We’re building a world of health around every individual — shaping a more connected, convenient and compassionate health experience. At CVS Health®, you’ll be surrounded by passionate colleagues who care deeply, innovate with purpose, hold ourselves accountable and prioritize safety and quality in everything we do. Join us and be part of something bigger – helping to simplify health care one person, one family and one community at a time.
Position Summary
Are you a hands-on AI engineering leader who wants to be the technical brain behind how a large healthcare organization builds, governs, and scales AI? CVS Health is seeking an Executive Director, AI Engineering, to serve as the senior AI technical authority for the Third-Party Administrator (TPA) and Payer Solutions Technology organization, including Meritain Health, one of the nation's largest third-party administrators, and our Wholesale businesses. This is a rare opportunity to define how AI is engineered, delivered, and operated across a multi-year transformation that will reshape how millions of members, employers, brokers, and providers experience their health benefits.
You will lead a highly skilled team of AI engineers and serve as the primary AI engineering partner to the transformation leader, owning the AI engineering approach, technical foundation, agentic framework, AI software development lifecycle (AI SDLC), and AI operating model. Beyond the transformation, you will act as a distinguished engineer for the broader TPA and Payer Solutions organization, raising AI acumen and infusing AI value across engineering, product, and business teams.
Success requires strong partnerships across CVS Health and Aetna enterprise AI, data, architecture, security, and compliance teams, leveraging enterprise platforms while delivering business-specific outcomes. You will be credible with engineers and executives alike, able to go deep on technical design and translate it into clear trade-offs and measurable business value.
Key Responsibilities
- Serve as the senior AI technical authority for TPA and Payer Solutions Technology, setting AI engineering strategy aligned to business goals and to CVS Health and Aetna enterprise AI direction.
- Partner with the transformation leader to define and deliver the AI engineering approach and technical foundation, including reference architectures, reusable components, and sequencing of AI capabilities across digital experience, service operations, and core platform modernization.
- Define the agentic AI framework, including agent design patterns, orchestration, tool and data integration, evaluation, guardrails, and human-in-the-loop controls, so agentic solutions are built once and reused safely.
- Establish the AI SDLC covering how AI solutions are designed, built, tested, evaluated, deployed, monitored, and retired, including AI-assisted software engineering practices that raise productivity and quality.
- Define the future-state AI operating model, including team structures, roles and skills, intake and prioritization, build-versus-buy and vendor guidance, platform and tooling standards, and interfaces with enterprise AI, data, architecture, and security teams.
- Lead development and implementation of AI solutions across generative AI, natural language processing, machine learning, computer vision, and intelligent automation, with a focus on production outcomes in claims, enrollment, prior authorization, and member and provider service.
- Advise leaders and teams on technology selection, standards, best practices, and industry trends, with clear recommendations on models, platforms, and vendors.
- Ensure AI solutions meet ethical, privacy, and regulatory requirements, including HIPAA, partnering with legal, compliance, privacy, and security to embed governance, auditability, and risk controls.
- Measure AI effectiveness, including model quality, reliability, cost, adoption, and business impact, and report value realized and risks managed to senior leadership.
- Provide AI leadership for the organization: build a high-caliber AI engineering team by defining the talent profile, hiring the right people, and developing technical leaders, while fostering a culture of innovation, rigor, and continuous learning.
- Act as a distinguished engineer and force multiplier across the broader TPA and Payer Solutions organization, coaching engineering leaders, reviewing designs, and running enablement programs that lift AI skills well beyond direct reports.
- Collaborate with business and technology leaders to identify where AI can improve processes, enhance member experience, or drive innovation, keeping executives, stakeholders, and technical teams aligned to business objectives.
Required Qualifications - 15+ years in software engineering, data, or AI/ML, including leading AI engineering or advanced analytics teams in a large enterprise.
- Hands-on depth: has personally designed, built, and shipped production AI solutions, and can credibly review architecture, code, and model evaluation approaches.
- Production experience with generative AI and agentic systems, including orchestration, retrieval and grounding, evaluation, guardrails, observability, and cost management.
- Working command of the AI stack, including ML and LLM platforms, MLOps and LLMOps, cloud-native architecture, data pipelines, and enterprise integration.
- Experience establishing AI engineering practices, such as an AI SDLC, platform standards, and an operating model, adopted across multiple teams.
- Proven ability to lead and influence without direct authority, raising technical capability across a broad organization.
- Experience ensuring AI meets ethical, privacy, security, and regulatory requirements with legal, compliance, and risk partners.
- Strong executive presence, explaining complex technical trade-offs to VP and C-suite stakeholders and influencing investment and technology decisions.
- Demonstrated record of recruiting, developing, and mentoring high-performing engineers and technical leaders.
- Adept at execution and delivery, business intelligence, and collaboration, with mastery of problem solving, decision making, and growth mindset (agility and developing yourself and others).
Preferred Qualifications - Experience applying AI in healthcare payer, TPA, or managed care settings, including embedding generative AI and intelligent automation into production workflows in a regulated environment.
- Experience operating in a highly matrixed enterprise with shared services across Product, Architecture, Data, Security, and Infrastructure.
- Experience with AI-assisted software engineering and measurable gains in developer productivity and delivery quality.
- Recognized technical leadership, such as distinguished or principal engineer experience, patents, publications, or external speaking.
- Experience with natural language processing, computer vision, or document intelligence at enterprise scale.
Education - Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, data science, information systems, or a related quantitative discipline, or equivalent work experience and professional qualifications.
- Graduate degree preferred.
Pay Range
The typical pay range for this role is:
$175,100.00 - $334,750.00
This pay range represents the base hourly rate or base annual full-time salary for all positions in the job grade within which this position falls. The actual base salary offer will depend on a variety of factors including experience, education, geography and other relevant factors. This position is eligible for a CVS Health bonus, commission or short-term incentive program in addition to the base pay range listed above. This position also includes an award target in the company’s equity award program.
Our people fuel our future. Our teams reflect the customers, patients, members and communities we serve and we are committed to fostering a workplace where every colleague feels valued and that they belong.
Great benefits for great people
We take pride in offering a comprehensive and competitive mix of pay and benefits that reflects our commitment to our colleagues and their families.
Additional details about available benefits are provided during the application process and on Benefits Moments.
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state and local laws.
Skills Required
- 15+ years in software engineering, data, or AI/ML, including leadership of AI engineering or advanced analytics teams in a large enterprise
- Personally designed, built, and shipped production AI solutions, with ability to review architecture, code, and model evaluation approaches
- Production experience with generative AI and agentic systems, including orchestration, retrieval and grounding, evaluation, guardrails, observability, and cost management
- Working command of ML and LLM platforms, MLOps, LLMOps, cloud-native architecture, data pipelines, and enterprise integration
- Experience establishing AI engineering practices, including an AI SDLC, platform standards, and an operating model adopted across multiple teams
- Ability to lead and influence without direct authority across a broad organization
- Experience ensuring AI meets ethical, privacy, security, and regulatory requirements with legal, compliance, and risk partners
- Strong executive presence and ability to explain complex technical trade-offs to VP and C-suite stakeholders
- Demonstrated record of recruiting, developing, and mentoring high-performing engineers and technical leaders
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, data science, information systems, or a related quantitative discipline, or equivalent experience and professional qualifications
- Experience applying AI in healthcare payer, TPA, or managed care settings
- Experience operating in a highly matrixed enterprise with shared Product, Architecture, Data, Security, and Infrastructure services
- Experience with AI-assisted software engineering and measurable developer productivity and delivery quality improvements
- Recognized technical leadership, such as distinguished or principal engineer experience, patents, publications, or external speaking
- Experience with natural language processing, computer vision, or document intelligence at enterprise scale
- Graduate degree
CVS Health Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about CVS Health and has not been reviewed or approved by CVS Health.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage includes medical, dental, and vision with HSA-eligible options, free preventive care, virtual care, and access to MinuteClinic services. Mental-health resources such as counseling support are emphasized, and coverage is often considered solid for full-time colleagues.
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Retirement Support — A dollar-for-dollar 401(k) match up to 5% after one year and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan are consistently highlighted in Total Rewards materials. Feedback suggests retirement programs are a meaningful strength within the overall package.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Wellbeing offerings include up to 20 no-cost counseling sessions per issue, backup care, tuition assistance, and substantial in-store discounts, alongside broader wellness tools. These everyday perks expand value beyond base pay and can be especially meaningful for full-time schedules.
CVS Health Insights
What We Do
CVS Health is the leading health solutions company that delivers care in ways no one else can. We reach people in more ways and improve the health of communities across America through our local presence, digital channels and our nearly 300,000 dedicated colleagues – including more than 40,000 physicians, pharmacists, nurses and nurse practitioners. Wherever and whenever people need us, we help them with their health – whether that’s managing chronic diseases, staying compliant with their medications, or accessing affordable health and wellness services in the most convenient ways. We help people navigate the health care system – and their personal health care – by improving access, lowering costs and being a trusted partner for every meaningful moment of health. And we do it all with heart, each and every day.
