Head of AI & Innovation Lab

At BBH, Partnership is more than a form of ownership—it’s our approach to business and relationships.  We know that supporting your professional and personal goals is the best way to help our clients and advance our business. We take that responsibility seriously. With a 200-year legacy and a shared passion for what’s next, this is the right place to build a fulfilling career.

The Head of AI & Innovation Lab manages and directs a specific function within the Systems line of business. This individual has direct oversight of the high-volume activity, consistently complex issues and/or high-level risk and exposure items that have a significant impact on the achievement of the objectives of the department and potentially the Systems Division.                                                                                                                

We are recruiting for a visionary leader to establish and drive our AI & Innovation Lab. This role will spearhead the development of cutting-edge AI strategies and solutions within the financial sector, focusing on innovation, governance, and operational excellence. This role will play a critical role in aligning AI-driven innovations with the organization’s global goals while fostering collaboration across multiple business units.

The Head of AI & Innovation Lab will be instrumental in building this new function including, recruiting, and developing top talent, creating robust governance frameworks, and delivering innovative AI/ML solutions to transform business operations.

Responsibilities include:

Strategic Leadership

• Define and implement a firmwide AI strategy in alignment with corporate goals.
• Drive the vision and roadmap for AI initiatives, fostering a culture of innovation across the organization.
• Collaborate with senior leadership and stakeholders to embed AI solutions into the organization’s core processes.

Innovation & Delivery

• Research and develop advanced AI and ML tools, particularly in areas such as NLP, generative AI, and predictive analytics, to solve business challenges.
• Oversee the end-to-end lifecycle of AI/ML initiatives, from ideation to production deployment.
• Identify, prioritize, and champion AI use cases that deliver measurable value.

Governance & Compliance

• Establish robust governance frameworks to ensure ethical and compliant use of AI technologies.
• Ensure adherence to regulatory requirements and industry standards across all AI initiatives.
• Manage risks associated with AI adoption, balancing innovation with operational safeguards.

Team Building & Development

• Build and lead a multidisciplinary team of data scientists, ML engineers, and researchers.
• Foster a high-performance culture, providing mentorship and professional development opportunities.
• Promote cross-functional collaboration with product, engineering, operations, HR, and marketing teams.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as a subject matter expert, advocating for AI adoption across the organization.
• Communicate complex AI concepts to non-technical stakeholders effectively.
• Represent the institution in external forums, building partnerships with startups, universities, and research institutions.

Productivity/Quality

• Ensure the smooth, effective operation of the function.  This includes proper product delivery, proper escalation and resolution of high exposure items, maintain the proper balance of cost, control and client service, and maintaining proper standards and controls.
• In conjunction with the Division Manager, develop, maintain and achieve an integrated Business Plan for the function, which aligns organization structure, systems priorities, budget, management reporting and job descriptions.

Technical

• Ensure standard of suite of products is competitive, strategic, well defined and critical to our client’s success.
• Develop, maintain, and increase the knowledge and skills essential to performing the job and at the quality required.
• Solve job-related problems and perform the technical responsibilities of the job with a high level of competence.

Client Focus

• Oversee total customer satisfaction by ensuring responsiveness, flexibility, and follow-through with all requests.
• Focus on client's perspective and needs by setting and meeting expectations and deadlines.
• Lead staff by setting high standards, providing a thoughtful approach, having a committed attitude, and by being an effective representative of BBH Systems.

Qualifications & Experience:

• 10+ years of relevant technical & managerial experience.
• Financial services or high-tech industry experience preferred.
• Advanced Degree (MS/PHD) in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or a related field.
• Leadership experience in building and managing AI teams preferably in finance or high-transaction environments.
• Proven track record of implementing AI solutions that have driven business impact.
• Expertise in software architecture and design principles
• Strong knowledge of machine learning techniques & statistical concepts
• Hands-on experience with NLP, NLU, NLG, and generative AI technologies
• Strong understanding of AI model development, deployment, and monitoring.
• Hands-on experience with ML libraries (Pandas, NumPy, Scikit-Learn, TensorFlow, SciPy).
• Experience with cloud solutions (eg Azure).
• Experience building data products including ETL pipelines for data processing.
• Experience building automated pipelines for model training, fine-tuning and testing.
• Demonstrated success in establishing and scaling new teams within large organizations.
• Proven ability to manage senior-level stakeholders and cross-functional teams.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and a strategic mindset.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills to foster collaboration and influence decision-making.

What We Offer:

• A collaborative environment that enables you to step outside your role to add value wherever you can
• Direct access to clients, information and experts across all business areas around the world
• Opportunities to grow your expertise, take on new challenges, and reinvent yourself—without leaving the firm
• A culture of inclusion that values each employee’s unique perspective
• High-quality benefits program emphasizing good health, financial security, and peace of mind
• Rewarding work with the flexibility to enjoy personal and family experiences at every career stage
• Volunteer opportunities to give back to your community and help transform the lives of others

We value diverse experiences. We value diverse experiences and transferrable skillsets. If your career hasn’t followed a traditional path, includes alternative experiences, or doesn’t meet every qualification or skill listed in the job description, please do go ahead and apply.

About BBH:

Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) is a premier global financial services firm, known for premium service, specialist expertise, technology solutions and partnership approach to client management. Across Investor Services and Capital Partners, we work with an enviable roster of sophisticated clients who make BBH their first call when they are tackling their hardest challenges. Delivering for our clients and each other energizes us.

We believe that how we do our work is just as important as what we do. We are relentless problem solvers who know our best ideas come from collective debate and development—so we are never possessive about our ideas. Every day we come together as a diverse community of smart and caring people to deliver exceptional service and expert advice—creating success that lasts. No matter where you sit in the organization, everyone is empowered to contribute their ideas. BBHers can pick up the phone and call any colleague, and they are happy to help. Expanding your impact beyond your daily role is part of how we operate as trusted partners to one another. 

We believe stability is a competitive advantage, but being stable means having the knowledge, skill, and discipline to evolve, often—pushing the boundaries of innovation.  As a private partnership, every investment we make is in the relationships, technologies, products and development we believe are in the long-term interests of our clients and our people. Our long-tenured leaders are experts in their areas and are actively involved in the day-to day business, taking the time to provide guidance and mentoring to build the next generation of BBHers. Because we know, our success begins with yours.

Go to BBH.com to learn more about our rewards and benefits, philanthropy, approach to sustainability or how we support you to thrive personally, physically and financially.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, genetic information, creed, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other protected status under federal, state or local law.