Director of Artificial Intelligence

Director of AI

Location: United States (85% Remote)

Travel: Quarterly executive leadership meetings on the U.S. East Coast (approximately 15% travel)
Compensation: $325,000 – $380,000 Base Salary + Executive Bonus + Long-Term Incentives + Comprehensive Benefits

Confidential Executive Search
Our client is one of the largest and most recognizable retail organizations in North America, currently investing hundreds of millions of dollars into enterprise-wide AI, data, and digital transformation initiatives.
As part of this investment, they are conducting a confidential search for an experienced Director of Artificial Intelligence to define and execute the company's AI vision across the enterprise. This executive will work directly with the C-suite and business leadership to leverage AI as a competitive advantage across customer experience, merchandising, supply chain, operations, marketing, and corporate functions.
This is a rare opportunity to build and lead one of the most advanced enterprise AI organizations in the retail sector.

The Opportunity
As Director of AI, you will own the enterprise AI strategy from conception through execution, driving innovation while ensuring responsible, secure, and commercially valuable adoption of AI technologies.
You will oversee multiple high-performing teams across AI Engineering, Machine Learning, Data Science, Applied Research, MLOps, and AI Governance, partnering closely with Technology, Data, Product, Digital, Operations, Finance, and Executive Leadership.
The successful candidate will be responsible for delivering measurable business outcomes through Generative AI, Agentic AI, Predictive Analytics, Machine Learning, and Intelligent Automation.

Key Responsibilities
Define and execute the enterprise AI strategy aligned to long-term business objectives.
Build and lead a world-class AI organization spanning Data Science, AI Engineering, Machine Learning, MLOps, Applied AI, and AI Governance.
Develop enterprise AI platforms supporting large-scale production AI workloads.
Drive adoption of Generative AI, Agentic AI, LLMs, RAG architectures, AI Assistants, and autonomous workflows across the business.
Partner with executive leadership to identify high-value AI opportunities that improve revenue, customer engagement, operational efficiency, and profitability.
Establish AI governance frameworks covering Responsible AI, model monitoring, security, privacy, and regulatory compliance.
Lead enterprise AI transformation initiatives across merchandising, digital commerce, supply chain, logistics, marketing, finance, and customer operations.
Build executive-level AI roadmaps with measurable business outcomes and ROI.
Oversee AI vendor strategy and partnerships with leading technology providers.
Develop scalable AI operating models supporting thousands of employees across multiple business units.
Present AI strategy, investment recommendations, and transformation updates to Executive Leadership and the Board.

Required Experience
10+ years of progressive leadership within Data, AI, Machine Learning, or Advanced Analytics.
Significant executive leadership experience building and scaling enterprise AI organizations.
Proven success delivering large-scale AI transformation within Fortune 500 or enterprise environments.
Deep expertise in Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), AI Agents, and Agentic AI architectures.
Strong understanding of enterprise AI platforms, MLOps, model lifecycle management, and production AI deployment.
Experience leading AI strategy across multiple business functions.
Demonstrated success managing executive stakeholders and influencing C-suite decision-making.
Experience leading global, distributed engineering and data science teams.
Strong commercial acumen with a track record of delivering measurable business value through AI investments.

Preferred Technical Expertise
Enterprise AI Platforms
Generative AI & Agentic AI
OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, AWS Bedrock, Azure AI, Vertex AI
Machine Learning & Deep Learning
MLOps & AI Platform Engineering
Python, SQL
Databricks, Snowflake
Azure, AWS and/or Google Cloud Platform
Vector Databases
AI Governance & Responsible AI
Knowledge Graphs
Semantic Search
Enterprise Data Platforms
Predictive Analytics
AI Security & Model Risk Management

Leadership Profile
The ideal candidate will demonstrate:
Exceptional executive presence with the ability to influence Board and C-level stakeholders.
A strategic mindset balanced with a hands-on understanding of modern AI technologies.
Experience leading organizations through large-scale digital and AI transformation.
Strong commercial focus with the ability to translate AI innovation into measurable business outcomes.
A collaborative leadership style capable of inspiring high-performing technical and business teams.

Why This Opportunity?
This organization is making one of the largest AI investments within the retail sector and is establishing AI as a core business capability. The successful executive will have the opportunity to shape enterprise strategy, build a best-in-class AI function, influence technology decisions at the highest level, and deliver transformational business impact across a nationally recognized retail brand.

Compensation
Base Salary: $325,000 – $380,000
Executive Annual Bonus
Long-Term Incentive Plan (Equity/Performance Awards)
Comprehensive Medical, Dental & Vision
401(k) with Company Match
Executive Benefits Package
Generous Paid Time Off
Remote-first working model with quarterly executive meetings on the U.S. East Coast
Please note: Due to the confidential nature of this search, additional information regarding the organization will be shared with shortlisted candidates following an initial discussion.