Director of IT Innovation & AI

About Ethos

Ethos is a leading life insurance technology company on a mission to protect families by democratizing access to life insurance and empowering agents at scale. With its robust three-sided technology platform, Ethos is transforming the life insurance experience for consumers, agents, and carriers alike. Ethos offers instant, accessible products and a seamless online process that requires no medical exams and just a few health questions; it eliminates traditional barriers, making it easier than ever for everyone to protect their families. Ethos is redefining how life insurance is bought, sold, and underwritten.

About the Role

The Director of IT Innovation & AI is a senior leadership position within the Corporate IT organization, responsible for driving the adoption of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence across enterprise IT infrastructure, operations, and services.

This leader champions a culture of continuous improvement and experimentation - ensuring the organization is modern, governed, and AI-ready. They partner closely with IT operations, infrastructure, security, and business stakeholders to identify where AI and modern tooling can reduce friction, improve reliability, and unlock new value, while owning the IT security controls and compliance programs that intersect with Corporate IT.

Duties and Responsibilities:

AI, Innovation & Modernization

• Define and own the IT innovation roadmap; build a structured framework for ideation, piloting, evaluation, and scaled deployment
• Lead AI-powered initiatives across IT operations including AIOps, intelligent helpdesk, infrastructure optimization, and engineer productivity tooling
• Identify automation opportunities across IT workflows, service delivery, and support; establish AI governance practices covering responsible use, model oversight, and data handling
• Drive modernization programs spanning cloud-native tooling, platform consolidation, ITSM, and self-service IT capabilities; lead platform and vendor evaluation in partnership with architecture teams
• Set technology standards and architectural principles for Corporate IT; represent IT in enterprise technology governance forums

Security, Risk & Compliance

• Ensure security controls for IT-managed systems and platforms including endpoint, corporate email, productivity tools, and network infrastructure are hardened, monitored, and aligned to security standards
• Own IT General Controls (ITGCs) across access, change management, and operations; maintain audit-ready documentation and proactively address control gaps
• Own audit readiness and remediation for IT-owned systems across SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOX; support audit cycles and drive findings to closure
• Build strong relationships across IT, finance, legal, and business stakeholders to align innovation and compliance priorities
• Represent IT in executive forums, steering committees, and vendor partnerships; develop and communicate business cases, ROI models, and KPIs for innovation initiatives

Qualifications and Skills:

Required

• 10+ years in IT, with at least 4 years in a senior technology leadership and innovation-focused role
• Demonstrated experience implementing AI, ML, or intelligent automation within an IT operations or corporate IT context
• Deep understanding of corporate IT domains: infrastructure, cloud, ITSM, security operations, end-user computing
• Proven ability to build and lead high-performing technical teams
• Strong communication skills - able to translate complex technology concepts for both technical and executive audiences
• Experience managing vendor relationships, technology evaluations, and POC/pilot programs
• Experience with AIOps platforms, GenAI tooling, or enterprise automation platforms

Preferred

• Background in cloud infrastructure modernization with an innovation lens
• Familiarity with IT governance frameworks (ITIL, COBIT) and how innovation intersects with process maturity
• Engineering or advanced technical degree is a plus, but not required

#LI-Remote #LI-MK1

The US national base salary range for this full-time position is $149,000 - $262,000. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only and do not include applicable bonus, equity, or benefits.

You can find further details of our US benefits at https://www.ethoslife.com/careers/

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. At Ethos we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace.

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Pursuant to the SF Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider employment for qualified applicants with arrests and conviction records.

To learn more about what information we collect and how it may be used, please refer to our California Candidate Privacy Notice.

Recruitment Notice: Please be aware of recruitment scams. All legitimate communication from our team will only come from email addresses ending in @ethos.com or @getethos.com.

We will never ask for payment, banking details, or sensitive personal information during the hiring process. If you are contacted by someone claiming to represent us from a different email address, please treat it as fraudulent.