SVP, Head of AI Solutions Technology

Role Summary/Purpose:

Help Synchrony accelerate responsible AI adoption and deliver measurable business impact by leading the technology capability that transforms prioritized business-unit AI use cases into advanced solutions. As SVP, Head of AI Solutions Technology, you will oversee delivery across multiple programs, lead AI initiatives from concept to real adoption, and ensure AI solutions accelerate transformation across business units and functions.

Reporting to the Chief AI Officer, you will lead a team of AI experts responsible for designing and delivering capabilities for high-priority enterprise programs. You will partner closely with the AI leadership and teams across product, engineering, data, architecture, security, risk, legal, compliance, and the business to translate opportunities into executable technical roadmaps and durable technology outcomes.

You are a hands-on technical leader with deep AI expertise, strong software engineering experience, and the ability to lead through complexity. You can engage directly with business units, analyze workflows, understand business goals and transformation plans, design target-state architectures centered on agentic AI, and drive responsible AI delivery.

This role enables the Chief AI Officer to translate Synchrony’s strategy for embedding generative AI into business workflows into disciplined execution and advanced agentic AI solutions. The SVP, Head of AI Solutions Technology, will provide the technical leadership and delivery discipline required to move priority use cases from concept through implementation and initial adoption.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Lead AI solutions technology across strategic business-unit and enterprise use cases, managing technical leads and delivery teams across multiple concurrent programs to deliver secure and scalable AI solutions.
• Serve as a hands-on technical leader for complex AI designs, including solution architecture, model integration, data flows, APIs, workflow automation, agentic patterns, evaluation strategies and observability.
• Translate prioritized AI opportunities into executable roadmaps, delivery plans, and technical milestones aligned to business-unit outcomes, enterprise priorities, and responsible AI guardrails.
• Establish and enforce AgenticAI development standards to be used across the enterprise
• Partner with architecture, cybersecurity, data, infrastructure, platform, risk, legal, compliance, privacy, and model governance teams to ensure AI solutions meet enterprise control, resiliency, auditability, and responsible AI expectations.
• Lead design reviews and technical decision forums for major AI initiatives, ensuring teams make sound tradeoffs across build-versus-buy, model selection, integration patterns, scalability, latency, cost, maintainability, and risk.
• Build reusable AI assets, services, shared components, reference architectures, implementation playbooks, and delivery patterns that reduce cycle time and improve consistency across AI programs.
• Develop and grow high-performing AI technology talent, including hiring, coaching, succession planning, performance management, technical mentorship, and creation of a culture of excellence.
• Drive disciplined execution across Agile delivery teams, ensuring clear ownership, transparent progress, active risk management, strong dependency coordination, and rapid escalation of blockers.
• Partner with the product and business leaders to clarify requirements, identify feasibility constraints, define success metrics, and ensure AI solutions are designed for adoption, usability, and measurable value.
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies, frameworks, platforms, and vendors, and recommend practical adoption paths that strengthen Synchrony’s AI technology capability while managing risk and complexity
• Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Mathematics, or a related technical discipline and 12+ years of software engineering, data engineering, machine learning or AI
• Proven track record leading tech organizations or multi-team technical programs delivering complex, enterprise-scale technology solutions.
• Hands-on Experience with modern AI application patterns, including RAG, agentic workflows, model orchestration, evaluation frameworks, LLMOps/MLOps, vector search, and AI platform capabilities.
• Ability to operate amid ambiguity, rapidly evolving AI technology, and competing enterprise priorities while maintaining technical quality, team focus, and delivery momentum.
• Deep software engineering experience across architecture, APIs, cloud-native delivery, data integration.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex technical design work, make architecture tradeoffs, partner with enterprise architecture teams, and communicate technical decisions clearly to senior leaders and delivery teams.
• Experience managing technical leads, AI engineers and/or data scientists, including staffing, prioritization, performance management, coaching, standards, and talent development.
• Strong executive communication skills, including the ability to explain complex AI topics, risks, tradeoffs, costs, and delivery implications in clear business language.
• Experience operating in Agile with strong delivery management, dependency coordination, and cross-functional execution discipline.
• Experience building internal AI platforms, reusable components, or accelerators that improve delivery speed and consistency across teams.
• Ability and flexibility to travel for business as required

Desired Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, AI, Applied Mathematics, or a related technical field.
• Understanding of responsible AI, model risk, data privacy, cybersecurity, legal, compliance, auditability, access controls, and operational risk considerations relevant to AI systems in a regulated environment.
• Experience leading AI engineering in financial services, banking, payments, credit, risk, fraud, servicing, marketing, operations, or another highly regulated domain.
• Experience managing technology vendors, cloud providers, AI platforms, consulting partners, or shared engineering resources, including scope, delivery, cost, quality, and operational accountability.

Grade/Level: 15

The salary range for this position is 200,000.00 - 330,000.00 USD Annual. This position is also eligible for an Annual Incentive Plan target of 25% of salary and an Annual Equity target of 25% of salary.

Actual compensation offered within the posted salary range will be based upon work experience, skill level or knowledge.

Salaries are adjusted according to market in CA, NY Metro and Seattle.

Our Way of Working:

We’re proud to offer you flexibility. At Synchrony, our way of working allows you to have the option to work from home near one of our Hubs or come into one of our offices. You will be required to commute to your nearest Hub (either virtual or physical) for in-person engagement activities such as regular business or team meetings, training and culture events.

*Field Sales and some Commercial team roles may have varied location requirements based upon partner obligations or preferences.

Eligibility Requirements:

• You must be 18 years or older
• You must have a high school diploma or equivalent
• You must be willing to take a drug test, submit to a background investigation and submit fingerprints as part of the onboarding process
• You must be able to satisfy the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.

New hires (Level 4-7) must have 9 months of continuous service with the company before they are eligible to post on other roles. Once this new hire time in position requirement is met, the associate will have a minimum 6 months’ time in position before they can post for future non-exempt roles. Employees, level 8 or greater, must have at least 18 months’ time in position before they can post. All internal employees must consistently meet performance expectations and have approval from your manager to post (or the approval of your manager and HR if you don’t meet the time in position or performance expectations).

Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required. We will not sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future, for this job opening. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Our Commitment:

When you join us, you’ll be part of an inclusive culture where your individual skills, experience, and voice are not only heard – but valued. Together, we’re building a future where we can all belong, connect, and turn ideals into action. More than 50% of our workforce is engaged in our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), where community and passion intersect to offer a safe space to learn and grow.

This starts when you choose to apply for a role at Synchrony. We ensure all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. We’re proud to have an award-winning culture for all.

Reasonable Accommodation Notice:

Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job or to perform your job. Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment.

If you need special accommodations, please call our Career Support Line so that we can discuss your specific situation. We can be reached at recruiter contact. Representatives are available from 8am – 5pm Monday to Friday, Central Standard Time

Job Family Group: Information Technology