balancing feasibility, impact, and ethical considerations.
• Oversee the end‑to‑end lifecycle of AI/ML products and solutions—from ideation and prototyping to deployment, scaling, and adoption across the enterprise.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure AI product success, adoption, and business value.
• Drive a culture of responsible AI, embedding risk management, compliance, and ethical frameworks into all AI initiatives.
• Champion change management and upskilling, partnering with business leaders to promote AI fluency and adoption.
• Collaborate with internal and external partners to evaluate AI platforms, tools, and vendors, ensuring best‑in‑class solutions.
• Support business leaders in capturing and communicating ROI from AI investments.
• Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and regulatory developments to inform AI strategy.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a high‑performing team of AI professionals, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Provide direction, guidance, and support to the AI CoE team; set clear expectations, delegate tasks, and ensure effective communication.
• Evaluate team performance, provide feedback, conduct performance reviews, and create growth plans.
• Remove barriers for the team, ensuring access to tools, resources, and context needed for execution.
• Actively coach and develop individual team members, fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment.
• Make decisions that balance strategic priorities and operational realities.
• Cultivate relationships with clients, partners, and other departments to facilitate collaboration and achieve common goals.
• Recruit, interview, hire, and train new team members as needed.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in technology leadership roles, with a focus on AI/ML, digital transformation, or product management.
• Proven track record of leading enterprise‑scale AI initiatives and delivering measurable business outcomes.
• Experience managing cross‑functional teams and complex portfolios in fast‑paced, high‑growth environments.
• Deep understanding of modern AI/ML architectures, cloud platforms, and AI technology stacks.
• Demonstrated ability to drive change management, adoption, and upskilling across diverse business units.
• Experience with risk management, compliance, and ethical frameworks…