AVP, Application Development - USAA Investment Services Company (ISCO)

The Role

The AVP of Application Development for USAA Investment Services Company (ISCO) reports to the VP and Chief Information Officer of USAA Life Insurance Company. This position represents a compelling opportunity for a seasoned technology executive who has a successful track record of building and scaling the technology foundation of a retail investment advisory business from concept to competitive advantage.

Responsibilities

• Ensure that the assigned application group develops processes and tools that contribute to ISCO's business objectives.
• Ensure that all application processes developed internally or by external service providers are conducted in line with corporate social responsibility, environmental and technical policies and applicable standards and legislation.
• Implement and manage application life cycle management status reporting, metrics and benchmarks.
• Provide executive thought leadership on developing and enhancing methodologies and practices for the application life cycle management in line with best practice and practical experience of continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with other leaders and/or stakeholders and develop an application development strategy that aligns with ISCO business strategy, adds value and is within budget constraints.
• Serve as financial steward for the organization and manage relationships with major vendors and service providers to ensure they cost-effectively meet ISCO's needs.
• Oversee the assessment of the technical and business fitness of the application portfolio and associated costs and risks.
• In partnership with CTO, Infrastructure and IT Security, ensure that ISCO's applications are effectively secured and that risks are mitigated and comply with legal and corporate privacy and confidentiality rules.
• Design a visionary road map for innovative solutions at the enterprise level and ensure integration with overall IT and enterprise strategic plans.
• Develop Annual Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) for ISCO, used to measure team performance.
• Ensure team's adherence to SDLC SDLC and applicable controls.
• Understand the risk posture for the activities that are conducted on the team (development and maintenance of business applications). Implement the department talent strategy (labor mix, location, team size, etc.). Understand, own and manage the Business and IT risk & controls requirements including adherence to and timely remediation of controls-related issues.
• Manage the sourcing and vendor strategy across the business and align with wider USAA strategic technology providers.
• Partner with USAA's CTO teams to help define enterprise architecture and standards.
• Partner with ISCO stakeholders to understand their business objectives and develop a technology strategy to support those goals by translating customers' needs into USAA Technology services in the broader service architecture.
• Provide visibility and transparency into progress, risks and issues in regular stakeholder updates.
• Mentor junior staff members and provides a platform for continuous learning.
• Provide oversight to the engagement with the business DPO and ensures deliverables adhere to Agile practices/methodologies.
• Ensure risks associated with business activities are effectively identified, measured, monitored, and controlled in accordance with risk and compliance policies and procedures.

Requirements

• Bachelor degree in computer science, computer information systems or related field of study -- OR, 4 years of related experience in addition to the minimum years of experience required may be substituted in lieu of degree.
• 10 years of progressive related experience managing all phases of application development, managing major initiatives and delivering results within a complex matrix environment.
• 6 years of people leadership experience in building, managing and/or developing high-performing teams.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate technical information to a non-technical audience.
• Experience collaborating with key resources and stakeholders, influencing decisions and managing work to achieve strategic goals.
• Executive-level business acumen in the areas of business operations, industry practices and emerging trends.
• Broad technical knowledge of web-based application architecture, system architecture, application integration and object-oriented languages.
• Extensive experience in all stages of the software development life cycle: requirements gathering, design, development, testing, and implementation.
• Demonstrated experience in vendor contract management and management of distributed development teams and resources.
• Demonstrated financial acumen involving budgets, forecasting, and executing on the budgets for applicable technology support function.
• Understanding of relevant industry frameworks, i.e.COBIT, ITIL, SAFe, etc.Understanding of Legislative and Regulatory Compliance Requirements.
• Experience overseeing the technology life cycle from requirements analysis, feasibility estimates, design, code, documentation, testing, implementation, and support.
• Technical knowledge and understanding of technical domains that reside within Infrastructure Services, Security, Data or Application Development.
• Experience conducting cost benefit analyses and leveraging results to drive technology support solutions.
• Demonstrated thought leadership in embedding intuitive story telling of technology support functions including concise presentation of complex technical details.
• Experience and ability to drive a culture of quality and personal accountability through technology support teams.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of rapidly translating complex business objectives for a growing retail investment advisory business into bold, actionable technology roadmaps — operating with fierce urgency and personal accountability to deliver results at pace without sacrificing quality or compliance rigor.
• Proven experience building and scaling technology functions from the ground up to support a high-growth retail investment advisory business, ideally within a regulated banking or broker-dealer environment, with a strong ownership mindset that treats the technology agenda as a business agenda.
• Experience implementing innovative platforms to enhance user experience, operational efficiency, and competitive positioning in the retail investment advisory space — driving execution with speed and decisiveness while maintaining full accountability for outcomes across the technology lifecycle.
• Deep expertise in designing, developing, and implementing leading-edge investment technology underpinning registered broker-dealers and investment advisors — including trading, wealth management, compliance, and CRM platforms — paired with the strategic thought leadership to influence and advise senior business executives on technology-driven decisions.
• Extensive experience building and leading high-performing, specialized investment advisory technology teams, with an ownership-driven leadership style that sets a high bar for accountability, urgency, and excellence at every level of the organization.
• Hands-on experience implementing investment technology solutions within a heavily regulated environment, ensuring compliance with SEC and FINRA regulations and data privacy requirements — while serving as a trusted strategic partner to business leaders, bringing the domain expertise needed to elevate business decisions and accelerate growth.