Lead Product Owner, Corporate Vice President

Location Designation: Hybrid - 3 days per quarter 

Role Overview

We are seeking a Lead Product Owner to lead the strategy, roadmap, and delivery of ALIP, New York Life’s New Business and Underwriting platform.

This leader will have end-to-end ownership of the Field Service experience within ALIP, while maintaining a platform-wide perspective to inform roadmap decisions and the introduction of new ALIP capabilities. The role is also responsible for leading and developing a team of Product Owners and ALIP Specialists, setting strategic direction, making prioritization and design decisions, and ensuring outcomes are delivered with quality, accountability, and consistency.

This position requires a strong strategic thinker, decision-maker, and people leader who can operate effectively in ambiguity, influence leaders across business and technology, and balance long-term platform evolution with near-term operational improvements.

What You’ll Do

Own Product Strategy, Roadmap & Prioritization

• Define and champion the product vision for ALIP as a New Business and Underwriting platform, ensuring cohesion across Field Service, Underwriting, and downstream processing.
• Serve as Product Owner for the ALIP New Business modernization initiative, with accountability for delivering results and achieving program objectives.
• Lead the building, maintenance, and delivery of the ALIP roadmap, ensuring prioritization and sequencing align with both near-term operational needs and long-term platform strategy.
• Prioritize new ALIP functionality, external demand, and business enhancement initiatives based on value, risk, and delivery capacity.
• Act as a New Business subject matter expert, providing direction on design, business, and functional requirements.

Lead and Develop a Product Team

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Product Owners and ALIP Specialists responsible for delivery of ALIP platform capabilities.
• Set clear expectations for ownership, accountability, and results across the team.
• Guide the team in translating business needs into scalable product solutions and well-defined backlogs.
• Foster a culture of accountability, sound decision-making, and strong partnership with business and technology teams.

Drive Cross-Functional Leadership, Influence & Alignment

• Collaborate effectively with partners and stakeholders across Underwriting, Field Service, Technology, Agency, and other teams, influencing decision-making by clearly framing trade-offs and recommending solutions that maximize value and feasibility.
• Build strong networks and influence leaders to align on platform priorities, sequencing of new capabilities, and shared delivery outcomes.
• Represent ALIP in roadmap, dependency, and governance discussions by preparing and presenting platform updates to senior leadership, providing clear status on progress, and proactively identifying and escalating delivery, operational, and functional risks.

Lead End-to-End Delivery with Accountability

• Partner with Product Owners, Business Analysts, and Technology teams using agile methodologies to define epics, user stories, and acceptance criteria, and oversee execution with full accountability for delivery outcomes.
• Ensure high-quality execution across the delivery lifecycle, including UAT readiness, operational acceptance, and production release.
• Partner with support teams to triage, prioritize, and resolve production issues impacting users and service outcomes.

Champion Change Management & Adoption

• Successfully navigate change management in a large, complex organizational environment.
• Partner with Training, Communications, and enablement teams to prepare Field Service teams for new workflows and capabilities.
• Support pilots and phased rollouts; gather feedback and incorporate learnings into iterative releases.
• Communicate a clear product and program narrative that builds trust, confidence, and momentum across Field Service, operations, and leadership.

What You’ll Bring

Experience & Expertise

• Demonstrated success leading product strategy, setting priorities, and delivering high-impact capabilities in complex ecosystems.
• Experience managing and developing Product Owners or similar product roles.
• Experience in insurance, financial services, underwriting operations, or other regulated environments strongly preferred.
• Experience working in agile environments and partnering closely with technology teams.
• Strong background leading initiatives with multiple stakeholders, dependencies, and competing priorities; experience in product management or platform modernization roles preferred.

Skills & Leadership Competencies

• Strategic Thinking: Ability to set product direction aligned to business goals and translate strategy into executable plans.
• Accountability & Ownership Mindset: End-to-end ownership of outcomes, with accountability for delivery quality and business impact.
• Decision Making: Ability to make timely, well-reasoned decisions in complex and ambiguous situations.
• Prioritization: Expertise in prioritizing competing work to maximize value and clearly articulate trade-offs.
• Influence, Networking & Negotiation: Proven ability to build relationships, influence leaders, and negotiate outcomes across business and technology teams.
• Communication: Clear, confident communicator who can tailor messaging to senior leaders, delivery teams, and operational partners.
• Agile Methodology: Strong working knowledge of agile product development practices and team-based delivery.

Pay Transparency

Salary Range: $119,000-$170,000 

Overtime eligible: Exempt 

Discretionary bonus eligible: Yes 

Sales bonus eligible: No 

Actual base salary will be determined based on several factors but not limited to individual’s experience, skills, qualifications, and job location. Additionally, employees are eligible for an annual discretionary bonus. In addition to base salary, employees may also be eligible to participate in an incentive program.

Our Benefits

We provide a full package of benefits for employees – and have unique offerings for a modern workforce, including leave programs, adoption assistance, and student loan repayment programs. Based on feedback from our employees, we continue to refine and add benefits to our offering, so that you can flourish both inside and outside of work. Click here to discover more about our comprehensive benefit options or visit our NYL Benefits Site.

Our Commitment to Inclusion
At New York Life, fostering an inclusive workplace is fundamental to who we are and how we serve our communities. We have a longstanding commitment to creating an environment where individuals can contribute their best and succeed together. This foundation is rooted in our core values of humanity and integrity, ensuring that every employee feels valued and supported. By embracing a broad range of perspectives and experiences, we achieve greater success and fulfill our promise of providing financial security and peace of mind to families across all communities. Click here to learn more about New York Life’s leadership in this space.​

Recognized as one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies, New York Life is committed to improving local communities through a culture of employee giving and volunteerism, supported by the Foundation. We're proud that due to our mutuality, we operate in the best interests of our policy owners. To learn more about career opportunities at New York Life, please visit the Careers page of www.NewYorkLife.com.

Job Requisition ID: 93385