AI Program Manager

A growing manufacturing and distribution organization is building out an enterprise AI program focused on identifying, prioritizing, and delivering high-value AI use cases across the business. The company has already begun scaling productivity tools and is now expanding into more advanced AI-enabled business capabilities, including internal AI agents, operational automation, and AI-supported process improvement.

This is a high-visibility opportunity for a practical, business-facing AI Program Manager who can help move an enterprise AI program from idea generation into disciplined execution. The right person will help bring structure, governance, prioritization, delivery discipline, and stakeholder alignment to a portfolio of AI initiatives that are expected to create measurable business value.

This is currently a contract role with strong potential to convert to full-time based on program value and business need. The position can be remote, with preference for candidates who are local or able to work in a hybrid model near Malvern, PA.

The Role You’ll Play

The AI Program Manager will support an enterprise AI program designed to identify, evaluate, and deliver AI opportunities across manufacturing, distribution, supply chain, and operational business functions. This person will work closely with IT leadership, the PMO, business stakeholders, and executive leadership to bring structure and momentum to AI initiatives.

This is not a theoretical AI strategy role. The organization needs someone who has delivered AI or data-driven programs before, can build trust with the business, and can separate realistic, value-producing AI opportunities from ideas that are not feasible or ready for execution.

Responsibilities include:

• Lead cross-functional enterprise AI initiatives through the full project lifecycle, including requirements, planning, design/build/development, implementation, and hyper-care support.

• Support the enterprise AI program framework, governance model, ways of working, scoring, ranking, prioritization, and value tracking.

• Partner with IT leadership and business stakeholders to identify, prioritize, and execute AI use cases that create measurable business outcomes.

• Translate business problems into AI-ready problem statements with clear success metrics such as ROI, adoption, performance improvement, and value delivered.

• Develop and manage project plans, charters, communication plans, testing plans, implementation plans, risk logs, and status reporting.

• Manage project scope, schedule, budget, resources, risks, dependencies, and quality of deliverables.

• Coordinate technology teams, vendors, platforms, and third-party partners across the AI lifecycle.

• Manage AI-specific risks including data quality, bias, explainability, security, compliance, and business adoption.

• Oversee AI pilots, proofs of concept, production deployments, and post-launch monitoring.

• Lead AI-focused change management efforts that help business teams understand, trust, and adopt AI solutions.

• Facilitate executive workshops, roundtables, steering discussions, and project updates.

• Present prioritized AI use cases, scoring rationale, program health, milestones, risks, decisions needed, and business value delivered.

• Apply Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid delivery methods depending on project needs.

• Help mature PMO practices and position the PMO as a strategic advisor to the business.

Background Profile:

The ideal candidate is a hands-on AI Program Manager who has helped deliver AI, automation, analytics, or data-driven solutions in a business environment and can bring practical structure to a growing enterprise AI program. This is not intended to be a pure strategy role or a senior enterprise transformation executive role. The company needs someone who can help shape the AI opportunity pipeline, prioritize use cases, guide business stakeholders, and still roll up their sleeves to manage the work.

The strongest candidates will have experience taking AI or automation ideas from business need through pilot, implementation, adoption, and measurable value. They should be comfortable working directly with business leaders to understand operational pain points, determine where AI can realistically help, and separate practical opportunities from ideas that are too vague, too risky, or not yet ready.

Manufacturing, distribution, supply chain, logistics, or operational workflow experience is strongly preferred. This person needs enough business-process understanding to recognize where AI could improve work across areas such as planning, distribution, customer service, supply chain, inventory, reporting, productivity, process bottlenecks, or workflow automation. They do not need to be an AI engineer, but they do need to know how AI solutions get implemented, adopted, governed, and measured.

More specifically:

• 7 to 10 years of experience leading cross-functional technology, automation, analytics, AI, digital transformation, or business process improvement initiatives.

• Hands-on experience delivering AI, machine learning, automation, analytics, or data-driven solutions in a corporate environment.

• Experience managing multiple related initiatives or workstreams, including prioritization, planning, execution, risks, dependencies, stakeholder communication, and value tracking.

• Ability to help define AI use cases, clarify business problems, assess feasibility, and establish success metrics tied to ROI, adoption, productivity, cost savings, performance, or operational improvement.

• Experience supporting governance, intake, scoring, ranking, prioritization, or roadmap planning for technology or AI-enabled initiatives.

• Experience managing AI pilots, proofs of concept, internal AI agents, automation tools, analytics solutions, or production AI deployments.

• Strong understanding of manufacturing, distribution, supply chain, logistics, foodservice, packaging, or other operationally intensive business environments strongly preferred.

• Ability to translate business needs into practical AI-ready opportunities without overcomplicating the process.

• Strong communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to work with executives, business stakeholders, IT teams, vendors, and project teams.

• Ability to push back diplomatically when AI expectations are unrealistic and guide stakeholders toward solutions that are feasible, measurable, and useful.

• Comfortable being both strategic and hands-on, including building plans, facilitating meetings, documenting decisions, tracking risks, driving follow-ups, and keeping momentum across the program.

• Working knowledge of Agile, Waterfall, and hybrid delivery approaches.

• Experience with Anthropic’s Claude toolset and Microsoft AI tools such as Copilot, Copilot Studio, Microsoft Foundry, Azure AI, Power Platform, etc. is preferred