AI Program Manager

Responsibilities

• Conduct External Benchmarking & Market Analysis:
  Continuously monitor the external AI landscape, evaluating industry trends, competitor advancements, and best-in-class AI applications. Translate these external benchmarks into actionable insights to inform roadmaps across our AI Big Bets and internal capabilities.
• Lead Workflow Reimagination:
  Identify new AI opportunities by baselining and prioritizing existing workflows. Build "reimagined" domain process maps that fundamentally redefine processes with AI, establishing clear business outcomes and identifying the specific AI enablers needed to accelerate each step.
• Drive Roadmaps:
  Develop the strategic roadmaps for AI Big Bets and capabilities based on the target-state vision for Ford to operate as a best-in-class enterprise.
• Drive Enterprise-Level Change Management:
  Proactively plan and execute initiatives to drive adoption of newly reimagined workflows and central AI capabilities; co-create central training and playbooks to scale AI literacy and hands‑on capability.
• Drive Rapid Experimentation & Funnel Governance:
  Partner with business sponsors to capture problem statements, set up sandbox environments, and lead the rapid testing of AI concepts. Own the process to decide whether an idea progresses into the AI development funnel and inform build‑buy‑partner decisions on AI solutions.
• Automate Program Management:
  Practice what you preach by applying AI productivity tools, LLMs, and automation platforms to streamline your own workflows (e.g., automated status reporting, meeting synthesis, risk flags, and task tracking).
• Build Intelligent Dashboards:
  Own and maintain highly transparent, automated program dashboards that track leading/lagging metrics, program status, and projected ROI for senior leadership. Serve as a trusted partner to AI Fin Ops teams to establish visibility on AI spend, ensuring transparency on ROI in the dashboards.
• Resolve Blockers & Unblock Teams:
  Proactively identify dependencies, surface trade‑offs to leadership, and secure resources to keep development moving at a rapid pace across engineering, data science, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain.
• Deliver Executive Storytelling:
  Translate complex, technical AI initiatives into concise, high‑impact executive communications that clearly outline business value and risk‑adjusted paths forward.
• Evolve the AI Operating Model:
  Define and refine how the Central AI team engages with business units across intake, prioritization, funding, and support, and codify this as clear ways of working.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Business, or a related technical field.
• 6+ years of experience in program management, process engineering, product management, or technical leadership roles within a large, matrixed corporate environment.
• AI Practitioner Mentality:
  Deep, hands‑on familiarity with modern AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, prompt engineering, AI‑assisted project management, or workflow automation tools). Demonstrate how you use AI to optimize your own daily productivity.
• Experience in process mapping, baselining workflows, and driving enterprise change management.
• Proven track record of defining, collecting, and executing against leading and lagging KPIs.
• Exceptional executive‑level communication skills, with the ability to distill complex technical concepts into clear, actionable business strategies.