Sr. Director - AI Product Development & Product Excellence Transformation

Overview

Shark Ninja is a global consumer‑electronics design and technology company driven by a culture of experimentation and AI‑native leadership. This senior director role focuses on spearheading AI integration across product development and product excellence functions.

Boston, MA (preferred) or New York, NY (acceptable). This is an on‑site position.

Reports to the VP, Chief of Staff to the CEO. Dotted line to the Chief Product Officer and EVP, Product Excellence. Direct reports: AI Transformation Team (AI Fellows).

This high‑impact leadership role owns strategy and execution of AI across both Product Development (PD) and Product Excellence (PE). The incumbent builds the data foundation, deploys AI capabilities, and transforms workflows to accelerate product development, improve quality, and embed AI into the organization.

• Architect and implement a unified data infrastructure that resolves fragmented, siloed data across PD and PE.
• Map data assets—including historical product data, conception decks, sprint timelines, EV/PV outcomes, test results, FMEAs, lessons learned, consumer feedback, return data, and quality metrics—and build ingestion pipelines usable by AI systems.
• Partner with IT and data engineering to connect this infrastructure to the enterprise architecture (Snowflake, AWS).

• Define and execute the AI transformation roadmap across the full PD lifecycle, while identifying new AI opportunities with PD leadership.
• Lead the reimagination of program management infrastructure, replacing manual, PowerPoint‑based workflows with AI‑powered tooling for real‑time status visibility, automated accountability, and permission‑based dashboards.
• Deploy AI‑powered planning intelligence to improve forecasting accuracy and reduce late‑stage surprises.

• Transform consumer insights capabilities—5‑star rating prediction, high‑rate of sale forecasting, voice‑of‑consumer analysis—and define next‑generation AI‑powered quality tools.
• Reimagine product integrity workflows by making lessons learned, test results, and FMEAs accessible through AI so past knowledge informs future development.
• Strengthen PE’s contribution to PRDs by building AI systems that surface relevant historical data during requirements phases.

• Build, lead, and scale a team of AI Fellows embedded within PD and PE teams.
• Drive change management across a global workforce, focusing on director‑level and below adoption.
• Translate complex AI capabilities into practical, adoptable solutions for product managers, program managers, quality engineers, and cross‑functional teams.
• Establish success metrics, track adoption, and report measurable outcomes to executive leadership.
• Champion a culture of experimentation: fast iteration, learning from failure, and scaling what works.

• 10+ years of professional experience in AI/ML, product development leadership, program management, data architecture, quality/product excellence, or technology transformation.
• Strong technical fluency in AI/ML and data infrastructure, capable of evaluating tools, assessing platforms, and participating in technical discussions.
• Proven track record leading large‑scale transformation or change‑management initiatives in product development, R&D, or consumer products.
• Deep understanding of product development life cycles in hardware or consumer electronics, including stage‑gate processes, EV/PV builds, and launch execution.
• Ability to both build (hands‑on implementation) and think strategically.
• Strong business acumen, translating technical capabilities to business outcomes and communicating effectively with non‑technical stakeholders.
• Exceptional leadership skills, building high‑performing teams and influencing across a matrixed organization.
• Decisive and action‑oriented, moving fast and course‑correcting without hesitation.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and high‑velocity environments where priorities shift.

• Experience at an AI‑native company or within a product…