Director, Economist

Why USAA?

Let's do something that really matters.

At USAA, we have an important mission: facilitating the financial security of millions of U.S. military members and their families. Not all of our employees served in our nation's military, but we all share in the mission to give back to those who did. We're working as one to build a great experience and make a real impact for our members.

We believe in our core values of honesty, integrity, loyalty and service. They're what guides everything we do - from how we treat our members to how we treat each other. Come be a part of what makes us so special!

The Opportunity

As a dedicated Director, Data Scientist, you will lead the economic forecasting team for the enterprise, provide centralized economic outlook and risk scenarios to be used across all the lines of business across USAA and regular economic updates to senior executives and management committees.

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: Charlotte, NC or San Antonio, TX.

Relocation assistance is available for this position.

What you'll do:

• Acts as advanced analytics thought leader and advisor to the business to shape strategies that drive competitiveness and differentiation.
• Influences business, data, and technology leaders to invest, sustain and expand advanced analytical capabilities by actively participating in strategy, planning, and budgeting exercises.
• Leads and develops team to build and deploy various advanced analytical solutions in an agile and collaborative environment across business, data, and technology organizations. Enables team's success by simplifying processes across the model development lifecycle and driving automation.
• Identifies, scopes, and manages complex analytical projects in collaboration with business stakeholders, often translating results to non-technical business executives.
• Champions and manages efforts to deliver business insights via scalable, automated solutions using machine learning, simulation, and optimization.
• Responsible for ensuring all modeling and machine learning solutions adhere to industry standards, model risk policy, and regulatory expectations.
• Partners with enterprise analytical and IT teams to build USAA core capabilities and processes.
• Identifies additional resource needs ranging from IT investments, 3rd party support or additional analysts.
• Builds and oversees a team of Data Scientists through ongoing execution of recruiting, development, retention, coaching and support, performance management, and managerial activities.
• Ensures risks associated with business activities are effectively identified, measured, monitored, and controlled in accordance with risk and compliance policies and procedures.

What you have:

• Bachelor's degree in mathematics, computer science, statistics, economics, finance, actuarial sciences, science and engineering, or other similar quantitative discipline; OR 4 years of experience in statistics, mathematics, quantitative analytics, or related experience (in addition to the minimum years of experience required) may be substituted in lieu of degree.
• 8 years in predictive modeling, model governance, machine learning and large data analysis., OR Advanced Degree (e.g., Master's, PhD) in Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, Computer Science, or related quantitative STEM field (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) field and 6 years in predictive modeling, model governance, machine learning and large data analysis.
• 3 years of direct management experience.
• Strong communication skills; demonstrated ability to interpret and translate complex technical information to diverse audiences.
• Experience with various languages, applications, and technologies (such as SQL, Python, R, Spark, Hadoop etc.) commonly associated with delivery of Data Science solutions.
• Experience in developing and reviewing modeling solutions based on broad range of techniques - e.g., linear and logistic regressions, time series methods, survival analysis, support vector machines, neural networks, decision trees, random forests, gradient-boosting methods, deep learning, k-means and other clustering methods, simulation methods, or other advanced techniques.
• Demonstrated ability to apply best practices in modeling and machine learning techniques to solve business problems.
• Demonstrated ability to write and review complex technical documentation, communicate modeling insights and technical details to business leaders, technical and non-technical audiences.
• A strong track record of communicating results, insights, and technical solutions to Senior Executive Management (or equivalent).
• Deep technical skills, consulting experience, and business savvy to interface with all levels and disciplines within the organization.

What sets you apart:

• Masters or PhD in Economics
• 10+ years experience with economic forecasting
• Experience leading economic forecast function for an organization
• Experience with large complex economic models and model management process
• Expertise using data science tools such as R, Python etc.

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.

What we offer:

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. The salary range for this position is: $175,090 - $344,460

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

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.

For more details on our outstanding benefits, please visit our benefits page on USAAjobs.com.

Applications for this position are accepted on an ongoing basis, this posting will remain open until the position is filled. Thus, interested candidates are encouraged to apply the same day they view this posting.

USAA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.