Senior Director, AI-powered Workflow Optimization

About The Role

Sonova is looking for a visionary and execution-focused leader to build and lead our enterprise AI and workflow automation capability.

As Senior Director, AI-Powered Workflow Optimization, you will lead the strategy and execution of AI, intelligent automation, process optimization, and workflow engineering across the organization. Reporting to the Chief Digital Officer, you will help transform how work gets done across functions including Retail, Wholesale, HR, Finance, R&D, and Operations.

This is a highly strategic leadership role responsible for turning AI, process intelligence, and automation into measurable business outcomes—improving operational efficiency, reducing costs, accelerating cycle times, and enabling employees to focus on higher-value work.

You'll build and scale a global Center of Excellence while partnering with executive stakeholders to drive enterprise-wide transformation.

What you'll do

Define the enterprise AI and automation strategy

Develop and execute Sonova's enterprise strategy for AI, intelligent automation, and workflow optimization.
Establish the operating model, governance, and roadmap for enterprise automation initiatives.
Prioritize investment opportunities based on business value, ROI, and strategic impact.

Lead enterprise process transformation

Drive end-to-end process redesign across key business value streams, including Order-to-Cash, Source-to-Pay, Hire-to-Retire, and Idea-to-Launch.
Identify opportunities through process mining, value stream mapping, and business case development.
Build and maintain the enterprise automation roadmap and opportunity pipeline.

Build AI-powered business capabilities

Lead the development and deployment of AI solutions, including:

Generative AI applications
Agentic AI workflows
Intelligent document processing
LLM-based automation
AI-powered decision support
Enterprise knowledge automation

Ensure AI solutions are scalable, secure, and aligned with governance, compliance, and regulatory standards.

Lead workflow automation and platform engineering

Oversee enterprise automation platforms and workflow engineering teams.
Define engineering standards, reusable components, and delivery methodologies.
Manage relationships with technology vendors and strategic implementation partners.
Drive platform scalability, reliability, and operational excellence.

Establish enterprise governance

Build a scalable Center of Excellence for AI and Automation.
Define governance frameworks, standards, and best practices.
Partner with IT, Security, Risk, and Compliance teams to ensure secure and compliant deployment of AI and automation solutions.

Measure business impact

Define KPIs and value metrics across automation initiatives.
Track cost savings, productivity improvements, cycle-time reduction, working capital impact, and employee experience.
Provide executive reporting on enterprise transformation progress and business outcomes.

Build trusted partnerships

Collaborate closely with senior leaders across Retail, Wholesale, HR, Finance, Operations, R&D, and IT.
Act as a strategic advisor to executive stakeholders on enterprise transformation opportunities.
Align business priorities with technology investments.

Build and lead a high-performing organization

Recruit, develop, and lead multidisciplinary teams across AI, Automation Engineering, Process Excellence, and Platform Governance.
Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Represent the function with executive leadership and provide strategic recommendations to the CDO and Executive Committee.

What we're looking for

Experience

15+ years of experience in enterprise transformation, intelligent automation, AI, digital operations, or technology leadership.
Proven success leading enterprise-wide automation or process transformation programs within global organizations.
Experience establishing or scaling Centers of Excellence for AI, Automation, Process Excellence, or Digital Transformation.
Strong background working in complex international matrix organizations.
Experience presenting to executive leadership and Board-level stakeholders.

Technical expertise

Strong knowledge of:

Generative AI and LLMs
Intelligent Automation
Process Mining
Workflow Automation
Business Process Management (BPM)
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Integration Platforms (iPaaS)
Low-Code / No-Code Platforms
Enterprise Architecture
Process Intelligence
Automation Governance
AI Governance
Digital Transformation

Experience with platforms such as Celonis, Signavio, ServiceNow, Microsoft Power Platform, or similar technologies is highly desirable.

Leadership

We're looking for someone who can:

Lead large-scale enterprise transformation
Influence executive stakeholders across business functions
Balance strategic thinking with operational execution
Build high-performing multidisciplinary teams
Drive measurable business value through technology and process innovation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Business, or a related field
Master's degree preferred
MBA is a plus

Industry experience

Experience in one or more of the following industries is preferred:

MedTech
Healthcare
Medical Devices
Life Sciences
Other highly regulated industries

Location

This role can be based in Berlin, Singapore or Zurich

Sonova is an equal opportunity employer.

We team up. We grow talent. We collaborate with people of diverse backgrounds to win with the best team in the market place. We guarantee every person equal treatment in regard to employment and opportunity for employment, regardless of a candidate’s ethnic or national origin, religion, sexual orientation or marital status, gender, genetic identity, age, disability or any other legally protected status.