Sr Manager, AI Platform Architecture

OVERVIEW

Live the experience. From professional empowerment to continual learning opportunities. From ongoing investment in new and emerging technologies to a career of self-determination. At Ulta Beauty, our tech team is critical to our scalability-and is recognized that way. We've been defined as a "mature start-up." A place where interdepartmental exposure, open doors, and genuine collaboration is ubiquitous. Where challenges come fast and furious, requiring agility, mental dexterity, and creativity.

Where our passion for better solutions drives us and is core to who we are.

We're engineering for the future of retail, and it's no-holds-barred. But for those motivated by continual change and ambiguity, by superior leadership, by whip smart colleagues who will press you daily for your very best, you'll find that virtually nothing's impossible at Ulta Beauty.

THE IMPACT YOU CAN HAVE:

The Senior Manager, AI Platform Architecture is a hands-on leader responsible for the architecture and evolution of our core AI platforms. In this role, you will manage a team of skilled engineers and architects, collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders, and help set the strategic direction of platform architecture to ensure scalability, performance, and reliability across our systems. Your expertise in platform architecture, cloud technologies, automation, and AIML Ops practices will be critical in driving our strategy and ensuring the reliability and efficiency of our systems.

YOU'LL ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS BY:

Strategic Platform Leadership

* Translate enterprise AI strategy defined by the AI Architect Principal, Enterprise Architecture, Enterprise AI Tech Leaders (AI Engineering, DS/ML Engineering, AI Emerging Tech), AI Product Teams into actionable platform roadmaps and technical priorities.

* Partner with data, cloud, security, and infrastructure teams to define the end-to-end AI architecture framework, including compute, model lifecycle, and deployment strategies.

* Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend platform enhancements to improve model performance, scalability, and sustainability.

* Define and deliver AI/ML/Agentic operations strategy - including tool suite, standards, and technology/capability roadmap.

* Establish POV on key evaluations - including, but not limited to "buy v. build", platform assessments, tool comparisons, cost/performance optimizations

* Drive the technical strategy for the platform, balancing short-term needs with long-term scalability and reliability.

* Design, implement, and scale cloud-based infrastructures (GCP and Databricks) to support internal and external applications.

* Oversee platform architecture decisions, ensuring that the platform is robust, efficient, and capable of supporting growing business needs.

Architecture Design and Governance

* Lead the design of core AIML platform components-data pipelines, model training and inference engines, orchestration workflows, and monitoring frameworks.

* Design for continuous training pipelines and promote automation capabilities where possible

* Establish architectural best practices, patterns, and standards for AI/ML development and deployment.

* Oversee design reviews and ensure compliance with enterprise architecture and regulatory requirements.

* Design and build platform to meet AI Governance requirements (including application of controls and measurement of controls). Ensure observability requirements can be met.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

* Work closely with product, data science, engineering, and security teams to operationalize AI/ML capabilities across the enterprise.

* Partner with the AI Architect Principal and AI Solution Architects to align agentic platform evolution with organizational priorities and technology roadmaps.

* Collaborate with security and operations teams to ensure the platform is secure, compliant, and maintains high uptime and reliability.

* Engage with leadership to align technical initiatives with organizational objectives.

Team Leadership and Talent Development

* Manage and mentor a team of AI engineers, AI architects, and AI Ops engineers.

* Foster a high-performance culture emphasizing innovation, collaboration, and agile delivery.

* Support career development, technical upskilling, and diversity in AI technology roles, specifically those aligned into the Architecture space. Mentor and guide junior team members.

* Conduct regular performance reviews, provide career development guidance, and support team members' growth and skill development.

* Own hiring, onboarding, and team-building activities to ensure the team has the right talent and skills.

* Provide hands-on technical leadership, leading by example in designing and building robust, scalable systems.

* Drive high standards of code quality, testing, and engineering practices.

* Advocate for platform engineering best practices, ensuring systems are maintainable, extensible, and documented.

Operational Excellence

* Oversee platform scalability, reliability, and cost…