Director, AI Program Management, OS, System & Data

Ford; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Parental leave

Back-up childcare

Vehicle discount

Tuition assistance

Paid holidays

Job summary

Ford is seeking a leadership-level professional to govern AI program bets, align cross-functional councils, and drive value through disciplined governance and reporting. You will own the operating cadence, coordinate with Finance, HR, Legal, and Product, and ensure accountability for delivery against strategic targets.

The role includes managing recovery plans, steering committee oversight, and presenting progress to senior leadership, including CEO and Board-level audiences.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 8+ years in program governance, PMO leadership, or portfolio execution at enterprise scale.
• Experience setting stage-gate criteria or governance frameworks across multiple programs.
• Experience running cross-functional councils with legal, HR, Finance and tech stakeholders.
• Track record of recurring reviews, reporting cycles, and executive filings for a large portfolio.
• Experience diagnosing at-risk programs and driving path-to-green recovery.
• Experience partnering with Finance on benefits realization or value validation.
• Strong executive presence and accountability mindset.

Responsibilities

• Own AI Big Bet governance standards, stage-gate criteria, delivery expectations, value realization requirements, and coaching.
• Run the Agentic AI Business and Technology Councils across functions.
• Own operating rhythm for the AI Portfolio - forums, owners, review calendar, and CEO/Board/ELT filings.
• Oversee execution of Enterprise and Functional AI Bets to achieve outcomes.
• Manage cross-bet dependencies and remove blockers to delivery.
• Maintain recovery plans when performance or value targets are at risk.
• Co-own Finance validation standards with Finance DRI and ensure reported value is validated.
• Drive corrective action when value or delivery commitments aren’t met.

Skills

Program governance

PMO leadership

Portfolio execution

Stage-gate criteria

Governance frameworks

Cross-functional councils

Executive reporting

Benefits realization

Value validation

Executive presence

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Job Description

In this position...

Responsibilities

What you'll do...

• Own AI Big Bet governance standards, stage-gate criteria, delivery expectations, value realization requirements, and coaching that drive progress, rigor, and consistency in the portfolio
• Run the Agentic AI Business and Technology Councils, keeping OGC, HR, Finance, Product, Engineering, and GDIA aligned on decisions that cut across their functions
• Own the operating rhythm for the AI Portfolio - forums, owners, review calendar, and CEO/Board/ELT filings
• Own execution oversight of Enterprise and Functional AI Bets, ensuring programs achieve committed outcomes
• Manage cross-bet dependencies and remove barriers to delivery, stepping in when a blocker is bigger than what a single bet owner can resolve on their own
• Maintain path-to-green recovery plans when performance, schedule, adoption, or value targets are at risk, and hold bets accountable to the recovery plan
• Co-own Finance validation standards with the Finance DRI, driving benefits realization and ensuring reported value is independently validated
• Drive corrective action when value or delivery commitments aren't achieved, escalating to the relevant council or leadership forum when a bet can't self-correct

Qualifications

You'll have...

• Bachelor's degree
• 8+ years of experience in program governance, PMO leadership, or portfolio execution roles at enterprise scale, including experience managing managers
• Direct experience setting stage-gate criteria, delivery standards, or governance frameworks adopted across multiple programs
• Experience running cross-functional councils or steering committees, including keeping legal, HR, Finance, and technical stakeholders aligned on shared decisions
• Track record of building or running an operating cadence - recurring reviews, reporting cycles, and executive filings - for a large, multi-workstream portfolio
• Experience diagnosing at-risk programs and driving path-to-green recovery, including the judgment to know when a bet needs to be escalated rather than coached
• Experience partnering with Finance on benefits realization or value validation, including pushing back on reported value that doesn't hold up
• Strong executive presence and comfort keeping program sponsors and leadership accountable

Even better, if you have...

• Experience in automotive, technology, or another large-scale enterprise environment with a complex, matrixed operating structure
• Background running a PMO, governance office, or transformation office for a technology or innovation portfolio
• Experience with AI or digital transformation programs specifically, including how agentic or AI-driven initiatives typically stall or fail
• Familiarity with how legal, data governance, and risk functions (like GDIA) need to be looped into technology program decisions
• Experience presenting portfolio performance and recovery plans directly to a CEO, Board, or ELT-level audience

This position is a leadership level 4.

Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.

• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up childcare and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year's Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.

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Job Schedule Full time

Locations Work from Home, Dearborn, MI, 48126, US (Remote)