Vice President, Artificial Intelligence Integration & Optimization

Job Description Vice President, Artificial Intelligence Integration & Optimization(# Job Number: 2600002S)
* We are a group of passionate people who utilize our unique talents to help our guests outfit their families for less.
* We strive to hire and develop talented and diverse associates by fostering a culture of inclusion, respect and authenticity that benefits from and thrives on a wide range of skills, styles, backgrounds and experiences.
* We believe we are better when we work together, leveraging collaboration and relationships throughout our organization and the broader retail industry to help accomplish our goals.
* We are continuously pursuing solutions that address environmental impact and advance sustainable practices, while strengthening relationships with our communities, our associates, and our industry partners.
* Practices that associates experience when joining include Authenticity, Acceptance, Accountability, Empowerment, Gratitude, Openness, Presence and Transparency.
* ** Stability:
** We are a financially strong, multi-billion-dollar, growing organization that has been around for 110 years! We have over 650 retail stores across 22 states under bealls, Bealls Florida, and Home Centric store brands, along with 50 exclusive brands in our stores!
* ** Benefits:
** We provide weekly pay and comprehensive benefits, health and wellness perks, including paid time off and retirement saving plans because associate well-being is a priority.
* ** Growth:
** We focus on cultivating internal talent and educating new members of the organization through numerous training programs and learning tools.  This is accomplished through continuous professional development at all levels in the classroom, in the field and on the job.
* ** Connection:
** Surround yourself with others who find purpose, passion, and fulfillment in their work, with an organization that believes in making communities safer and healthier for generations to come.
** Location**:
Our corporate offices are in beautiful and sunny Bradenton, FL. We offer corporate associates the flexibility of hybrid work schedules, with variations by department.

* We are seeking a technically strong, execution-focused AI leader to:
* Bring to life the enterprise AI strategy.
* Evolve AI governance, evaluation, adoption, and activation frameworks.
* Deliver measurable, high-ROI AI use cases in year one.
* Guide senior leaders and cross-functional teams in leveraging AI responsibly and effectively.
* 10+ years in AI/ML, Data Science, or advanced analytics roles.
* Proven ability to build and scale AI systems with hands-on engineering expertise.
* Demonstrated ability to debug, evaluate, and optimize LLMs and ML models.
* Experience deploying AI use cases in operational environments (not just POCs).
* Strong understanding of AI governance, explainability, risk frameworks, and model monitoring.
* Ability to influence cross-functional senior leadership without direct authority.
* Comfort operating as a one-person AI function initially.
* Experience in consumer-facing industries (retail, CPG, travel, hospitality, logistics, e-commerce).
* Experience with agentic AI systems and emerging AI technologies.
* Hands-on experience with MLOps, vector databases, retrieval systems, and evaluation pipelines.
* Background integrating AI into legacy environments while transitioning to modern architecture.
* Bachelor’s or advance degree in AI, computer science, data science, engineering, or related fields.
* Experience building AI literacy and enablement programs.
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