director, AI Transformation

Starbucks Corp.; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision insurance

401(k) with employer match

Starbucks College Achievement Plan

Job summary

Starbucks Coffee Company is seeking a Now Brewing Director, AI Transformation to lead enterprise AI acceleration, partnering with SMEs across retail, supply chain, digital, operations, and support to turn processes into scalable AI-powered workflows.

The role is based in Seattle, requires in-office collaboration four days a week, and demands 8+ years in product management with AI/ML focus; you will guide engineers, shape roadmaps, and ensure safe, reliable deployments of agent-based systems.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in product management with at least 3 years focused on AI/ML, intelligent automation, or agent-based systems.
• Experience leading or partnering with engineering teams to translate business needs into technical requirements.
• Strong capability in mapping, analyzing, and redesigning complex enterprise workflows.
• Understanding of when humans should stay in the loop and how agents should behave in production environments.

Responsibilities

• AI Workflow Decomposition — map current state processes, identify automation opportunities, break into human-in-the-loop and agent-driven components.
• End to End Product Ownership — drive initiatives from discovery through requirements, prototyping, validation, and handoff to engineering for spec-based development.
• Enterprise AI Strategy — contribute to the roadmap for Starbucks AI acceleration, prioritizing use cases by impact, feasibility, and alignment.
• Cross Functional Leadership — collaborate with engineering, data science, operations, legal, and compliance to ensure scalable and safe solutions.
• Technical Stewardship — guide engineering teams with clear requirements, edge cases, evaluation criteria, and agent behavior expectations.
• Change Management — support adoption by partnering with business leaders to prepare teams for new AI-enabled workflows.
• Measurement & Optimization — define KPIs, evaluate agent performance, and iterate based on real-world usage.

Skills

AI product leadership

Engineering collaboration

Process design

Human agent interaction

AI evangelism

Enterprise experience

Seattle presence

Job description

Now Brewing Director, AI Transformation #tobeapartner

Role Summary

The Director of Product Management, Enterprise AI Acceleration will be a central leader in Starbucks’ enterprise wide effort to scale AI capabilities across the company. This role sits in a newly formed Enterprise AI Acceleration Office, responsible for identifying high value processes, decomposing them into human and agent workflows with domain SMEs, and driving them from concept to spec ready solutions.
This leader is an AI zealot—someone who deeply believes in the transformative power of intelligent agents, has hands on experience guiding engineers, and thrives in ambiguous, cross functional environments. They will partner with domain SMEs across retail, supply chain, digital, operations, and support functions to turn business processes into AI powered workflows that can be executed reliably, safely, and at scale.

Key Responsibilities

• AI Workflow Decomposition — Partner with SMEs to map current state processes, identify automation opportunities, and break them into human in the loop and agent driven components.
• End to End Product Ownership — Drive initiatives from discovery through requirements, prototyping, validation, and handoff to engineering for spec based development.
• Enterprise AI Strategy — Contribute to the roadmap for Starbucks’ AI acceleration, prioritizing use cases based on impact, feasibility, and alignment with enterprise goals.
• Cross Functional Leadership — Collaborate with engineering, data science, operations, legal, and compliance to ensure solutions are scalable, safe, and ethically aligned.
• Technical Stewardship — Guide engineering teams with clarity on requirements, edge cases, evaluation criteria, and agent behavior expectations.
• Change Management — Support adoption by partnering with business leaders to prepare teams for new AI enabled workflows.
• Measurement & Optimization — Define KPIs, evaluate agent performance, and iterate based on real world usage.

We’d love to hear from people with:

• AI Product Leadership — 8+ years in product management with at least 3 years focused on AI/ML, intelligent automation, or agent based systems.
• Engineering Collaboration — Experience leading or partnering closely with engineering teams; ability to translate business needs into technical requirements.
• Process Design Expertise — Strong capability in mapping, analyzing, and redesigning complex enterprise workflows.
• Human Agent Interaction — Understanding of when humans should stay in the loop and how agents should behave in production environments.
• AI Evangelism — A passion for AI’s potential and the ability to inspire teams across the organization.
• Enterprise Experience — Background working in large, matrixed organizations; ability to influence without authority.
• Seattle Presence — This role is based in Seattle and requires regular in office collaboration.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with agentic architectures, workflow orchestration, or LLM powered automation.
• Familiarity with retail, supply chain, or store operations.
• Ability to create clear, unambiguous specifications for engineering teams.
• Strong understanding of AI safety, governance, and evaluation frameworks.
• Demonstrated success launching AI powered products in production environments.

Why This Role Matters

Starbucks is entering a new era where AI augments every partner, every store, and every support function. This role is at the center of that transformation—turning ideas into scalable, intelligent systems that make work easier, faster, and more human

We believe we do our best work when we're together, which is why we're onsite four days a week

Benefits

As a Starbucks partner, you (and your family) will have access to medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, and other voluntary insurance benefits. Partners have access to short-term and long-term disability, paid parental leave, family expansion reimbursement, paid vacation from date of hire*, sick time (accrued at 1 hour for every 25 hours worked), eight paid holidays, and two personal days per year. Starbucks also offers eligible partners participation in a 401(k) retirement plan with employer match, a discounted company stock program (S.I.P.), Starbucks equity program (Bean Stock), incentivized emergency savings, and financial well-being tools. Additionally, Starbucks offers 100% upfront tuition coverage for a first-time bachelor’s degree through Arizona State University’s online program via the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, student loan management resources, and access to other educational opportunities. You will also have access to backup care and DACA reimbursement. Starbucks will comply with any applicable state and local laws regarding employee leave benefits, including, but not limited to providing time off pursuant to the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, and in accordance with its plans and policies. This list is subject to change depending on collective bargaining in locations where partners have a certified bargaining representative. For additional information regarding partner perks and more detailed information about benefits, go to starbucksbenefits.com.

*If you are working in CA, CO, IL, LA, ME, MA, NE, ND or RI, you will accrue vacation up to a maximum of 120 hours (190 in CA) for roles below director and 200 hours (316 in CA) for roles at director or above. For roles in other states, you will be granted vacation time starting at 120 hours annually for roles below director and 200 hours annually for roles director and above.

The actual base pay offered to the successful candidate will be based on multiple factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge/skills, experience, geographical location, and internal equity. At Starbucks, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at the high end of the range for their role, and compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.

Starbucks Coffee Company is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with all federal, state and local ordinances.

Starbucks Coffee Company is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at [e-mail] or 1(888) 611-2258.