Director, AI Platforms & Engineering

VSP Vision; California; Hybrid; USD 105,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

VSP Vision is seeking a Director, AI Platforms & Engineering to define and lead the enterprise AI platform strategy, architecture, and engineering capabilities. The role ensures secure, reliable, and scalable AI development and deployment across the organization.

You will own multi-year reference architecture spanning data, ML, agentic, and AI-enabled BI. You’ll establish standards, safety, governance, and cost efficiency while orchestrating cloud and vendor partnerships.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in CS, Engineering, Data Science, or equivalent; advanced degree preferred.
• 6+ years of management experience leading cross-functional teams.
• Experience delivering enterprise-scale AI platforms and governance.
• Strong governance, security, and compliance in regulated environments.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive enterprise AI platform strategy and architecture.
• Oversee platform standards, governance, and cost optimization.
• Lead multi-cloud AI platform orchestration and observability.
• Partner with enterprise architecture and stakeholders to enable scalable AI.

Skills

Executive communication

Stakeholder management

Cloud platforms

ML platform experience

Enterprise architecture

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/Engineering/Data Science or equivalent

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

Snowflake

AWS

Azure

LLMOps

Job description

Job Overview

The Director, AI Platforms & Engineering defines and leads the organization’s enterprise AI platform strategy, architecture, and engineering capabilities. This role is accountable for the platforms, standards, and governance that enable the secure, reliable, and scalable development, deployment, and operation of AI solutions across the organization. Responsible for machine learning, agentic AI, and AI-enabled business intelligence platforms, the role provides a common AI foundation that supports innovation while maintaining security, compliance, reliability, and cost efficiency. Own the multi-year strategy and reference architecture for the organization’s AI platforms, spanning the data platform, ML platform, agentic platform, and AI-enabled BI Define how the ML and agentic platforms sit on top of the enterprise data platform, and how ML products support BI and agent use cases, to present a coherent platform and capabilities journey Establish a scalable architecture for generative AI, AI agents, traditional machine learning, computer vision, and emerging AI technologies that preserves optionality across cloud providers, foundation models, and SaaS platforms Set enterprise AI architecture standards, environment standards, tool/model selection guidelines, and reusable patterns in partnership with Enterprise Architecture Establish clear decision frameworks for when the organization should build, buy, configure, or partner for AI capabilities Own and evolve enterprise AI platforms, services, frameworks, and APIs that enable scalable AI development and operations, including model access, orchestration, knowledge retrieval, observability, identity, and security Establish engineering standards for AI agents, intelligent workflows, APIs, and embedded AI experiences Drive disciplined software engineering practices including automated testing, CI/CD, versioning, release management, and production support Establish enterprise lifecycle management for predictive models, generative AI applications, and autonomous or semi-autonomous agents Translate organization’s AI governance policies into practical technical controls embedded within the platform In partnership with various stakeholders, ensure platform-hosted solutions are governed, permissions-aware, and auditable, and meet requirements for healthcare data, consumer information, and intellectual property Implement platform-level safety controls proportionate to risk Establish production standards and service-level expectations for enterprise AI capabilities, and own operational reliability, availability, and performance Forecast and manage platform consumption and vendor commitments (e.g., Snowflake/Cortex, cloud, and model usage) Establish clear roles, decision rights, performance expectations, development plans, and succession readiness; align replacement and future hiring to evolving organizational needs Develop annual and quarterly operating plans covering priorities, capacity, staffing, funding, vendor needs, technology consumption, and anticipated outcomes.

Job Specifications

Typically has the following skills or abilities: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience; advanced degree preferred; Minimum of 2 additional years of experience related to functional area Minimum of 6 years of management experience with responsibilities for hiring, training, assigning work, and managing performance of direct reports Experience across software, data, or machine-learning engineering, cloud platforms, or related disciplines, including building and operating production platforms Demonstrated experience taking machine learning or generative AI capabilities into production at enterprise scale, with strong understanding of modern GenAI architectures, foundation models, RAG, AI agents, and vector technologies Experience delivering and operating cloud data and AI platforms (e.g., Snowflake, AWS, Azure) and modern tooling including LLM stacks, orchestration frameworks, MLOps/LLMOps, CI/CD, APIs, and observability Proven ability to define enterprise architecture standards, reusable platform services, and a federated enablement model adopted across multiple teams Strong grounding in responsible AI, security, privacy, and governance for regulated environments (e.g., healthcare or financial services), including auditability and access control Experience managing platform budgets, strategic vendor commitments, and consumption/FinOps for scaled technology or AI environments Strong executive communication and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to translate complex technical tradeoffs into clear priorities and delivered outcomes For roles that are remote (i.e., Work From Home (WFH)) or hybrid (i.e., partial onsite at a VSP location and WFH), must demonstrate a high level of engagement in virtual environments, including maintaining camera presence during meetings to support effective communication and team alignment Working Conditions The working environment is generally favorable lighting and temperature is adequate, and there are no hazardous or unpleasant conditions caused by noise, dust, etc. The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job grade #LI-VISIONCARE.

Compensation

Salary Ranges: $105,000.00 - $165,375.00

Equal Opportunity

VSP Vision is an equal opportunity employer and gives consideration for employment to qualified applicants without regard to age, gender, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. We maintain a drug-free workplace and perform pre-employment substance abuse testing. Unincorporated LA County Residents: Qualified Applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act, and any other similar laws.

Company Culture

At VSP Vision, we’re all about seeing potential—literally! We believe that everyone deserves access to quality vision care, and we’re on a mission to make that happen. With nearly 70 years in the eye health industry, our team is driven by compassion, care, and a shared mission to help people see every possibility. When you join our global family of nearly 15,000 teammates, you’re stepping into a world where innovation meets impact. We value collaboration, inclusion, and making sure that everyone feels they belong. Ready to grow your career in an environment that’s as supportive as it is inspiring? Then VSP is the place for you. Let’s work together to create a clearer, brighter future—one person at a time. Follow your heart to VSP! #VisionWithHeart