Senior Director, AI Systems and Platforms

Edwards Lifesciences; Irvine, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 232,000 - 329,000; Full time

Job summary

Edwards Lifesciences in Irvine, CA is seeking a senior architect to lead AI & Technology innovations across the AI Center of Excellence. You will design a scalable AI platform, enforce standards, and drive cross-functional collaboration with IT and product teams.

You will own build/buy decisions, guide vendor spending, ensure production reliability, and shape the reference architecture for multi-tenant AI services, with a focus on security and observability.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 12+ years in software or AI architecture.
• At least 5 years in formal technical leadership or chief architect capacity.
• Experience negotiating shared-capacity or co-delivery with internal IT.

Responsibilities

• Design reusable, secure, multi-tenant AI services that product and business teams can consume without rebuilding common capabilities
• Operate the AI platform as an internal product with defined customers, roadmap, service levels, adoption measures, and developer experience
• Chair the operating cadence of the AI Center of Excellence
• Own build, buy, or rent decisions for AI capabilities, with the authority to stop an internal build
• Own the reference architecture and enforce technical standards across all AI initiatives
• Own the AI gateway, model routing, and observability layer
• Build and lead delivery pods that include engineers from IT under a formal shared-capacity agreement
• Own and rationalize the AI platform estate, including vendor spend attribution
• Own production reliability for AI applications

Skills

AI architecture

Technical leadership

Negotiation with IT

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Innovation starts from the heart. Our Advanced Innovation & Technology (AI&T) teams harness imagination, courage, and resourcefulness to think beyond what is currently possible and create solutions for patients many years into the future. If you are an early-stage innovator, the Edwards AI&T team is the place for you to take the next step in your career. We will give you the tools and resources you need to create groundbreaking innovations that shape the future of structural heart technology.

How you will make an impact:

• Design reusable, secure, multi-tenant AI services that product and business teams can consume without rebuilding common capabilities
• Operate the AI platform as an internal product with defined customers, roadmap, service levels, adoption measures, and developer experience
• Chair the operating cadence of the AI Center of Excellence
• Own build, buy, or rent decisions for AI capabilities, with the authority to stop an internal build
• Own the reference architecture and enforce technical standards across all AI initiatives
• Own the AI gateway, model routing, and observability layer
• Build and lead delivery pods that include engineers from IT under a formal shared-capacity agreement
• Own and rationalize the AI platform estate, including vendor spend attribution
• Own production reliability for AI applications

What you'll need (Required):

• Bachelor's degree plus 12 years of experience in software or AI architecture, including at least 5 years in a formal technical leadership or chief architect capacity
• Experience negotiating a formal shared-capacity or co-delivery model with an internal IT organization

What else we look for (Preferred):

• AI reference architecture design, platform rationalization, and vendor spend management (FinOps)
• Hands-on fluency with enterprise cloud AI platforms, API and microservices design, MLOps or LLMOps, observability, and secure production operations; experience with major cloud platforms is illustrative rather than mandatory
• Player-coach technical leadership: setting direction and writing code or reviewing designs personally, not managing through layers
• Platform product management, internal developer-platform design, service-level management, and adoption measurement
• Experience consolidating a fragmented platform or vendor estate
• Experience chairing or running a cross-functional technical governance body
• Demonstrated ability to manage one or more teams and provide coaching and feedback, including responsibility for all employee actions, hire/fire authority, and partnering with HR on all aspects of employee relations
• Ability to interact professionally with all organizational levels and proactively escrow issues to appropriate levels of management
• Ability to work and excel within a fast-paced, dynamic, and constantly changing work environment
• Ability to ensure team alignment to strategic goals and initiatives through regular communication
• Ability to coach and mentor team members, including dotted-line reports as necessary; align team members in roles that best leverage their strengths and support growth and skill diversification
• Adhere to all company rules and requirements, including pandemic protocols and Environmental Health & Safety rules; take adequate control measures to prevent injuries to themselves and others, protect the environment, and prevent pollution within their span of influence/control

Aligning our overall business objectives with performance, we offer competitive salaries, performance-based incentives, and a wide variety of benefits programs to address the diverse individual needs of our employees and their families.
For California, the base pay range for this position is $232,000 to $329,000 (highly experienced).
The pay for the successful candidate will depend on various factors (e.g., qualifications, education, prior experience).