Technical Lead, Digital Assistances & Conversational AI

If you’re passionate about innovation and love working in an environment where you can constantly improve and adopt new technologies to drive business results, then Nationwide’s Information Technology team could be the place for you! At Nationwide®, “on your side” goes beyond just words. Our customers are at the center of everything we do and we’re looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care.

This role does not qualify for employer-sponsored work authorization. Nationwide does not participate in the Stem OPT Extension program.

This role will be filled in a hybrid capacity, with collaboration taking place in our Columbus, OH office 2 days per week.

We are seeking a Consultant Software Engineer to serve as the Technical Lead for Nationwide’s Conversational AI initiatives, driving the design and delivery of enterprise-grade solutions. 

Today, our AI capabilities focus on powering enterprise chatbots that support thousands of customers each month. Looking ahead, we are exploring opportunities to expand into omnichannel experiences—including voice, telephony, and other digital channels- to create more seamless and natural customer interactions. 

This role offers a unique opportunity to shape that journey, influencing both the technology stack and the future of how Nationwide engages its customers through AI-powered conversations. 

As Technical Lead, you will: 

• Architect and deliver scalable solutions that integrate AI platforms with enterprise systems. 

• Drive solutioning across the full lifecycle of Conversational AI initiatives—from integrations and automations to data and analytics enablement. 

• Lead and mentor engineers, instilling high standards in security, code quality, and operational excellence. 

• Partner with Product, UX, and Architecture teams to bring new AI-driven capabilities to life. 

Why this role is exciting: 

• Shape the future of Conversational AI at enterprise scale 

• Lead the evolution of Nationwide’s enterprise chatbots toward omnichannel AI assistants 

• Work with leading conversational AI platform Cognigy.ai 

• Work at the intersection of LLMs, APIs, and cloud-native architectures 

• Influence patterns that will define Nationwide’s AI-powered customer experiences for years to come 

#LI-KR1

Job Description Summary

If you’re enthusiastic about delivering secure technology solutions to support a company providing extraordinary care to its customers, then Nationwide Technology is the place for you. Nationwide's industry-leading technology workforce embraces an agile work environment and a collaborative culture to deliver outstanding solutions and results. If that sounds like something you aspire to, we want to hear from you!

As a Software Engineer, you will focus on mentoring and leading others to deliver high quality, cost-effective technology solutions to business partners by crafting new software applications or modifying and/or supporting existing packaged or custom-built applications.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities:

• Responsible for applying secure software and systems engineering practices throughout the delivery lifecycle to ensure our data and technology solutions are protected from threats and vulnerabilities.

• Mentors and trains other team members on design techniques, tools and coding standards. 

• Provides strategic advice on using technology to achieve goals. 

• Drives cross-collaboration and execution of projects across multiple teams. 

• Analyzes, solutions, develops, tests, debugs, documents and deploys software according to standards and optimal practices. 

• Champions the use of DevSecOps practices, tooling and techniques. 

• Ensures continuous learning and improvement thr