Associate AI Catalyst

Role Description

Mechanics Bank is currently searching for a Associate AI Catalyst to join our team. Here at Mechanics Bank, we value connection, partnership, long-term relationships and working together in person. This is a fully remote opportunity.

The Associate AI Catalyst conducts stakeholder discovery, produces Business Requirements Documents (BRDs) using AI tools, evaluates innovation opportunities using the ALIGN scoring framework, and drives AI-powered solutions from idea to adoption. This role operates within a Paired Innovation model — the working model where a Catalyst and Creator partner throughout the innovation lifecycle, combining business insight with technical execution. The Associate AI Catalyst independently manages stakeholder relationships, exercises judgment to translate business needs into actionable requirements, and makes prioritization and scope recommendations that directly influence the team's innovation pipeline. Reports to the Director, AI Innovation.

What you will do:

• Conduct stakeholder discovery sessions with business partners, independently identifying automation opportunities, evaluating feasibility, and determining which business needs warrant AI-powered solutions.
• Produce Business Requirements Documents (BRDs) using AI tools, exercising judgment to translate ambiguous stakeholder input into structured, testable requirements with prioritized recommendations.
• Present POC (Proof of Concept) demonstrations to business stakeholders, independently evaluating feedback against requirements and making recommendations on solution direction and scope adjustments.
• Manage the innovation backlog in Azure DevOps, exercising judgment on story prioritization, scope definition, effort estimation, and acceptance criteria to align with ALIGN-scored business priorities.
• Evaluate post-production adoption metrics and business outcomes for active innovations, determining whether solutions are meeting projected value and recommending corrective actions when targets are missed.
• Rotate through scrum master responsibilities on a scheduled cadence, managing sprint setup, capacity tracking, and weekly reporting.
• Facilitate team ceremonies during scrum master rotations, including daily standups, iteration reviews, retrospectives, and planning sessions, making real-time facilitation decisions to maintain team productivity.
• Assess incoming innovation intake submissions, conducting initial feasibility analysis and making routing and prioritization recommendations using the ALIGN scoring framework.
• Evaluate emerging AI tools and industry trends, recommending adoption of new approaches and identifying opportunities to improve team productivity and solution quality.

Travel required: 0-10 %

Qualifications

• 4 Year / Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Communications, Information Systems, Data Analytics, Technology Management or related field required. Additional experience may be considered in lieu of degree.
• 1 year minimum business analysis, project management, operations, or consulting experience required.
• A minimum of 2 years of experience in financial services, banking, or regulated industries preferred.
• 1 year minimum experience using AI tools for business tasks (documentation, research, analysis) preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to engage stakeholders from frontline staff to senior leadership.
• Curiosity about AI and emerging technology, with a willingness to learn and experiment.
• Basic understanding of business analysis, requirements gathering, or process improvement concepts.
• Ability to work effectively in a remote, fast-paced team environment with one-week iteration cycles.
• Familiarity with project management or work tracking tools (e.g., Azure DevOps, Jira, or similar).
• Comfort using AI tools to accelerate documentation, research, and analysis tasks.
• Comfort with ambiguity and evolving processes; ability to remain productive when direction is unclear or shifting.
• Willingness to pivot quickly when priorities shift based on business needs or new information.
• Understanding that exploratory work sometimes means building something that gets discarded — and that is expected, not failure.
• Experience working in Agile or iterative delivery environments is a plus.
• Exposure to innovation programs, process improvement initiatives, or change management is valued.
• Familiarity with banking operations, compliance requirements, or financial products is beneficial.

ADA Requirements

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
• The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and talk or hear, and use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls.
• The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; reach with hands and arms; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Benefits

• Medical, prescription, dental, and vision coverage for employees and their eligible family members.
• Employer paid Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, AD&D, and Disability benefits.
• Health Savings Account with employer contribution.
• Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts and Commuter/Parking Benefit.
• 401(k) and Roth 401(k) with company contribution.
• 529 Education Savings plan, Tuition Reimbursement Program and Student Loan Assistance Program.
• Supplemental Health plans, Voluntary Legal and Identity Theft Services.
• 11 paid holidays, paid Sick days (accrual of one hour for every 30 hours worked), up to 25 paid vacation days, and 16 hours of paid volunteer time throughout the calendar year.
• Free personal checking and savings account; Discounted rates on primary residence loan with $0 origination fees (restrictions apply).