Manager, AI Engineering

Canfor-; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 103,000 - 147,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive total rewards

Performance-based incentive plans

Job summary

Canfor is seeking an AI Engineering Manager to lead a team delivering secure, practical AI solutions that drive real business value. You will set priorities, empower engineers, and partner with stakeholders to move AI initiatives from concept to adoption.

You will guide decision-making, ensure production readiness, and collaborate with architecture and governance teams to align with enterprise standards. Strong leadership and business-sense are essential in shaping AI at Canfor.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/IT/Engineering/Data Science or related field.
• 8+ years delivering software, data, AI, or digital solutions, incl. 3+ years in leadership.
• Proven experience leading technical teams and enterprise-scale initiatives.
• Working knowledge of AI, data, cloud, and integration technologies to guide decisions.
• Experience managing stakeholders, vendors, budgets, and roadmaps in complex environments.
• Experience with Microsoft Fabric, Azure AI Foundry, Copilot Studio or similar platforms preferred.
• Manufacturing, forestry, or industrial industry experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of AI engineers and integration specialists.
• Set clear goals, objectives, development plans, and performance expectations.
• Support hiring, onboarding, retention, succession planning, and growth.
• Create a collaborative culture focused on learning, delivery quality, and business value.
• Align delivery with business demand, track risks, and report progress to stakeholders.
• Provide technical leadership without being the primary hands-on developer for all solutions.
• Ensure AI initiatives follow security, privacy, governance, and compliance requirements.

Skills

People leadership

AI engineering concepts

Communication

Delivery focus

Prioritization

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/IT/Engineering/Data Science

8+ years delivering software/AI solutions

3+ years in a leadership role

Experience with enterprise AI platforms

Tools

Microsoft Fabric

Azure AI Foundry

Copilot Studio

Job description

If you're a leader who gets excited about turning emerging AI technologies into real business impact, this is an opportunity to make your mark. As our AI Engineering Manager, you'll lead a talented team in delivering innovative, secure, and practical AI solutions that solve meaningful business challenges across the organization.

You’ll inspire and develop technical talent, set clear priorities, and partner with stakeholders to bring AI initiatives from concept to adoption. While you bring the technical knowledge to guide decision-making, challenge assumptions, and evaluate solution approaches, your greatest strength is empowering teams to succeed. This role is ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of people leadership, technology, and business strategy, and wants to help shape the future of AI at Canfor.

A day in the life of the AI Engineering Manager includes:

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of AI engineers, developers, architects, analysts, and integration specialists.
• Set clear team goals, individual objectives, development plans, and performance expectations for direct reports.
• Support hiring, onboarding, retention, succession planning, and career growth for AI engineering talent.
• Create a collaborative and accountable team culture focused on learning, delivery quality, operational discipline, and business value.
• Provide regular feedback, remove barriers, and help team members balance delivery commitments with professional growth.

Delivery Management & Prioritization

• Manage intake, prioritization, planning, and execution of AI engineering work across projects, enhancements, and operational support.
• Align team capacity with business demand, enterprise priorities, and available budget.
• Track delivery commitments, risks, dependencies, and outcomes, and communicate progress clearly to stakeholders.
• Ensure AI initiatives are delivered with appropriate scope, quality, support readiness, and measurable business value.
• Coordinate work across internal technology teams, business stakeholders, vendors, and consulting partners as needed.

Technical Leadership & Solution Oversight

• Provide technical leadership and review of AI solution approaches without serving as the primary hands-on developer for all solutions.
• Guide the team in applying practical engineering standards, reusable patterns, testing practices, and production readiness expectations.
• Partner with Enterprise Architecture, Security, Data, and Governance teams to ensure AI solutions align with enterprise standards.
• Support design reviews and key technical decisions by asking informed questions, identifying risks, and helping the team make balanced trade-offs.
• Promote maintainable, scalable, cost-aware, and supportable AI solutions across applications, data platforms, and business processes.
• Ensure AI initiatives follow established security, privacy, responsible AI, data governance, and compliance requirements.
• Work with governance and risk partners to identify and manage risks such as data leakage, unintended automation outcomes, poor-quality outputs, or inappropriate system access.
• Ensure AI solutions have clear ownership, support models, monitoring expectations, documentation, and lifecycle practices before production release.
• Support issue resolution and continuous improvement by ensuring the right technical resources are engaged and lessons learned are applied.

Stakeholder Engagement & AI Enablement

• Partner with business and IT leaders to identify, assess, and prioritize AI opportunities that support enterprise goals.
• Translate business needs into realistic delivery plans, resourcing needs, and success measures.
• Communicate AI capabilities, constraints, risks, and delivery progress in clear language for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Support adoption, change management, and enablement activities so delivered AI solutions are understood, trusted, and used effectively.
• Help build organizational capability by promoting practical AI engineering practices, responsible use, and reusable delivery patterns.
• Support budget planning, forecasting, and cost tracking for AI engineering initiatives, tools, platforms, and external delivery support.
• Monitor platform usage, licensing, and consumption trends to help manage cost and value realization.
• Assist with vendor evaluations, partner performance reviews, and statements of work related to AI engineering delivery.
• Ensure third-party delivery aligns with Canfor standards, timelines, expected outcomes, and supportability requirements.

For this role, you’ll come equipped with:

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Data Science, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience delivering software, data, AI, or digital solutions, including 3+ years in a leadership role.
• Proven experience leading technical teams and delivering enterprise-scale technology initiatives.
• Working knowledge of AI, data, cloud, and integration technologies, with the ability to guide technical decision-making and solution delivery.
• Experience managing stakeholders, vendors, budgets, and delivery roadmaps in a complex business environment.
• Experience with Microsoft Fabric, Azure AI Foundry, Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, or similar enterprise AI platforms is preferred.
• Manufacturing, forestry, or industrial industry experience is an asset.

Skills & Abilities

• Strong people leadership, coaching, prioritization, performance management, and team development capabilities
• Working knowledge of AI engineering concepts, software delivery practices, and modern technical platforms, with the ability to guide technical teams without being the primary hands-on developer
• Strong understanding of AI solution delivery, integration concepts, production readiness, risk management, and responsible AI controls
• Strong decision-making and problem-solving skills with the ability to balance business value, delivery capacity, cost, risk, and technical quality
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to simplify complex topics for technical and business audiences
• Results-oriented with a focus on team execution, adoption, measurable business impact, and continuous improvement
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, stakeholders, budgets, team capacity, vendors, and delivery risks in a fast-paced environment

The salary range for this position is: $102,550.00-$146,500.00

Please Note:

The range provided is for base salary only. In addition to base salary, Canfor proudly offers its employees a comprehensive and competitive total rewards package. It features programs such as performance-based incentive plans, recognition programs, benefits, paid leaves, pension plans with base and matching contributions, savings options and robust health & well-being initiatives. We also continually invest in the development of our talent to help them thrive professionally and personally. Above all, we are proud to offer our employees a value proposition that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion and fosters an environment where talent and performance is recognized and rewarded.

We appreciate all candidates' interest but will contact only those selected for interviews. Our hiring for various positions is ongoing and includes different screening processes such as behavioral assessments, references, and criminal record checks, depending on the role and location. #CADS #LI-ZM1