About this role
AI Strategist - EJ Labs
Opportunity Overview: The Edward Jones Lab AI Strategist defines and pressure-tests Horizon 4 (3-5+ years) future-state vision of how AI and emerging technologies may reshape products, workflows, experiences, and operating models. This role translates enterprise strategy, external signals, and emerging technology shifts into decision-grade representations that help leaders look beyond near-term roadmap work, evaluate long-range strategic options, and determine what the firm should pursue and why before committing to funding, governance, or execution.
What You'll Do • Defines and continually refines Horizon 4 future-state vision and strategic framing for AI-enabled experiences, workflows, and systems, connecting long-range possibilities to business objectives, market signals, emerging technology trends, and future enterprise capabilities. • Owns Horizon 4 exploration by distinguishing long-range AI and emerging technology opportunities to better inform Horizon 1–3 roadmap priorities, clarifying which concepts should guide near-term strategy, remain exploratory, be reframed, or be stopped before they enter formal governance or delivery pathways. • Identifies and prioritizes high-value AI and emerging technology opportunities by evaluating strategic fit, feasibility, adoption potential, enterprise readiness, and the conditions required for concepts to become decision-ready. • Constructs decision instruments that help leaders evaluate trade-offs, dependencies, and capability implications across products, data, controls, and AI-enabled interactions. • Models system-level impacts across Financial Advisors, associates, clients, AI systems, and enterprise platforms by reasoning across end-to-end journeys, feedback loops, and second-order effects to ensure concepts are logically complete and evaluable across dependencies with emphasis on hybrid intelligence. • Builds strategic alignment across business, design, technology, analytics, and governance stakeholders so future-state initiatives advance with shared purpose and realistic execution pathways. • Shapes strategic narratives, decision materials, and roadmap-shaping inputs that clarify trade-offs, expected outcomes, and capability dependencies for executive audiences. • Monitors external developments in AI, data, emerging tech, and automation to refine priorities, strengthen competitive positioning, and surface new opportunities for value creation. • Fosters new concepts, products, and services that drive competitive advantage, shaping how AI capabilities should be applied to create business value (conceptual fluency, not build-level expertise). • Operates with high autonomy and exercises judgment in ambiguous, precedent-limited environments by structuring coherent futures where formal data, precedent, or governance inputs may not yet exist on decisions carrying significant cost, complexity, and long-term operating-model implications.
EEO Statement: Edward Jones does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, pregnancy, veteran status, genetic information or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.
Company Description: Join a financial services firm where your contributions are valued. Edward Jones is a Fortune 500¹ company where people come first. With over 9 million clients and 20,000 financial advisors across the U.S. and Canada, we’re proud to be privately-owned, placing the focus on our clients rather than shareholder returns.
Behind everything we do is our purpose: We partner for positive impact to improve the lives of our clients and colleagues, and together, better our communities and society. We are an innovative, flexible, and inclusive organization that attracts, develops, and inspires performance excellence and a sense of belonging.
People are at the center of our partnership. Edward Jones associates are seen, heard, respected, and supported. This is what we believe makes us the best place to start or build your career.
View our Purpose, Inclusion and Citizenship Report.
¹Fortune 500, published June 2024, data as of December 2023. Compensation provided for using, not obtaining, the rating.
Awards and Accolades: At Edward Jones, we are building a place where everyone feels like they belong. We're proud of our associates' contributions to the firm and the recognitions we have received.
Check out our U.S. awards and accolades: Insights & Information Blog Postings about Edward Jones
Check out our Canadian awards and accolades: Insights & Information Blog Postings about Edward Jones
Position Requirements: Minimum Knowledge • Bachelor's degree required in Business, Strategy, Design, Data or Computer Science, Engineering, Analytics, or a related discipline. • Demonstrated experience in strategy, foresight, systems-level problem solving, business transformation, or enterprise innovation, combined with recognized subject-matter expertise in AI and emerging technologies and proven ability to reason about AI-enabled futures. • Demonstrated experience developing exploratory or future-state concepts in ambiguous, pre-roadmap environments. • Required to complete and maintain firm training on information security, privacy, responsible AI, and applicable governance standards.
Preferred Knowledge • Experience in regulated or risk-sensitive environments (e.g., financial services). • Familiarity with AI governance concepts (explainability, human-in-the-loop, responsible AI). • Direct hands-on AI delivery experience. Candidates that live within a commutable distance from our Tempe, AZ and St. Louis, MO home office locations are expected to work in the office four days per week.
Salary Information: Edward Jones' compensation and benefits package includes medical and prescription drug, dental, vision, voluntary benefits (such as accident, hospital indemnity, and critical illness), short- and long-term disability, basic life, and basic AD&D coverage. Short- and long-term disability, basic life, and basic AD&D coverage are provided at no cost to associates. Edward Jones offers a 401k retirement plan, and tax-advantaged accounts: health savings account, and flexible spending account. Edward Jones observes ten paid holidays and provides 15 days of vacation for new associates beginning on January 1 of each year, as well as sick time, personal days, and a paid day for volunteerism. Associates may be eligible for bonuses and profit sharing. All associates are eligible for the firm's Employee Assistance Program. For more information on the Benefits available to Edward Jones associates, please visit our benefits page.