| Location | Cincinnati, OH |
Be Here. Be Great. Working for a leader in the insurance industry means opportunity for you. Great American Insurance Groups member companies are subsidiaries of American Financial Group. We combine a "small company" culture where your ideas will be heard with "big company" expertise to help you succeed. With over 30 specialty and property and casualty operations, there are always opportunities here to learn and grow.
At Great American, we value and recognize the benefits derived when people with different backgrounds and experiences work together to achieve business results. Our goal is to create a workplace where all employees feel included, empowered, and enabled to perform at their best.
As the insurance industry undergoes digital transformation, the AI Innovation Lab serves as Great Americans proving ground for emerging AI capabilities. Team members evaluate, prototype, and validate AI technologies against real business needs, determining whats ready for enterprise adoption and what isnt. This is applied research with a purpose: every initiative ties directly to business requests, and successful proofs-of-concept are handed off to IT delivery teams for production implementation.
What Makes This Role Unique
This isnt a traditional research position, and it isnt a traditional development role. Its something in between:
• Rapid experimentation: Youll go deep on a technology, build working prototypes, and determine fit-for-purpose-then move to the next challenge. If you thrive on variety and learning, this is your environment. • Business-driven focus: Every project originates from a real business ask. Youre not exploring technology for its own sake; youre solving problems for underwriters, actuaries, claims professionals, and business analysts across our 37 business units. • Fail-fast culture: Not everything will work, and thats expected. A well-documented "no, and heres why" is as valuable as a successful proof-of-concept. • Partnership model: Youll work closely with Enterprise Architecture and IT delivery teams to ensure successful innovations transition to production. Building something that cant be operationalized isnt success. • Human-in-the-loop philosophy: We believe AI augments human decision-making rather than replacing it. Ethical, transparent, and explainable AI isnt optional in insurance, its foundational.
Great American's culture is built on connection, shared learning, and strong relationships. To support this, employees in this role are expected to be on-site a minimum of two days a week, with the potential to work three days remotely. Core in-office days are Tuesday and Thursday but will be determined by business needs.
Essential Job Functions & Responsibilities
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies (agents, workflows, RAG architectures, tool-augmented LLMs) against business requirements and enterprise constraints • Build rapid prototypes that demonstrate feasibility and business value to stakeholders • Document findings thoroughly, both successes and failures, to inform enterprise AI strategy • Partner with Enterprise Architecture to ensure prototypes align with API-first principles and can transition to production systems • Enable business-side data science capabilities: self-service analytics sandboxes, Python environments, and dashboards that dont require IT intervention • Implement and evaluate agent frameworks, Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations, and AI orchestration patterns • Communicate complex technical concepts to business stakeholders and executives • Mentor team members and contribute to a culture of continuous learning
Job Qualifications
PhD in Computer Science, AI/ML, or related field OR Masters degree with 7+ years of hands-on AI/ML development experience OR Bachelors degree with 10+ years and demonstrated expertise
Strong Python programming skills and familiarity with ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, or equivalent)
Experience building working prototypes, not just theoretical models
Demonstrated ability to learn new technologies quickly and evaluate them objectively
Understanding of API design principles and how AI capabilities integrate with enterprise systems
Strong written and verbal communication skills-youll be explaining your findings to technical and non-technical audiences alike
Intellectual curiosity and comfort with ambiguity
Preferred Qualifications
Experience in insurance, financial services, or other regulated industries
Hands-on experience with agentic AI frameworks (LangChain, LangGraph, CrewAI, or similar)
Familiarity with Model Context Protocol (MCP) or similar AI integration standards
Experience with Microsoft Azure cloud services
Background working with actuarial, underwriting, or claims processes
Understanding of enterprise architecture patterns and production system constraints
Experience transitioning prototypes or research projects to production teams
Technical Environment
Python, Java, Microsoft Azure, REST APIs, LLM APIs and gateways, vector databases, agent frameworks, containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), SQL and NoSQL databases. Specific tools will evolve as the technology landscape changes-adaptability matters more than expertise in any single platform.
To Apply
Please provide:
• Resume highlighting relevant AI/ML project experience and outcomes achieved • Examples of prototypes, proofs-of-concept, or projects youve built (GitHub, portfolio, or descriptions) • Brief description of a technology you evaluated that didnt work out, and what you learned • References who can speak to your technical capabilities and collaboration style
Business Unit: Property & Casualty IT Services
Benefits: We offer competitive benefits packages for full-time and part-time employees. Full-time employees have access to medical, dental, and vision coverage, wellness plans, parental leave, adoption assistance, and tuition reimbursement. Full-time and eligible part-time employees also enjoy Paid Time Off and paid holidays, a 401(k) plan with company match, an employee stock purchase plan, and commuter benefits. Compensation varies by role, level, and location and is influenced by skills, experience, and business needs. Your recruiter will provide details about benefits and specific compensation ranges during the hiring process. Learn more at http://www.gaig.com/careers. Excludes seasonal employees and interns.