Lead Product Manager - APPLIED AI; P4560

Cincinnati, OH;
Chicago, IL

84.51° is a retail data science, insights and media company. We help The Kroger Co., consumer packaged goods companies, agencies, publishers and affiliates create more personalized and valuable experiences for shoppers across the path to purchase.

Powered by cutting‑edge science, we utilize first‑party retail data from more than 62 million U.S. households sourced through the Kroger Plus loyalty card program to fuel a more customer‑centric journey using 84.51° Insights, 84.51° Loyalty Marketing and our retail media advertising solution, Kroger Precision Marketing.

84.51° follows a 5‑day in‑office work schedule to support collaboration, alignment, and team connection.

Join us °!

We’re looking for a strategic, collaborative, and delivery‑minded leader to help bring AI to life across Kroger, KTD and 84.51°. This role sits at the intersection of AI capability development and business impact, focused on driving AI adoption and application, from consultation to co‑development. You’ll lead prototyping efforts, drive tangible use case delivery, and serve as a champion for scaling AI Enablement tools and services.

This is a high‑visibility, high‑impact role that requires someone who can connect technical potential with business value—and deliver quickly.

Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States and with the Kroger Family of Companies (i.e. H1‑B visa, F‑1 visa (OPT), TN visa or any other non‑immigrant status).

The ideal candidate will bridge the gap between cutting‑edge AI technologies and Kroger, KTD, and 84.51° business strategies. The role ensures AI initiatives and priorities are aligned with business vertical objectives to drive innovation and efficiency, driving adoption of AI capabilities across the business as the conduit between technical teams and the business.

• Partner with business and product teams to identify, co‑develop, and validate high‑impact use cases
• Lead Applied AI MVP and prototype delivery in close collaboration with data scientists, engineers, and UX
• Drive adoption of AI Enablement capabilities, GenAI productivity tools, and reusable components across business teams
• Champion responsible, explainable, and user‑centered AI in all applied solutions
• Lead Super Agent (orchestration) strategy and implementation for Customer‑facing and Supplier‑facing experiences
• Serve as AI representative/lead on high‑value, end‑to‑end initiatives, in a ‘tiger team’ capacity
• Own AI Spoke Lead network (AI advocates named on each business team) through monthly meetings, regular Teams communications, and ongoing check‑ins; enable AI Spoke Leads to lead AI consults on their own teams and surface high‑priority opportunities to our team
• Facilitate and scale AI opportunities through AI ideation workshop sessions
• Track ongoing business value of AI use cases

• Domain Product & Business Teams:
  Co‑develop use cases, drive adoption, embed AI where it matters
• AI Enablement Team:
  Shape scalable services, relay feedback, align tooling with real needs
• Data Science & Engineering:
  Translate opportunity into prototypes and working solutions
• Vendors/Partners:
  Guide third‑party development and delivery with strategic alignment
• Change Management & Enablement:
  Support onboarding, activation, and success metrics tracking

Successful candidates will thrive in a fast‑paced environment and possess the following:

• 7+ years of experience influencing and driving business strategy, bridging technical and business needs, and driving cross‑functional impact
• Strong understanding of AI/ML and GenAI technologies, and how to apply them to business problems
• Stakeholder management – proven relationship‑builder with ability to lead cross‑functional initiatives, facilitate workshops, influence and align diverse stakeholder groups to drive change
• Technical liaison – ability to effectively translate business requirements into clear technical specifications for DSR and Engineering teams
• Organize the chaos –…