---
title: 'AI/ML Engineering Lead at Protective'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/ai-ml-engineering-lead-protective-birmingham-hx858n54v7v4'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-23'
---

# AI/ML Engineering Lead at Protective

- **Company:** Protective
- **Location:** Birmingham, AL
- **Compensation:** $125k–$180k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-09-14
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-23
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/protective/c7aa36fd-3d99-4e94-8031-0bdb52aeaf61

## Job description

The work we do has an impact on millions of lives, and you can be a part of it. We help protect our customers against life’s uncertainties. Regardless of where you work within the company, you’ll be helping provide protection and peace of mind when our customers need it most.

Protective Life is transforming how it builds and operates software — moving to a product operating model organized around empowered, outcome-oriented teams — and is investing in machine learning and generative AI to serve customers and run the business better. Voyager is one of these product pods, spanning our Life, Annuities, and Employee Benefits lines. The AI/ML Engineering Lead is a hands-on technical leader who owns the path from experiment to governed production for machine learning and GenAI on our Databricks Lakehouse on Microsoft Azure. You will set the engineering standards for the ML lifecycle, mentor ML and data engineers, and personally deliver critical components — while working closely with product managers, data engineers, and Model Risk partners. As a regulated life insurer, we hold models to disciplined standards: this role is accountable not only for shipping models but for their reliability, monitoring, documentation, fairness, and explainability.

## KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

- Lead the design and delivery of production ML and GenAI systems on Azure Databricks — from problem framing and data sourcing through deployment, monitoring, and retraining.
- Set technical direction and standards for the ML lifecycle — experimentation, feature engineering, training, evaluation, deployment, drift detection, and retraining — and hold the team to them.
- Provide hands-on technical leadership and mentoring to ML and data engineers through design and code reviews, pairing, and raising the bar on engineering craft.
- Build and operate MLOps foundations using MLflow (experiment tracking, model registry), Databricks Model Serving, and Unity Catalog for governed feature and model management.
- Architect GenAI capabilities — retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), embeddings and vector search, prompt/system design, evaluation harnesses, guardrails, and human-in-the-loop review.
- Depend on the pod's data stack — dlt (dltHub) ingestion, dbt models, and Dagster orchestration — to ensure training data and features are reliable, versioned, and reproducible.
- Establish CI/CD for ML in Azure DevOps (ADO) — automated testing, model packaging, and repeatable, auditable deployments across environments.
- Own model performance and cost — monitoring accuracy and output quality, latency, and drift, and managing training/serving compute with a FinOps mindset.
- Partner with Model Risk, Data Governance, Legal, and Security so models meet documentation, validation, explainability, bias/fairness, and privacy expectations.
- Translate product outcomes into ML solutions with product managers — balancing discovery experimentation against production reliability and time-to-value.
- Contribute to AI governance — model inventory, documentation, approval workflows, and responsible-AI practices aligned to company and regulatory expectations.
- Guide pragmatic adoption of the applied-AI landscape appropriate to a mid-sized carrier, avoiding hype and over-engineering.

## QUALIFICATIONS

## REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

- 8+ years in software, data, or ML engineering, including several years building and operating production ML systems.
- Demonstrated technical leadership — mentoring engineers, setting standards, and leading the design of non-trivial systems (formal people management not required, but valued).
- Strong Python and SQL, with deep experience across the end-to-end ML lifecycle and common ML frameworks (e.g., scikit-learn, PyTorch, or TensorFlow).
- Hands-on MLOps experience — experiment tracking, model registry, deployment/serving, monitoring, and retraining — with MLflow and Azure Databricks strongly preferred.
- Experience delivering GenAI/LLM applications: RAG, embeddings and vector databases, prompt/system design, and structured evaluation.
- Experience with the modern data stack the pod uses — dlt (dltHub) ingestion, dbt modeling, and Dagster orchestration — on a Databricks lakehouse (Delta Lake).
- CI/CD experience with Azure DevOps (ADO) and Git-based, test-supported development practices.
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Azure — compute, storage, identity, and Azure AI/OpenAI services.
- Demonstrated rigor in documentation, model evaluation, and secure, compliant handling of sensitive data.
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Engineering, or a related field — or equivalent practical experience.

## PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

- Experience in financial services or insurance ML — underwriting, actuarial, fraud, claims, or customer models — and familiarity with model risk management practices (e.g., SR 11-7-aligned validation).
- Familiarity with Databricks Mosaic AI, Feature Store / Unity Catalog features, or Vector Search, and with Azure Machine Learning.
- Experience applying responsible-AI and model-governance techniques — bias/fairness testing and explainability (e.g., SHAP, LIME).
- Experience with streaming or real-time inference and low-latency serving.
- Experience coaching or formally managing engineers.
- Advanced degree in a quantitative field.
- Relevant certification such as Databricks Certified Machine Learning Engineer or Microsoft Azure AI Engineer Associate.

Employee Benefits: We aim to protect the wellbeing of our employees and their families with a broad benefits offering. In addition to offering comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance, we support emotional wellbeing through mental health benefits and an employee assistance program. Work/life balance is important and Protective offers a variety of paid time away benefits (e.g., paid time off, paid parental leave, short-term disability, and a cultural observance day). The financial health of our employees is just as important as physical and emotional health.  Some of the financial wellbeing benefits include contributions to healthcare accounts, a pension plan, and a 401(k) plan with Company matching. All employees are encouraged to protect their overall wellbeing by engaging in ProHealth Rewards, Protective’s platform to improve wellbeing while earning cash rewards.

Eligibility for certain benefits may vary by position in accordance with the terms of the Company’s benefit plans.

Accommodations for Applicants with a Disability: If you require an accommodation to complete the application and recruitment process due to a disability, please email eric.hess@protective.com. This information will be held in confidence and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the application and recruitment process.

Please note that the above email is solely for individuals with disabilities requesting an accommodation.  General employment questions should not be sent through this process.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to being inclusive and attracting, retaining, and growing an inclusive workforce.

## About Protective

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Protective is a financial services company providing life insurance, retirement solutions, employee benefits, and asset protection products to individuals and businesses.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc., TSE:8750)
- **Headquarters**: Birmingham, Alabama, United States
- **Founded**: 1907
- **Founders**: Not publicly available

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Insurance (Life, Annuity, Asset Protection, Employee Benefits)
- **Target customers**: B2C (individuals) and B2B (employers, partners)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: "To help everyone deserve confidence through life's moments — big, small and everything in between." [protective.com](https://www.protective.com/about-us)

## Products & Services
- **[Life Insurance]**: Offers term life, whole life, and universal life policies for individuals and families.
- **[Retirement Solutions]**: Fixed and variable annuities, retirement income planning products.
- **[Asset Protection]**: Commercial mortgage investments, structured settlements, and stable value products via Protective Asset Division.
- **[Employee Benefits]**: Group life, disability, and other workplace benefit programs for employers.
- **[Acquisitions & Stable Value]**: Manages and acquires in-force blocks of life insurance and annuity policies.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, TSE:8750)
- **Key Metric**: $6.4B annual revenue (PLICO financials) [wellfound.com](https://linkedin.com/company/protective-life)
- **Total Assets**: $142 billion as of December 31, 2025 [protective.com](https://investor.protective.com/Company-Overview/default.aspx)
- **Net Income**: $389 million USD (2024) [linkedin.com](https://linkedin.com/company/protective-life)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Parent company Dai-ichi Life Holdings (Japan), one of the largest life insurers globally.
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Over 14.4 million customers served.
  - 61 acquisitions in company history. [protective.com](https://investor.protective.com/Company-Overview/default.aspx)
  - ~32 million policies and contracts in force.
  - $1 trillion life insurance in force.
  - 3,800+ employees as of Jan 1, 2026 (up from 3,800 reported in 2023).
  - Fastest growing core site in the greater Cincinnati area. [protective.com](https://www.protective.com/about-us/careers)

## Competitive Advantages
- **115+ Years of Stability**: Founded in 1907, the company has a long track record of financial strength and reliability.
- **Parent Backing**: As part of Dai-ichi Life Group, a global top-tier insurer, Protective has access to significant capital and a long-term strategic focus.
- **Diversified Portfolio**: Multiple business segments (Protection, Retirement, Asset Protection, Acquisitions) create revenue stability and cross-selling opportunities.
- **Strong Financial Ratings**: A focus on conservative risk management and a large asset base ($142B) provides market confidence.
- **Scale and Distribution**: A massive in-force block ($1T life insurance) and a large, established customer base.

## Strategic Focus
- **Organic & Inorganic Growth**: Continues to acquire blocks of policies and companies (61 in history) while expanding its core product lines.
- **Virtual Workforce Expansion**: More than half of employees are now remote, signaling a commitment to a flexible, distributed workforce. [protective.com](https://www.protective.com/about-us/careers)
- **Digital Transformation**: Investments in technology and data to improve customer experience and operational efficiency.
- **Talent Development**: Strong focus on internal mobility, continuous learning, and career enrichment programs.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Emphasizes a "protector" mindset, focusing on service to customers, colleagues, and communities. Recognized for workplace engagement and inclusivity. [protective.com](https://www.protective.com/about-us/careers)
- **Hybrid/Remote Work**: Over 50% of the workforce is remote/virtual. Three core sites in Birmingham (HQ), Greater Cincinnati, and St. Louis offer hybrid options. [protective.com](https://www.protective.com/about-us/careers)
- **Benefits**: Comprehensive package including medical/dental/vision with HSA/FSA, a pension plan funded by the company, 401(k) with employer match, paid time off, paid parental leave, short- and long-term disability, adoption assistance, and life insurance. [protective.com](https://www.protective.com/about-us/careers)
- **Career Development**: Company-sponsored education courses, tuition reimbursement, scholarship opportunities for dependents, and a semi-annual "Pulse Survey" to shape culture and learning opportunities. [protective.com](https://www.protective.com/about-us/careers)
- **Notable Perk**: Pension plan remains a differentiator in the current job market.

## Sources
1. [protective.com - Company Overview](https://www.protective.com/about-us)
2. [protective.com - Careers Page](https://www.protective.com/about-us/careers)
3. [investor.protective.com - Company Overview](https://investor.protective.com/Company-Overview/default.aspx)
4. [linkedin.com - Protective Life](https://linkedin.com/company/protective-life)
5. [jobs.lever.co/protective - Job Listings](https://jobs.lever.co/protective)

## Other roles at Protective

- [Annuity Case Management Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/annuity-case-management-specialist-protective-remote-d4n8a66psx4s)
- [Legal Analyst I](https://feeny.ai/job/legal-analyst-i-protective-birmingham-zs6d4hzx7v8f) — Birmingham, AL
- [2027 Business Systems Summer Internship Program](https://feeny.ai/job/2027-business-systems-summer-internship-program-protective-birmingham-8vhj2jfymt37) — Birmingham, AL
- [2027 Summer IT Internship Program](https://feeny.ai/job/2027-summer-it-internship-program-protective-birmingham-wxzhjqee2c14) — Birmingham, AL
- [2027 Sales Summer Internship Program](https://feeny.ai/job/2027-sales-summer-internship-program-protective-birmingham-1jdpjbtsz3nh) — Birmingham, AL
- [Lead IT Architect](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-it-architect-protective-remote-3zaf6gdtywz0)
- [Regional Sales Director - Asset Protection Division](https://feeny.ai/job/regional-sales-director-asset-protection-division-protective-remote-vh8y5hkcsyp3)
- [Sr Dynamics 365 App Developer (remote)](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-dynamics-365-app-developer-remote-protective-remote-dt3424338wtk)
- [Corporate Communications Associate (Hybrid Birmingham)](https://feeny.ai/job/corporate-communications-associate-hybrid-birmingham-protective-birmingham-2d4x0tafdddr) — Birmingham, AL
- [Receivables & Billing Accountant](https://feeny.ai/job/receivables-billing-accountant-protective-chesterfield-j3mphbszbm7x) — Chesterfield, MO