AI Program manager

Software Placement Group; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Software Placement Group seeks an AI Program Manager to build and run a portfolio of AI initiatives across North America manufacturing sites. You will partner with Operations, Sales, Marketing, IT, HR, and Finance to select problems, deliver measurable outcomes, and scale wins while ensuring compliance with policies and governance.

You will drive data infrastructure, stage-gated delivery, and change management to embed AI into standard processes, aiming to increase revenue and reduce waste.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Project/Program Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, Computer Science, Data/Analytics, or a related field.
• 3+ years leading data/AI/automation programs within manufacturing operations, with a proven track record delivering hard dollar benefits and labor hour avoidance.
• Mastery of program management practices including business cases, roadmaps, stage gates, and financials.
• Excellent stakeholder communication and leadership skills across Operations, Sales, Marketing, IT, HR, and Finance.
• Strong collaboration, communication, adaptability, problem solving, analytical thinking, and business acumen.

Responsibilities

• Conduct stakeholder interviews to capture business objectives and constraints; translate goals into AI project requirements.
• Build simple business cases with departments; baseline performance and quantify benefits.
• Prioritize initiatives by value, impact, labor hour avoidance, and risk mitigation.
• Prioritize AI program roadmap into short, iterative deliverables.
• Run stage-gated delivery (scope-pilot-scale) with governance and incremental results.
• Develop data and IT infrastructure and tools supporting the AI roadmap.
• Ensure ownership of agents and AI workflows by business stakeholders.
• Engage change management to integrate AI into standard processes.
• Track and report program benefits such as savings and efficiency improvements.
• Share AI knowledge to upskill the organization and coach stakeholders.
• Partner with Legal/HR on data privacy and AI use policies.
• Ensure solutions comply with cybersecurity and risk guidelines.

Skills

Program management

Data/Analytics

Manufacturing operations

Stakeholder communication

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in project/program management or related field

Tools

MS CoPilot Studio

MS Fabric

MS Azure Foundry

Job description

Location: Milwaukee, WI | Schedule: Full-time

Overview

An established manufacturing organization is accelerating its use of Artificial Intelligence to unlock capacity, improve quality, and fuel growth across North America. As the AI Program Manager, you will build and run a portfolio of AI initiatives that create efficiencies by automating repetitive tasks and removing process waste. You will partner with Operations, Sales, Marketing, IT, HR, and Finance to select the right problems, deliver measurable outcomes quickly, and scale wins across plant sites to increase revenue, reduce cost, and eliminate waste, all while maintaining and supporting corporate policies, procedures, work instructions, and required documentation.

What you'll do

• Conduct stakeholder interviews to capture business objectives and constraints; translate high-level goals into clear, actionable AI project requirements.
• Build simple business cases with respective departments; baseline current performance and quantify benefits.
• Work with business stakeholders to prioritize initiatives by value, impact, labor hour avoidance, and risk mitigation.
• Prioritize the AI program and project roadmap into short, iterative deliverables based on business impact and feasibility.
• Run stage-gated delivery (scope - pilot - scale) aligned to internal Center of Excellence project governance; set decision forums, risk controls, and incremental results.
• Work with Business and IT to develop data and IT infrastructure and tools supporting the AI program roadmap.
• Ensure ownership of agents and AI workflows transitions to business stakeholders.
• Engage with change management to ensure AI projects are accepted and integrated into standard processes.
• Track and report on program benefit metrics such as savings, improved experience, reduced waste, and efficiency improvements.
• Share AI knowledge to upskill the organization and coach stakeholders on identifying AI use cases.
• Partner with Legal/HR on data privacy and AI use policies.
• Ensure solutions comply with corporate cybersecurity and risk guidelines.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Project/Program Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, Computer Science, Data/Analytics, or a related field.
• 3+ years leading data/AI/automation programs within manufacturing operations, with a proven track record delivering hard dollar benefits and labor hour avoidance.
• Mastery of program management practices including business cases, roadmaps, stage gates, and financials.
• Excellent stakeholder communication and leadership skills across Operations, Sales, Marketing, IT, HR, and Finance.
• Strong collaboration, communication, adaptability, problem solving, analytical thinking, and business acumen.

Preferred qualifications

• Background in manufacturing or related environments.
• Lean / Six Sigma certification; experience embedding AI within continuous improvement programs.
• Experience with AI tools such as MS CoPilot Studio, MS Fabric, and MS Azure Foundry.

Why this role

This is an opportunity to lead AI-driven transformation across a multi-site manufacturing operation, directly shaping how AI becomes embedded in everyday business processes to increase revenue, reduce cost, and eliminate waste.