VP, AI Transformation

VP, AI Transformation

Flight Safety International is the world's premier professional aviation training company and supplier of flight simulators, visual systems and displays to commercial, government and military organizations. The company provides training for pilots, technicians and other aviation professionals from 167 countries and independent territories. Flight Safety operates the world's largest fleet of advanced full-flight simulators and award-winning maintenance training at Learning Centers and training locations in the United States, Canada, France and the United Kingdom.

Purpose of Position The VP, AI Transformation is responsible for defining, establishing, scaling, and leading AI transformation in a complex, high-value industry environment, building and scaling enterprise-wide adoption of AI capabilities from the ground up. This role will define how AI drives competitive advantage across manufacturing, engineering, and aviation training operations, and be accountable for evolving AI from experimentation into enterprise capability, delivering measurable impact across cost structure, operational performance, and product innovation.

This role requires a leader with demonstrated experience building foundational capabilities, educating stakeholders, identifying high-value opportunities, and implementing secure, compliant, and scalable AI solutions for the business. This candidate will balance innovation with risk management while ensuring compliance with defense industry requirements, cybersecurity regulations, global data protection laws, and international operational considerations.

Tasks and Responsibilities

• Define and execute a multi-year AI strategy roadmap aligned to business priorities and the modernization of digital initiatives
• Build a value-backed portfolio of AI initiatives tied to cost reduction, throughput and quality improvements, and revenue enablement
• Establish a roadmap which balances innovation, operational efficiency, risk management, and quantitative value
• Develop a scalable AI operating model (people, process, technology, governance) and partnering with executive leadership to identify & prioritize the opportunities across all business units
• Partner with finance and establish clear ROI frameworks and accountability for outcomes
• Deliver material EBITDA impact through AI-driven initiatives
• Stand up and scale an AI Center of Excellence (CoE)
• Lead operational transformation across corporate functions, manufacturing operations, engineering and simulation by incorporating AI into core business workflows and processes building executive & leadership understanding of AI capabilities, limitations, risks and emerging trends.
• Define the enterprise AI architecture in partnership with IT and executive leadership
• Establish enterprise AI governance, including responsible AI principles, model risk management and data privacy and IP protection
• Partner with Legal, Risk, and Cybersecurity to mitigate emerging threats
• When appropriate, ensure AI initiatives align with defense industry requirements, including:
• CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification)
• NIST SP 800-171, NIST SP 800-53
• Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) handling requirements
• Export control considerations
• Government customer cybersecurity requirements
• Establish secure AI usage standards for environments containing sensitive, regulated, or controlled information.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity, compliance, legal, and contracts teams to evaluate AI-related risks, contractual obligations, and emerging threats.
• Develop policies governing use of commercial and generative AI platforms in regulated environments
• Drive enterprise-wide change management and adoption while assessing organizational and system readiness related to data quality, architecture, and governance
• Guide decisions regarding AI cloud services, private environments and enterprise architectures while ensuring the initiatives align with the evolving architecture and cybersecurity standards.

Minimum Education

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution or equivalent industry experience
• Advanced degree and/or certifications in AI preferred

Minimum Experience

• Seven or…