Senior Engineer, Smart Manufacturing & AI Innovation Lead

Cardinal Health; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 123,000 - 176,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision coverage

Paid time off

Health savings account (HSA)

401k savings plan

Wages access via myFlexPay

FSAs

Disability coverage

Work-Life resources

Paid parental leave

Wellness programs

Job summary

Cardinal Health seeks an Innovation Lead – Manufacturing to drive AI and Smart Manufacturing across its North American facilities. You will identify high-value use cases, translate them into practical smart solutions, and partner with manufacturing, engineering, data, and technology teams to deliver measurable outcomes.

The role acts as a strategic bridge, championing AI capability development, governance, and scalable adoption while aligning with enterprise standards and business priorities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience in a related field.
• 5+ years leading AI, digital transformation, analytics, automation, or tech initiatives in supply chain/manufacturing contexts.

Responsibilities

• Define smart manufacturing transformation roadmap and prioritize high-value use cases.
• Own AI initiative portfolio through ideation to deployment and optimization.
• Lead pilots and proofs of concept with cross-functional teams to scale solutions.
• Ensure governance, security, and scalable adoption of AI technologies across the organization.

Skills

AI leadership

Digital transformation

Stakeholder mgmt

Cross-functional collaboration

Governance frameworks

Data governance

Project leadership

Program management

AI platforms eval

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

AI platforms

Job description

Position Summary

The Innovation Lead – Manufacturing will drive the adoption and scaling of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Smart Manufacturing capabilities across Cardinal Health Manufacturing locations. This role is responsible for identifying high-value business opportunities, translating them into practical smart solutions, and partnering with cross-functional teams to deliver measurable outcomes. The position serves as a strategic bridge between manufacturing, engineering, data, and technology teams, ensuring smart manufacturing initiatives are aligned with business priorities and enterprise standards. The role also champions AI capability development across the organization by fostering a community of practice, following governance frameworks, and enabling sustainable adoption of AI technologies.

Responsibilities

Define a smart manufacturing transformation roadmap by identifying and prioritizing high-value use cases that align with business objectives and operational priorities. Own and maintain a manufacturing AI initiative portfolio, overseeing the lifecycle of solutions from ideation through deployment, scaling, monitoring, and continuous optimization. Lead the delivery of AI and automatization pilot projects and proofs of concept, partnering with data scientists, engineers, digital teams, and business stakeholders to design, validate and scale solutions. Provide expertise in deploying AI, machine learning, generative AI, and automation solutions, ensuring they deliver measurable business outcomes and operational improvements. Partner with data, analytics, and business teams to improve data quality, accessibility, and governance required to enable scalable smart manufacturing solutions. Embrace corporate AI governance frameworks, guardrails, and responsible AI practices to ensure compliant, secure, and scalable adoption across the organization. Drive stakeholder engagement, change management, and value realization activities, serving as a trusted advisor on smart manufacturing opportunities, risks, and emerging capabilities. Develop and continuously improve smart manufacturing playbooks, standards, best practices, and operating models that accelerate solution delivery and adoption. Track and communicate business value realized through smart manufacturing initiatives, ensuring alignment with manufacturing priorities and executive stakeholder expectations. Monitor emerging AI technologies, industry trends, and best practices to identify opportunities that strengthen supply chain capabilities and competitive advantage. Collaborate with enterprise architecture and technology teams to evaluate AI platforms, tools, and vendor capabilities that support the supply chain AI strategy. Foster strong cross-functional collaboration by building trusted relationships, aligning stakeholders, and driving effective communication to achieve shared business outcomes. Establish and embed consistent ways of working, governance, and delivery practices that promote accountability, continuous improvement, and successful execution of AI initiatives.

Qualifications

8-12 years of experience, preferred Bachelor's degree in supply chain management, Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Business, Information Systems, or related field, or equivalent work experience, preferred 5+ years of experience leading AI, digital transformation, advanced analytics, automation, or technology-enabled business initiatives within supply chain, operations, manufacturing, or related domains, preferred Strong leadership, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills, with experience leading cross-functional teams, building communities of practice, and driving organizational adoption of new technologies. Demonstrated experience successfully deploying AI, machine learning, generative AI, or intelligent automation solutions from concept through production implementation. Experience establishing governance frameworks, standards, and controls for AI solutions, while balancing innovation, risk management, and business value. Experience building AI adoption frameworks, communities of practice or training programs initiatives that promote sustainable AI capability development. Experience within large-scale global organizations recognized for advanced AI, digital, or supply chain capabilities (e.g., leading multinational technology, e-commerce, healthcare, manufacturing, or logistics companies). Experience contributing to or supporting enterprise AI centers of excellence, innovation teams, or digital transformation programs. Experience leading AI or Data Science teams.

What is expected of you and others at this level

• Applies advanced knowledge and understanding of concepts, principles, and technical capabilities to manage a wide variety of projects
• Participates in the development of policies and procedures to achieve specific goals
• Recommends new practices, processes, metrics, or models
• Works on or may lead complex projects of large scope
• Projects may have significant and long‑term impact
• Provides solutions which may set precedent
• Independently determines method for completion of new projects
• Receives guidance on overall project objectives
• Acts as a mentor to less experienced colleagues

Anticipated salary range: $123,400 - $176,300

Bonus eligible: Yes

Benefits

• Medical, dental and vision coverage
• Paid time off plan
• Health savings account (HSA)
• 401k savings plan
• Access to wages before pay day with myFlexPay
• Flexible spending accounts (FSAs)
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• Work-Life resources
• Paid parental leave
• Healthy lifestyle programs

Application window anticipated to close: 10/21/2026

The salary range listed is an estimate. Pay at Cardinal Health is determined by multiple factors including, but not limited to, a candidate’s geographical location, relevant education, experience and skills and an evaluation of internal pay equity.

#LI-Remote Candidates who are back-to-work, people with disabilities, without a college degree, and Veterans are encouraged to apply.

Cardinal Health supports an inclusive workplace that values diversity of thought, experience and background. We celebrate the power of our differences to create better solutions for our customers by ensuring employees can be their authentic selves each day.

Cardinal Health is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, pregnancy, veteran status, marital status, creed, status with regard to public assistance, genetic status or any other status protected by federal, state or local law.

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Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is a distributor of pharmaceuticals, a global manufacturer and distributor of medical and laboratory products, and a provider of performance and data solutions for healthcare facilities. We are a crucial link between the clinical and operational sides of healthcare, delivering end‑to‑end solutions and data‑driving insights that advance healthcare and improve lives every day. With deep partnerships, diverse perspectives and innovative digital solutions, we build connections across the continuum of care. With more than 50 years of experience, we seize the opportunity to address healthcare's most complicated challenges — now, and in the future.

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