Senior AI Strategist - Futures Lab

This job posting is anticipated to remain open for 30 days, from 08-Oct-2026. The posting may close early due to the volume of applicants.

The Futures Lab Sr. AI Strategist defines and pressure-tests future-state vision of how AI and emerging technologies may reshape the future of work, clients, and advice. This role translates enterprise strategy, external signals, and emerging technology shifts into decision-grade artifacts 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 future-state visions and strategic framing for AI-enabled systems, connecting long-range possibilities to business objectives, market signals, emerging technology trends, and future enterprise capabilities.
• Explores long-range AI and emerging technology opportunities to better inform 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, frames, and evaluates potential AI and emerging-technology opportunity spaces, providing decision criteria and recommendations for consideration through established strategy, portfolio, and governance processes.
• Comfortable vibe-coding artifacts 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 to ensure concepts are logically complete and evaluable across dependencies with emphasis on AI, emerging tech, hybrid intelligence, and related.
• 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 related 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.
• Experience defining explicit assumptions, evidence gaps, decision criteria, and handoff conditions for exploratory concepts moving toward validation, governance, product discovery, or delivery.
• Partners with Experience, Firm Strategy Product, Technology, Data, Risk, and Compliance leaders to incorporate specialist evidence, avoid duplicate exploration, and establish clear transition points when a future-state concept is ready for deeper research, validation, product discovery, or delivery.

Current Internal home-based associates please note:

Even as a campus-based posted role you are eligible to apply and, if selected, you may retain your home-based status. However future business or regulatory needs may require on-site work and some roles may carry a preference for campus-based presence.

Minimum Knowledge

• Bachelor’s degree required in Business, Strategy, Design, Data or Computer Science, Engineering, Analytics, or a related discipline.
• 5+ years demonstrated experience in strategy, strategic foresight, systems thinking, business transformation, product strategy, or enterprise innovation, combined with recognized subject-matter expertise in AI and emerging technologies.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret emerging signals and technology shifts and translate them into future-state concepts, strategic options, and implications for enterprise leaders.
• Experience evaluating opportunities across strategic fit, potential value, feasibility, adoption, risk, readiness, and capability dependencies.
• Experience synthesizing business, human, technology, data, and risk perspectives into decision materials for senior and cross-functional audiences.
• Proven ability to build alignment and influence decisions across business, product, design, technology, analytics, risk, and governance stakeholders.
• Demonstrated judgment and autonomy in ambiguous, pre-roadmap environments where precedent, requirements, or governance pathways may not yet be established.
• 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, such as financial services.
• Experience applying structured foresight methods, including horizon scanning, scenario development, implications analysis, or uncertainty mapping.
• Familiarity with product discovery, systems design, service design, experience strategy, and business architecture methods.
• Familiarity with AI governance, explainability, human oversight, responsible AI, model risk, privacy, and security.
• Hands-on experience using generative AI, agentic systems, AI-assisted prototyping, or related emerging technologies to test assumptions and make future possibilities tangible.
• Experience assessing how AI may reshape workflows, roles, decision rights, products, services, client interactions, and enterprise operating models.

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.Talent Capability and Generations Hub Locations:

Colleagues assigned to work within a Talent Capability or Generations Hub are expected to work a minimum of four in-office days per week, unless engaged in business offsite. Any changes in strategic direction will be determined by the General Partner responsible for the business segment.

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.

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.