Director, AI Center of Excellence

Future Electronics – Head Office, Montreal, Quebec

Position Summary

The Director, AI Center of Excellence (CoE) is the technical and strategic leader of Future Electronics’ enterprise AI capability. This role sets AI strategy, builds and leads a team of AI specialists, and establishes the standards, tools, and governance that let AI and automation be adopted safely and effectively across the business.

This is fundamentally a hands-on AI leadership role. The ideal candidate has deep, current expertise in applied AI and automation and has personally built or led the delivery of real AI-powered solutions — not just directed others to. The Director works closely with AI Business Partners embedded in operational functions (Customer Service, Purchasing, Accounting, Finance, Marketing, and others) to turn business opportunities into working solutions, owning the technical direction, delivery standards, and team that make that possible.

Key Responsibilities

AI Strategy & Roadmap

- Define and evolve the enterprise AI strategy and multi-year roadmap.

- Evaluate emerging AI and automation technologies and assess their fit for the business.

- Prioritize AI initiatives based on business value, feasibility, and risk.

Center of Excellence Leadership

- Build, lead, and grow a team of AI specialists / automation engineers.

- Set technical standards, delivery methodology, and reusable frameworks so solutions scale across functions instead of being rebuilt each time.

- Coach and mentor the team, staying close enough to the technology to make real technical calls, not just review them.

Enabling the Embedded AI Business Partners





- Act as the technical backbone for AI Business Partners embedded in operational teams — providing tools, playbooks, training, and hands-on support.

- Translate business opportunities surfaced by embedded partners into scoped, deliverable AI/automation solutions.

- Drive reuse and consistency across functions rather than each team building in isolation.

Governance & Responsible AI

- Establish governance frameworks for AI development, deployment, and monitoring.

- Ensure compliance with data privacy, cybersecurity, and regulatory requirements, in partnership with IT and Legal.

- Promote responsible AI practices and manage associated risk.

Value Realization

- Define KPIs and success metrics for CoE-led initiatives.

- Track and report productivity gains, cost reductions, and business impact to executive leadership.

- Build the business case for continued and future AI investment.

Qualifications

Required

- Deep, demonstrated expertise in applied AI — generative AI, machine learning, or intelligent automation — with a track record of building or leading the delivery of real AI/automation solutions. This is the single most important qualification for this role.

- 5+ years of hands-on experience in AI, automation, or applied data science, including recent, current experience with generative AI / LLM-based tools.

- Experience leading or mentoring a technical team — as a people manager or as a senior technical lead.





- Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to non-technical business stakeholders and executives.

- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or a related field — or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred

- Experience with enterprise AI/automation platforms (e.g., Azure AI Services, OpenAI, Microsoft Copilot Studio, Power Platform, Power Automate, Microsoft Fabric, Logic Apps) or equivalents.

- Experience in distribution, manufacturing, supply chain, or another global operations environment.

- Experience establishing an AI or automation function from the ground up.

Leadership Competencies

AI & Technical Fluency

- Stays current with the fast-moving AI landscape and can personally evaluate new tools and techniques.

- Translates emerging AI capability into practical, scoped business solutions.

Strategic Thinking

- Builds a roadmap that balances near-term wins with long-term capability building.

- Connects AI investment to measurable business outcomes.

Team Building

- Attracts, develops, and retains strong technical talent.

- Creates a culture where engineers can move fast without losing rigor.

Communication & Influence

- Builds credibility with both engineers and executives.

- Makes the business case for AI investment clearly and convincingly.

Pragmatic Delivery

- Biases toward shipping working solutions over long theoretical exercises.

- Balances innovation with a relentless focus on business value.

#wehire

Pay: From $140,000.00 per year

Advantages:

- Casual dress
- Company pension
- Dental care
- On-site parking
- RRSP match

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Kirkland, QC H9H 3L1

📌 Director, AI Center of Excellence (Canada)
🏢 Future Electronics - Canada
📍 Canada