Corporate Vice Pres, Dir, AI/Agentic Experience Strategy and UX Architecture - Consumer Journeys

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Corporate Vice Pres, Dir, AI/Agentic Experience Strategy and UX Architecture - Consumer Journeys

Company: New York Life

Location: New York, NY, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Experience Strategy & AI/UX Architecture

Date Posted: 2026-05-04T19:51:25

Experience Level: 10+ Years

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead the development and implementation of AI and agentic experience strategies for end-to-end consumer and client journeys within a leading financial services organization.

• Define and govern the architecture for AI-driven user experiences, ensuring seamless integration across digital touchpoints and human-AI collaboration models.

• Drive innovation in AI experience concept development and experimentation, translating insights into actionable strategies for next-generation digital offerings.

• Act as a strategic partner, collaborating across Product Management, Design, Technology, and Data/AI teams to align on AI experience vision and execution.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned at a senior level, indicated by "Corporate Vice Pres, Dir," and focuses on a highly strategic and forward-looking area within New York Life: AI-enabled customer experiences. The emphasis on "Consumer Journeys" and "UX Architecture" suggests a deep need for understanding the entire customer lifecycle and how AI can enhance or redefine it. This is not a purely technical AI role but one that bridges business strategy, customer experience, and advanced technology.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Steward the AI and agentic experience strategy for diverse personas (consumers, prospects, policyholders, beneficiaries) across the full lifecycle, from initial awareness to claims processing.

• Develop and refine frameworks for AI integration, distinguishing between AI-enabled and AI-native experiences, and defining optimal human-AI collaboration models.

• Facilitate future-state experience visioning exercises, reimagining customer journeys within an AI-native context and identifying opportunities for new experience moments.

• Lead hands-on AI experience concept development, partnering with Experience Design and business leaders to prototype and test AI-first interaction models.

• Design and manage AI experience experiments to build organizational evidence for effective AI strategies and models.

• Analyze current-state journeys and AI touchpoints to inform future-state AI-enabled experience design.

• Pioneer new strategy and experience artifact types tailored for AI-driven consumer interactions, such as AI behavior maps and AI experience scorecards.

• Build and utilize AI-powered tools to accelerate strategy development, scenario simulation, and iterative design.

• Apply deep financial services domain knowledge to identify genuine value creation and mitigate risks associated with AI in insurance and financial planning.

• Develop and curate a library of reusable AI/agentic UX patterns to ensure consistency and accelerate design and development across platforms.

• Recommend standards for consistent AI experience treatment across personas, allowing for intentional nuance based on lifecycle stage or product type.

• Design and facilitate workshops to drive alignment among a broad stakeholder set, translating outputs into actionable frameworks and strategic recommendations.

• Develop experience-oriented risk-complexity frameworks to guide AI automation, assistance, and autonomy levels.

• Contribute to AI experience governance frameworks and guardrail standards, ensuring accountability in execution.

• Partner with Consumer Protection, Compliance, Legal, and Regulatory teams to embed constraints into AI strategy and guidance.

• Build and maintain strong relationships with Product Management, Product Design, Consumer Marketing, Technology, Data & AI, Compliance, and Program Management.

• Communicate AI experience strategy, frameworks, and governance models effectively to diverse audiences.

• Maintain working fluency in key AI domains (Generative AI, LLMs, agentic systems, conversational AI, RAG) for credible technical partnership.

• Stay informed on AI adoption patterns in consumer financial services and insurance to bring market insight.

• Explore and integrate omnichannel experience strategies, including digital self-service, contact center AI, and agent-assisted models.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities clearly indicate a strategic leadership role that requires bridging business objectives, customer experience design, and cutting-edge AI technologies. The emphasis on "facilitation," "collaboration," and "framework development" highlights the consultative nature of this position, requiring strong interpersonal and strategic thinking skills alongside AI domain knowledge.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Product Management, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field.

Experience:

• 10+ years in product strategy, experience strategy, management consulting, or strategic facilitation within complex, matrixed organizations.

• Demonstrated expertise in life insurance, financial planning, retirement, or wealth management through direct consumer/client-facing roles, product/strategy positions, or relevant consulting experience.

• Proven track record of developing and operationalizing strategic frameworks and facilitating cross-functional alignment processes.

• Direct experience engaging with AI or data teams on product feasibility, capability tradeoffs, and responsible AI considerations.

• Track record of hands-on AI experience concept development, experimentation, or prototyping in partnership with design and technology teams.

Required Skills:

• Deep financial services domain knowledge across life insurance, financial planning, retirement income, and wealth management, including consumer and client journey dynamics, product complexity, and relevant regulatory/consumer protection context.

• Working fluency across AI and agentic technology domains (e.g., Generative AI, LLMs, agentic systems, conversational AI, RAG, predictive models) sufficient for credible technical partnership and capability evaluation.

• Hands-on fluency with AI tools and platforms to develop AI experience concepts, evaluate AI behavior, and build strategy artifacts.

• Exceptional strategic facilitation, framework development, and workshop design skills; ability to structure ambiguous problems and drive groups to actionable conclusions.

• Ability to envision and articulate future-state AI experience models, not just optimize current-state experiences with AI.

• Strong communication skills with demonstrated ability to tailor messaging across executive, business, and working-level audiences.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience developing novel strategy artifacts or practice methodologies for emerging technology domains.

• Familiarity with omnichannel experience strategy, including digital self-service, contact center AI, agent-assisted models, and AI-mediated discovery.

• Up-to-date knowledge of AI adoption patterns in consumer financial services and insurance.

📝 Enhancement Note: The qualifications emphasize a unique blend of deep financial services industry knowledge, strategic thinking, and practical AI/UX experience. The "working fluency" in AI and "hands-on fluency" with AI tools suggest that while this isn't a deep engineering role, a solid understanding and ability to experiment with AI capabilities are critical. The preference for experience with novel strategy artifacts underscores the pioneering nature of this role.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase of developed strategic frameworks and methodologies for complex business challenges, demonstrating ability to structure ambiguity and drive alignment.

• Examples of future-state visioning and concept development for customer-facing experiences, particularly those leveraging emerging technologies.

• Case studies illustrating hands-on AI experience concept development, prototyping, or experimentation, highlighting collaboration with design and technology partners.

• Documentation of successfully facilitated workshops or collaborative forums that led to actionable strategic outcomes.

Process Documentation:

• Examples of how current-state consumer/client journeys were analyzed to identify AI opportunities and risks.

• Documentation of AI experience experiment designs, including hypotheses, methodologies, and outcome analysis.

• Demonstrations of novel strategy artifacts or experience deliverables created for AI-driven initiatives.

• Examples of AI-powered tools or simulations used to accelerate strategy work or evaluate AI experience designs.

• Records of developing or contributing to AI experience governance frameworks or guardrail standards.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the role's focus on strategy, concept development, and experimentation, a portfolio demonstrating strategic thinking, facilitation, and practical application of AI in customer experience is essential. The emphasis should be on the process of strategy development and the outcomes achieved, particularly in ambiguous or novel areas like AI.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $119,000 - $200,000 USD per year

Benefits:

• Full package of benefits for employees.

• Leave Programs.

• Adoption Assistance.

• Student Loan Repayment Programs.

• Annual Discretionary Bonus.

• Incentive Program participation may be eligible.

• Comprehensive benefits offering designed to help employees flourish inside and outside of work.

Working Hours: 40 hours per week (Exempt)

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is a broad estimate, typical for senior-level strategic roles in major financial institutions in high-cost-of-living areas like New York City. The "Exempt" status indicates the role is not eligible for overtime pay. The listed benefits are indicative of a comprehensive package, with specific programs like adoption assistance and student loan repayment highlighting a modern approach to employee support.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Services (Life Insurance, Financial Planning, Retirement, Wealth Management)

Company Size: Large Enterprise (New York Life is a Fortune 100 company with a significant global presence and workforce).

Founded: 1845. New York Life has a long-standing legacy of stability and integrity, now actively transforming and embracing technology, data, and AI.

Team Structure:

• The role sits within the "Experience and Digital Marketing" department, indicating a strong focus on customer-centric digital transformation.

• Operates as a trusted partner to a broad, matrixed set of stakeholders across Product Management, Designers, Business Operators, Content Teams, Performance Marketing, Compliance, Technology, and AI/Data teams.

Methodology:

• Emphasis on data-driven decision-making and AI-enabled experiences.

• Focus on strategic framework development, concept innovation, and rigorous experimentation.

• A blend of human-led advice and AI-driven efficiency is a core organizational strategy.

• Commitment to responsible AI and compliance within a regulated industry.

Company Website: https://www.newyorklife.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: New York Life's long history combined with its current embrace of AI and digital transformation creates a unique culture. It's a company that values stability and trust while pushing the boundaries of innovation. The "Experience and Digital Marketing" department suggests this role is central to the company's future customer engagement strategy.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is at a Director/Corporate Vice President level, signifying senior leadership responsibility for strategic initiatives. It sits at the intersection of business strategy, customer experience, and emerging technology.

Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, a role at this level typically reports to a VP or SVP within the Experience, Digital, or Marketing organization. The collaborative nature implies significant interaction with peers and leaders across various departments.

Operations Impact: This role has a direct and significant impact on how New York Life engages with its customers. By shaping AI and agentic experiences, it influences customer acquisition, retention, satisfaction, operational efficiency, and the company's competitive positioning in the digital age. The success of AI integration directly impacts revenue generation, cost savings, and brand perception.

Growth Opportunities:

• Strategic Leadership: Opportunity to define and lead the AI experience strategy for a major financial institution, setting precedents for future technology adoption.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Develop strong relationships and influence across critical business units (Product, Tech, Marketing, Compliance), enhancing leadership capabilities.

• Emerging Technology Expertise: Become a recognized expert in AI/agentic experience strategy within the financial services industry, a rapidly evolving and high-demand field.

• Innovation Leadership: Drive innovation by pioneering new strategies, artifacts, and experimentation methodologies for AI in customer journeys.

• Career Advancement: Potential to move into broader executive leadership roles within digital transformation, customer experience, or product innovation.

📝 Enhancement Note: This is a high-impact role with substantial growth potential, particularly for individuals looking to lead in the burgeoning field of AI-driven customer experience within a stable, established industry leader. The opportunity to shape strategy from the ground up is significant.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid - 3 days per week in the New York City Home Office (Tues, Wed, Thu).

Office Location(s): New York, NY.

Workspace Context:

• The hybrid model suggests a blend of focused individual work and collaborative in-office sessions.

• The required in-office days (Tues, Wed, Thu) are typical for fostering team synergy and facilitating key meetings.

• As a Corporate Vice President/Director, the workspace will likely be conducive to strategic thinking, collaboration, and executive-level engagement.

• Access to modern office facilities and technology will be expected.

Work Schedule: Standard full-time (40 hours/week), with flexibility for strategic initiatives, though the role's senior nature implies significant commitment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid arrangement is a key aspect of the work environment, balancing flexibility with the need for in-person collaboration crucial for strategic roles. The specified in-office days are important for candidates to note when considering their commute and work-life integration.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of resume and application for alignment with core qualifications (experience in financial services, strategy, AI/UX).

• Hiring Manager Interview: Deep dive into strategic thinking, AI domain knowledge, financial services expertise, and leadership style. Expect questions on how you've approached similar challenges.

• Cross-Functional Stakeholder Interviews: Meetings with peers and leaders from Product Management, Design, Technology, Compliance, and Business units. Focus on collaboration style, ability to influence, and understanding of their domains.

• Executive/Leadership Interview: Assessment of strategic vision, executive presence, and alignment with New York Life's culture and long-term goals.

• Portfolio Presentation (Potential): May be asked to present relevant case studies or strategic frameworks from your past work, demonstrating your approach to strategy development, AI concepting, and stakeholder alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Strategic Frameworks: Showcase examples of frameworks you've developed to solve complex problems or guide strategic decisions. Highlight the problem, your approach, and the outcome.

• AI Concept Development: Present case studies of AI experience concepts you've developed, detailing the user problem, the AI solution, design considerations, and any testing or experimentation results.

• Facilitation & Alignment: Illustrate your ability to lead workshops and drive consensus among diverse stakeholders, providing examples of how you translated group input into actionable strategies.

• Financial Services Context: Ensure any examples clearly demonstrate your understanding of the financial services industry, its unique challenges, and regulatory landscape.

• AI Fluency: Articulate your understanding of different AI technologies and how they can be applied to specific customer journey problems, focusing on practical applications and responsible AI.

Challenge Preparation:

• Strategic Problem-Solving: Be prepared to discuss how you would approach defining an AI strategy for a specific customer journey (e.g., life insurance application, retirement planning advice).

• Human-AI Collaboration: Discuss your philosophy and practical approaches to balancing AI automation with human expertise and empathy in customer interactions, especially in a regulated industry.

• Innovation & Experimentation: Prepare to articulate how you would foster experimentation with AI experiences and measure their success, including how to build organizational buy-in for new approaches.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is likely to be multi-faceted, assessing strategic acumen, technical understanding, and interpersonal skills. A strong portfolio showcasing strategic frameworks, AI concept work, and facilitation skills will be crucial for demonstrating readiness for this role.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• AI/ML Platforms: Familiarity with platforms for Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), Conversational AI, Agentic systems, and potentially RAG-based knowledge systems. This might include cloud-based AI services (AWS, Azure, GCP) or specialized AI development tools.

• Collaboration & Strategy Tools: Proficiency in tools for workshop facilitation, strategic planning, journey mapping, and process documentation (e.g., Miro, Mural, Lucidchart, Visio, Aha!, Jira).

• Prototyping Tools: Experience with tools for concept development and prototyping, potentially including AI-powered design aids or low-code/no-code platforms for rapid iteration.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Customer Journey Analytics: Understanding of tools used to analyze customer behavior across digital touchpoints and identify friction points or opportunities for AI enhancement.

• Performance Metrics: Familiarity with KPIs related to customer experience, AI model performance, and business outcomes.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: While not explicitly a CRM management role, understanding how AI integrates with CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce) for personalized customer interactions is beneficial.

• Workflow Automation: Awareness of how AI can drive workflow automation within customer service, sales, and marketing processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: While specific tool names aren't listed, the role requires a strong understanding of the capabilities of AI technologies and related experience design tools. The emphasis is on leveraging these tools for strategic development and concepting rather than deep technical implementation.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Integrity and Purpose: Commitment to ethical practices and fulfilling the company's mission of helping people achieve financial security.

• Humanity: Valuing human connection, empathy, and the importance of human-led advice, even as AI is integrated.

• Innovation and Progress: Embracing new technologies and forward-thinking approaches to redefine customer experiences.

• Collaboration: Working effectively across teams to achieve shared goals and drive collective success.

• Excellence: Striving for high performance, quality, and impactful outcomes in all initiatives.

Collaboration Style:

• Matrixed Partnership: Requires influencing and collaborating with diverse stakeholders across different departments, often without direct authority.

• Facilitative Leadership: Emphasis on guiding discussions, synthesizing input, and building consensus through workshops and structured forums.

• Cross-Functional Integration: Seamless integration of AI strategy with product development, marketing campaigns, compliance reviews, and technology implementation.

• Open Communication: Encouraging transparent dialogue about AI possibilities, risks, and constraints.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's values, particularly "Humanity" alongside "Innovation," are critical. This role must balance the power of AI with the enduring value of human connection and trust in financial services. Collaboration is not just encouraged but is the primary mechanism for driving strategy.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Innovation with Regulation: Navigating the highly regulated financial services industry while pioneering AI-driven experiences requires careful attention to compliance, risk, and consumer protection.

• Organizational Change Management: Driving adoption of new AI strategies and technologies across a large, established organization can be challenging, requiring strong change management and communication skills.

• Defining "Responsible AI": Establishing clear guidelines and practices for ethical, unbiased, and transparent AI usage in customer interactions.

• Quantifying AI Value: Developing robust methods to measure the ROI and impact of AI investments in customer experience, especially for novel applications.

• Managing Hype vs. Reality: Maintaining a pragmatic approach to AI capabilities, distinguishing between transformative potential and current limitations, and avoiding over-promising.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepening AI Expertise: Opportunity to work closely with AI and Data science teams, expanding knowledge of advanced AI techniques and applications.

• Financial Services Innovation: Becoming a leader in applying cutting-edge AI to unique challenges within the insurance and wealth management sectors.

• Strategic Leadership Development: Honing skills in executive communication, stakeholder management, and large-scale strategic initiative leadership.

• Industry Best Practices: Staying at the forefront of AI adoption trends in financial services through conferences, research, and internal knowledge sharing.

• Mentorship: Potential to mentor junior team members or be mentored by senior leaders within the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents significant opportunities for growth by tackling complex, forward-looking challenges at the intersection of AI, customer experience, and financial services. Successfully navigating these challenges will position the candidate as a leader in a critical and evolving field.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your process for developing an AI experience strategy for a complex customer journey, such as life insurance underwriting or retirement planning." (Focus on frameworks, stakeholder engagement, and risk assessment.)

• "How would you differentiate between an AI-enabled experience and an AI-native experience, and what are the implications for UX architecture?" (Demonstrate understanding of AI's transformative potential.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "How would you ensure that AI-driven experiences align with New York Life's core values of integrity, humanity, and customer-centricity?" (Show awareness of company values and the need for responsible AI.)

• "Given our long history, how would you approach driving adoption of new AI strategies and technologies within the organization?" (Address change management and collaboration.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Organize your presentation around key strategic challenges, your approach (frameworks, facilitation), the AI solutions/concepts developed, and the measurable outcomes or learnings.

• Narrative: Tell a compelling story about how you identified opportunities, engaged stakeholders, navigated complexities, and delivered strategic impact.

• AI Focus: Clearly articulate the role of AI in your examples, demonstrating your fluency and practical application of AI concepts in a business context.

• Financial Services Relevance: Tailor examples to resonate with the financial services industry, highlighting understanding of customer needs, product complexity, and regulatory considerations.

• Conciseness: Be prepared to present key elements efficiently and dive deeper into specifics as requested.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should prepare to showcase strategic thinking, practical AI application, strong facilitation skills, and a deep understanding of the financial services landscape. Demonstrating an ability to balance innovation with regulation and human values will be critical.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the New York Life careers portal link provided.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight experience in product strategy, experience strategy, AI/UX architecture, financial services domain knowledge, and strategic facilitation. Quantify achievements wherever possible, especially those related to process optimization or strategic initiative success.

• Prepare Your Portfolio: Curate examples that demonstrate your ability to develop strategic frameworks, concept AI experiences, facilitate cross-functional workshops, and navigate complex industries like financial services. Focus on roles where you bridged business strategy and technology innovation.

• Research New York Life: Understand their mission, values, recent digital transformation efforts, and their approach to AI. Familiarize yourself with their commitment to customer security and trust.

• Practice Your Narrative: Be ready to articulate your strategic vision, your approach to human-AI collaboration, and how your experience directly addresses the key responsibilities and qualifications outlined in the job description. Prepare to discuss specific case studies from your portfolio.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.