AI Architect

Job Title: Director, AI Solutions and Architecture

Location: Hybrid (Corporate HQ - Columbus Ohio)

Travel: Less than 25%
Experience Level: 10 years

Job Summary:

The AI Architect will play a critical role in shaping the future of OTC Industrial Technologies' digital transformation. Reporting directly to the CTO, this role will define, design, and deliver the company's enterprise AI roadmap, establishing a secure and scalable AI environment that enables business growth, productivity gains, and customer differentiation across our business segments.

The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise in AI/ML with practical experience in industrial environments - understanding how data, sensors, and human expertise intersect on the factory floor. This role will guide OTC's journey from foundational AI enablement to measurable operational excellence.

What You'll Do:

Corporate AI Strategy & Roadmap

• Develop and own the enterprise AI roadmap, aligned to OTC's 5 year strategy.
• Identify and prioritize high-value AI use cases such as predictive maintenance, digital twin asset management, supply chain optimization, service scheduling, and intelligent sales enablement.
• Establish a multi-year AI maturity model, outlining phases of adoption, capability building, and measurable ROI.
• Present AI strategy and progress to the CTO and executive leadership team.

Secure AI Environment & Architecture

• Architect a secure, hybrid AI platform leveraging Azure AI, Microsoft 365 Copilot integrations, and on-premise data sources (ERP, CRM, SharePoint, IoT).
• Define data ingestion, model lifecycle, and governance frameworks ensuring compliance with corporate cybersecurity, SOC2, GDPR, and industry-specific safety standards.
• Implement Responsible AI principles - transparency, explainability, privacy, and ethical use - in every deployment.
• Collaborate with the Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, and Data Engineering teams to embed AI into OTC's enterprise architecture.

AI Solution Development & Delivery

• Design and develop initial AI solutions that demonstrate business value - for example:
• Predictive asset maintenance and service interval optimization.
• Intelligent quoting and lead-scoring models for sales.
• Natural language assistants for internal support and technician enablement.
• Vision-based inspection and safety compliance analytics.
• Establish best practices for AI operations (MLOps), ensuring models are monitored, updated, and retrained for accuracy and performance.
• Evaluate and manage third-party AI vendors, frameworks, and integration partners.

Collaboration & Change Leadership

• Work closely with IT, Data, and Business Unit leaders to ensure AI capabilities are embedded into daily workflows.
• Partner with HR and Training to elevate AI literacy across leadership and field teams.
• Communicate complex AI concepts in practical, outcome-focused terms for non-technical stakeholders.
• Serve as the primary AI evangelist within the enterprise, promoting innovation and responsible adoption.

What You'll Need:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 8 years of experience in enterprise architecture, AI/ML development, or applied data science ideally within an industrial or manufacturing environment.
• Proven success in building secure AI environments and delivering production-grade AI solutions.
• Experience integrating AI with ERP (e.g., Infor, Epicor), CRM, and IoT systems.
• Strong proficiency with AI frameworks
• Expertise in MLOps, data pipelines, and cloud services
• Working knowledge of API integration, data governance, and cybersecurity fundamentals.
• Familiarity with Generative AI and LLM applications in document intelligence, service support, and knowledge retrieval.
• Strategic thinker who connects AI potential to measurable business outcomes.
• Excellent communicator capable of influencing executive stakeholders and cross-functional teams.
• Hands-on technical leader comfortable moving between architecture design and pilot execution.
• Passionate about innovation, continuous learning, and ethical technology adoption.
• Delivery of a comprehensive AI roadmap within the first 90 days.
• Establishment of a secure, compliant AI platform within six months.
• Deployment of at least one enterprise-ready AI use case in year one (e.g., predictive maintenance or AI-powered sales enablement).
• Demonstrable ROI or cost-efficiency improvement from early AI projects.
• Increased AI literacy and adoption across business units.

Perks of Working at OTC:

• Competitive base salary with performance-based bonus.
• Comprehensive health, dental, vision, and retirement benefits.
• Professional development and certification support (AI/ML, cloud architecture, cybersecurity).
• Opportunities to lead cross-functional innovation initiatives and shape the future of OTC's digital ecosystem.