Director, AI/ML & Data Science

Job Details

Job Location: Allied Benefit Systems - CHICAGO, IL 60606Position Type: Full TimeSalary Range: $200,000.00 - $215,000.00 SalaryJob Category: Operations

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Director, AI/ML & Data Science will drive AI initiatives that deliver measurable value in the healthcare benefits domain. The Director will lead the development of predictive models and retrieval-augmented GenAI applications from concept through production integration, emphasizing reliability, reusability, and compliance in a regulated environment. They will manage a team and collaborate across product, engineering, and business units to ensure AI solutions achieve real-world impact.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Manage and mentor the data science team to build production-grade AI solutions that address key business needs. Focus on deploying models and ensuring each integration yields concrete business impact.
• Oversee full model integration with core systems in partnership with engineering. Establish robust MLOps pipelines for continuous deployment, data drift alarms, model operations monitoring, and models retraining You will implement A/B production tracks (i.e., sampling holdouts) ensuring continued measurement of your solutions’ benefits and design models for reuse across multiple applications and teams.
• In coordination with governance team members, ensure strong AI governance by following ISO 42001 standards and internal SOPs. Serve on the Model Review Board to evaluate new models and user-built AI tools, confirming they meet quality, ethical, and intended-use criteria before and after deployment.
• Work with technical product owners, engineering, finance, and business stakeholders to align data science projects with desired outcomes. Contribute to cost-benefit and ROI analyses for proposed AI initiatives, helping prioritize projects based on business value, feasibility and user-adoption. Communicate project updates and outcomes to business stakeholders and senior leadership in clear business terms.
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and external solutions. Partner with vendors and assess commercial off-the-shelf AI tools to complement internal efforts, ensuring deployed solutions remain current and high performing.
• Collaborate with peers in AI Quality Assurance, ML Engineering Product, and AI Governance to develop a cohesive, high performing AI Team. Play active role in hiring and mentoring talent across these functions as the program grows.
• Lead, coach, motivate and develop. Responsible for one-on-one meetings, performance appraisals, growth opportunities and attracting new talent.
• Clearly communicate expectations, provide employees with the training, resources, and information needed to succeed.
• Actively engage, coach, counsel and provide timely, and constructive performance feedback.

EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field is required. A Master’s or Ph.D. in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or a related discipline is strongly preferred.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS:

• 12+ years in data science or advanced analytics, demonstrated sustained performance with impact at team(s) or department level..
• At least 5 years at a manager level and successful demonstrated leadership competencies.
• Proven track record of deploying machine learning models into production with operational maintenance.
• Experience with PII/PHI in healthcare, insurance, or other regulated industries is required.
• Deep knowledge of machine learning and statistical techniques (e.g., predictive modeling, NLP).
• Hands-on proficiency with Python and core ML libraries (pandas, scikit-learn, TensorFlow/PyTorch) and data pipeline tools.
• Able to guide the team on technical issues and review code or model designs.
• Strong grasp of MLOps and software engineeri