Principal AI Program Manager

** Company Description*
* WD is building the infrastructure behind the AI-driven data economy.

As AI scales, so does data. Every interaction, every model, every system generates data that must be stored, managed, and made accessible over time. That's where we come in.

We combine deep engineering expertise with global-scale manufacturing to deliver the storage systems that make AI possible, powering hyperscale data centers, cloud platforms, and enterprise infrastructure worldwide.

This isn't theoretical work. It's real systems, at real scale, people solving some of the hardest challenges in technology today.

We're looking for people who want to build, solve, and operate at that level.

Join us and let's shape the future of data.

** Job Description*
* This role is the operational backbone of the Enterprise AI Center of Excellence (AI CoE), housed within the Office of the CIO. You will drive the day-to-day coordination, governance, and delivery of AI initiatives across the enterprise - translating between technical teams, business stakeholders, and executive leadership while helping mature the CoE as a durable capability.

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* ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

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* ** CoE Operations & Governance*
* + Run the CoE's operating cadence - work streams, deliverables, status reporting, and steering committee rhythms

+ Own the enterprise AI portfolio view: initiative tracking, dependencies, risks, and projected value

+ Build and maintain intake, prioritization, and stage-gate processes for AI investment decisions

+ Develop the AI roadmap with the CoE Program Lead, aligned to enterprise strategy

+ Co-develop the transformation strategy with Head of AI COE and translate objectives into discrete initiatives

+ Develop and maintain integrated roadmap

+ Ensure accountability to committed milestones and stage gates

** Delivery & Stakeholder Engagement*
* + Drive end-to-end delivery across data engineering, data science, app dev, infrastructure, security, and business teams

+ Partner with business units to identify use cases, build business cases, and define success metrics

+ Track and report ROI across the portfolio to the CIO and C-suite

** Responsible AI & Enablement*
* + Embed responsible AI guardrails (bias, transparency, privacy, compliance) in partnership with Legal, Risk, and Info Sec

+ Build out CoE enablement assets - playbooks, AI literacy programs, and shared tooling standards

+ Drive adoption through change management, communications, and training

** Qualifications*
* ** Required*
* + 0- 10+ years in program management, technology strategy, or management consulting

+ 0- 3+ years managing AI/ML or advanced analytics programs

+ Strong grasp of the AI/ML lifecycle - data prep through MLOps and monitoring

+ Executive communication skills; able to make technical topics actionable for senior leaders

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Experience with AI governance or responsible AI frameworks

+ Bachelor's degree in a relevant field or equivalent experience

** Preferred*
* + Experience in a CoE, CIO/CTO office, or enterprise PMO

+ Familiarity with generative AI platforms (LLMs, copilots, AI agents) at enterprise scale

+ Management consulting background (Big 4, MBB, or boutique advisory)

+ PgMP, PMP, SAFe, or equivalent certification

+ Cloud AI/ML platform experience (Sage Maker, Azure AI, Vertex AI)

** Additional Information*
* WD is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on their race, color, ancestry, religion (including religious dress and grooming standards), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), gender (including a person's gender identity, gender expression, and gender-related appearance and behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex at birth), age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status (including domestic partnership status), physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, protected medical and family care leave, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status, or other legally…