Director, AI and Automation Engineering

First Tech Federal Credit Union; Marlborough (MA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 217,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision coverage

Generous 401(k) match

Paid Time Off (up to 15 days) + sick &

Paid federal holidays

Special pricing on lending products

Job summary

First Tech Federal Credit Union seeks a Director of AI and Automation to lead the engineering teams focused on agentic AI and workflow automation. You will drive engineering quality, standards, and governance while partnering with Product Owners to align priorities and deliver impactful automation across the organization.

The role demands deep hands-on knowledge, mentorship for engineers, and the ability to influence strategic AI adoption and governance in a fast-moving environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in CS, IT, Engineering, or related field; equivalent experience accepted.
• 6+ years in technology, engineering, or IT operations with at least 2 years managing large teams.
• Ability to lead engineers in fast-moving, ambiguous domains where standards are evolving.
• Knowledge of workflow automation and orchestration concepts in enterprise settings; platforms a plus.
• Familiarity with AI and agentic automation concepts; quick learner and credible with tech leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of engineers across agentic AI and workflow automation.
• Own engineering quality and standards across both domains.
• Drive adoption of agentic coding practices across the team.
• Partner with Product Owners to ensure clear priorities and context for teams.
• Evaluate automation tooling and provide governance-focused recommendations.
• Contribute to AI governance and responsible AI frameworks.
• Oversee talent lifecycle: hiring, onboarding, performance, growth.
• Maintain visibility into pod delivery; surface risks and dependencies.
• Represent the AI & Intelligent Automation function in cross-functional conversations.

Skills

Team leadership

Engineering standards

Technical judgment

Communication skills

Workflow orchestration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Description

Role Summary

The Director, AI & Automation leads the team responsible for building and scaling the organization's automation and agentic AI capabilities. This role owns a team of engineers working across two closely related domains: workflow orchestration and deterministic automation, and agentic coding practices and AI-enabled engineering.

This is a high-autonomy, high-accountability role at the leading edge of how the organization applies AI to internal operations. The Director is expected to be a practitioner and a leader - someone who understands the technology deeply enough to make good engineering decisions, develop strong engineers, and contribute meaningfully to how the organization thinks about AI adoption and governance over time.

Essential Functions

• Lead a team of engineers across agentic AI and workflow automation disciplines, organized into self-directed pods aligned to business domains; ensure pods are staffed, enabled, and delivering effectively.
• Own engineering quality and technical standards across both workflow orchestration and deterministic automation, as well as agentic AI tooling and practices.
• Drive adoption of agentic coding practices across the team - establishing patterns, evaluating emerging approaches, and building engineering fluency in AI-assisted development at scale.
• Partner with Product Owners embedded in each pod to ensure engineers have clear priorities, well-defined work, and the technical context needed to deliver effectively.
• Ensure continuous rapid evaluation of automation tooling, frameworks, and agentic patterns, bringing well-reasoned recommendations to leadership and contributing to governance conversations as a technical voice.
• Participate in AI governance and definition of responsible AI frameworks, helping to establish standards for how the organization deploys, monitors, and evaluates AI-driven automation in production.
• Manage the full engineer lifecycle across the team - hiring, onboarding, performance, growth, and retention - with particular attention to developing engineers in a fast-moving and ambiguous technology domain.
• Maintain visibility into pod delivery across all business domains; surface risks, capacity issues, and cross-pod dependencies to leadership before they become blockers.
• Represent the AI & Intelligent Automation engineering function in cross-functional conversations with technology leadership, business stakeholders, and vendor partners.

Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field. Equivalent experience accepted.
• 6+ years of experience in technology, engineering, or IT operations, with at least 2 years managing large teams.
• Demonstrated ability to lead engineers or technical teams working in fast-moving, ambiguous domains where standards and practices are still being established.
• Working knowledge of workflow automation and orchestration concepts - understanding how automated processes are designed, integrated, and maintained in an enterprise environment. Hands-on experience with specific platforms is a plus but not required.
• Familiarity with AI and agentic automation concepts sufficient to evaluate tooling, guide engineering decisions, and engage credibly with technical teams and leadership. Direct engineering experience in AI is a plus; genuine curiosity and the ability to learn quickly are required.
• Experience managing engineers or technical staff across multiple concurrent workstreams, teams, or business domains simultaneously.
• Track record of building team culture, engineering standards, or operational practices in environments where they did not fully exist before.
• Strong judgment on technology evaluation - able to assess new tools and approaches against real organizational constraints, not just technical appeal.
• Comfortable operating at the intersection of team leadership, technical judgment, and strategic contribution.
• Strong communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences.

Location

Marlborough/ Chelmsford, MA or Hillsboro, OR

Target Compensation

$180,400 - $216,700

Schedule

8am- 5pm

Who We Are

What makes First Tech different? Click here to learn more!

Every great journey begins with a bold idea—and ours is no different. First Tech and DCU were founded on the belief that financial solutions should put people first. That belief has fueled decades of innovation and service, rooted in the tech sector and expanding to support members from all walks of life.

Employees Are Eligible For

• Traditional medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Generous 401(k) match
• Paid Time Off: You'll accrue up to 15 days in your first year. In addition, you'll receive 40 hours of sick time and 3 personal days, which refresh annually
• Paid federal holidays
• Special employee pricing on lending products such as mortgage, auto, and personal loans (eligibility subject to standard account requirements and underwriting criteria)

Employment Statements

First Tech is an equal opportunity employer, and we value diversity, inclusion, and equity at our company. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics.

First Tech is not currently offering Visa transfer/sponsorship for this position.