Technical Program Manager - AI Enablement

Candescent is a forward-thinking technology company transforming how financial institutions deliver Intelligent Banking experiences. We unite digital banking, account opening, and branch solutions that power and connect digital banking, account opening, and branch solutions—creating seamless engagement across digital, remote, and in-person channels.

Our Experience-Led, Intelligence-Driven approach combines human-centered design with data, automation, and cloud-based innovation. Built on an API-first architecture, our extensible ecosystem enables institutions to adapt quickly, integrate easily, and unlock new opportunities for growth—turning every customer interaction into a moment of clarity, confidence, and connection.

As a Principal Technical Program Manager - AI Enablement at Candescent, you will lead the enterprise-wide evaluation, rollout, adoption, and operationalization of artificial intelligence capabilities. You will translate AI strategy into executable technical programs and serve as a primary execution bridge across engineering, platform teams, IT, security, privacy, legal, procurement, risk, and business stakeholders.

You will guide initiatives from intake and proof of concept through production readiness and scaled adoption, while ensuring that delivery plans, governance controls, vendor decisions, and measurable outcomes remain aligned with business objectives, architectural standards, and the expectations of a regulated environment.

Key Responsibilities AI Program Leadership & Delivery
· Own the end-to-end lifecycle of complex AI enablement programs, from intake, discovery, and proof of concept through production rollout, adoption, and ongoing operationalization.
· Translate enterprise AI strategy into clear roadmaps, milestones, program plans, dependencies, success measures, and delivery commitments.
· Define program scope, goals, technical and operational readiness criteria, and measurable outcomes in collaboration with engineering and business stakeholders.
· Drive prioritization across concurrent AI initiatives based on business value, technical readiness, risk, capacity, and organizational impact.
· Develop and maintain integrated schedules, risk assessments, issue logs, decision records, and mitigation plans for high-impact programs.

Cross-Functional Technical Execution
· Serve as a primary coordination point across engineering, platform teams, IT, security, privacy, legal, procurement, risk, and business stakeholders.
· Identify cross-team dependencies, resolve blockers, clarify ownership, and drive timely decisions and delivery across multiple work streams.
· Ensure technical implementation, platform integration, deployment strategy, and operational readiness remain aligned with business objectives.
· Communicate program status, outcomes, risks, trade-offs, and decisions clearly to executive leadership and key stakeholders.
· Provide program-level guidance on architecture, integration, release planning, deployment, and support readiness without displacing engineering ownership.

AI Governance, Risk & Compliance
· Embed responsible AI practices into AI evaluation, implementation, rollout, and day-to-day enablement activities.
· Partner with Risk, Privacy, Security, and Legal teams to align AI initiatives with internal standards and applicable regulatory expectations.
· Coordinate alignment of AI tools and operating practices with recognized frameworks such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework and ISO/IEC 42001.
· Maintain audit-ready program documentation, control evidence, risk decisions, approvals, and traceability for AI initiatives.
· Ensure governance requirements are incorporated into delivery plans early enough to support speed, accountability, and production readiness.

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