Technical Architect - AI Platform

At USAA, our mission is to empower our members to achieve financial security through highly competitive products, exceptional service and trusted advice. We seek to be the #1 choice for the military community and their families.

Embrace a fulfilling career at USAA, where our core values - honesty, integrity, loyalty and service - define how we treat each other and our members. Be part of what truly makes us special and impactful.

We are proud to support active-duty military spouses. USAA roles may offer remote or hybrid flexibility for active-duty military spouses consistent with applicable policy and business needs.

The Opportunity

The Technical Architect, AI Platforms, establishes technology strategy and architecture for enterprise AI and machine learning platforms. This role evaluates emerging technologies, defines scalable architecture and design patterns, and guides the integration, deployment, and operation of AI capabilities across USAA’s technology and data ecosystems.

The ideal candidate combines practical AI/ML architecture experience with strong business judgment and enterprise influence. This person will translate business needs into clear technical direction while balancing innovation, scalability, operational readiness, risk, cost, and responsible AI practices.

We offer a flexible work environment that requires an individual to be in the office 4 days per week. This position can be based in one of the following locations: San Antonio, TX, Plano, TX, OR Phoenix, AZ. Relocation assistance is not available for this position.

What you’ll do:

• Collaborates with business and IT stakeholders to understand strategy, requirements, measures, risks and controls for a business function or IT domain.
• Utilizes expertise and research to create technology decisions with relevant architecture artifacts and proactively apply architecture thinking to conceive evolutionary strategies and roadmaps that can accelerate current capabilities for a business function or technology domain.
• Cultivates productive and trusted relationships with business and IT stakeholders, as well as engineering resources, to provide leadership and guidance to influence and shape priority, cost transparency and execution of architecture solutions and domain direction.
• Assess domain applications in collaboration with business and application owners to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and risks. Advise business owners of proposed courses of action.
• Defines and documents architecture standards for a technology domain to ensure architectural compliance of technology solutions. Use risk assessment methodologies to draft/evaluate and approve/reject waivers to architecture standards.
• Participates in activities that support the USAA technology ecosystem such as workstream planning, solution design reviews, code reviews, test case definition, and assistance in troubleshooting of Availability Command Center incidents to resolve complex production issues related to a technology domain.
• Provides professional and technical mentorship for new architects, engineers and IT community colleagues in an open, respectful, flexible and empathetic manner. Seeks out mentoring opportunities specifically to create team redundancy and backfill ability.
• Executes architecture practices and processes by properly creating and maintaining architecture domain documentation, ensuring timely completion of deliverables and suggesting enhancements.
• Establishes external relationships with contacts on industry organizations and government boards and vendors in the marketplace related to a business function or technology domain.
• Establishes a plan to gain external eminence by pursuing professional and industry technical certifications, presenting at conferences, publishing technical papers, contributing to open source, authoring patents, etc..
• Ensures risks associated with business activities are effectively identified, measured, monitored, and controlled in accordance with risk and compliance policies and procedures.

• Bachelor’s degree; OR 4 years of relevant education and/or experience.
• 8 years of experience in advanced analytics or equivalent field to include at least 2 years in a technical leadership role within IT.
• Experience in technology application development and/or infrastructure and operational implementation.
• Demonstrated experience in explaining complex technology decisions to both technical and nontechnical audiences at all levels in the organization.
• Demonstrated experience effectively communicating and developing high trust relationships with frontline and second level management and stakeholders.
• Understanding and application of technical architecture standards, principles, and policies and knowledge of applicable regulations and risk management practices.

What sets you apart:

• Experience architecting and operationalizing enterprise AI/ML or generative AI solutions, including cloud-based AI platforms, MLOps or LLMOps practices, and integration with existing applications and data ecosystems.

Compensation range: The salary range for this position is: $143,320.00 - $273,930.00 .

USAA does not provide visa sponsorship for this role. Please do not apply for this role if at any time (now or in the future) you will need immigration support (i.e., H-1B, TN, STEM OPT Training Plans, etc.).

Compensation: USAA has an effective process for assessing market data and establishing ranges to ensure we remain competitive. You are paid within the salary range based on your experience and market data of the position. The actual salary for this role may vary by location.

Employees may be eligible for pay incentives based on overall corporate and individual performance and at the discretion of the USAA Board of Directors.

The above description reflects the details considered necessary to describe the principal functions of the job and should not be construed as a detailed description of all the work requirements that may be performed in the job.

Benefits: At USAA our employees enjoy best-in-class benefits to support their physical, financial, and emotional wellness. These benefits include comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans, 401(k), pension, life insurance, parental benefits, adoption assistance, paid time off program with paid holidays plus 16 paid volunteer hours, and various wellness programs. Additionally, our career path planning and continuing education assists employees with their professional goals.

USAA is unlike any other financial services organization. The mission of the association is to facilitate the financial security of its members, associates and their families through provision of a full range of highly competitive financial products and services; in so doing, USAA seeks to be the provider of choice for the military community. We do this by upholding the highest standards and ensuring that our corporate business activities and individual employee conduct reflect good judgment and common sense, and are consistent with our core values of service, loyalty, honesty and integrity.

USAA attributes its long-standing success to its most valuable resource: our 35,000 employees. They are the heart and soul of our member-service culture. When you join us, you’ll become part of a thriving community committed to going above for those who have gone beyond: the men and women of the U.S. military, their associates and their families. In order to play a role on our team, you don’t have to be connected to the military yourself - you just need to share our passion for serving our more than 13 million members.

USAA is an EEO/AA Employer - applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, protected veteran status or other status protected by law.

California applicants, please review our HR CCPA - Notice at Collection (https://statmcstg.usaa.com/mcontent/static_assets/Media/enterprise_hr_cpra_notice_at_collection.pdf) here.