AI Project & Operations Manager

Hexion•Remote, OH

About The Position

The AI Project & Operations Manager is a hands-on senior individual contributor responsible for driving current-quarter delivery while building operating systems that improve future execution. The role combines end-to-end technology program management with business and delivery operations across Smartech AI, which develops AI software for wood panel mills, including OSB, particleboard, and MDF operations. Its Board Health platform provides real-time visibility into sources of value loss across flow, moisture, furnish, adhesive, cure, and board quality. With the platform live at its first mill, the role will help move the business from pilot deployment to a repeatable, scalable launch model. The manager aligns Platform and IT, R&D, and Customer Delivery through clear priorities, disciplined planning, operating cadence, and consistent follow-through. The position leads through influence and execution rather than formal headcount authority. It coordinates manufacturing software integration and deployment, supports operational adoption in plant environments, and works with customer-facing teams to support mill connectivity, training, adoption, and value realization.

Requirements

10+ years of experience managing complex technology projects from initiation through delivery, including scope, schedule, dependencies, risks, and stakeholder reporting.
Demonstrated success leading coordinated planning across multiple engineering or technical teams, such as quarterly planning or release-train planning, with measurable delivery results.
Proven experience recovering at-risk projects through clear plans, stakeholder alignment, and disciplined execution.
Hands-on experience with project management and delivery tools such as Azure DevOps or Jira.
Experience delivering, integrating, or deploying manufacturing software in plant environments, particularly MES and MOM/MOS platforms, with demonstrated ability to support operational adoption.
Experience designing and operating business rhythms, including business reviews, planning cycles, decision logs, and action tracking.
Demonstrated experience building KPIs and dashboards used by executives to support decisions.
Experience creating scalable processes, handoffs, and playbooks that were adopted by others and evolved as a team or business grew.
Experience leading or coordinating large, globally distributed engineering and quality assurance teams across time zones without relying on formal authority.
Clear, concise written and verbal communication skills across technical teams, field organizations, customers, and senior leadership.

Nice To Haves

Experience delivering digital or software products in an industrial, chemical, or manufacturing company, ideally commercial-facing products used by external customers.
Prior software development leadership experience, such as developer, lead developer, or engineering manager.
Startup or early-stage experience, including moving an alpha, prototype, or pilot into production and repeatable deployment.
Experience coordinating customer-facing delivery teams such as customer success, implementation, or field engineering.
PMP, Agile, or equivalent recognized project management certification, combined with the judgment to scale process to fit the team and situation.
Familiarity with industrial data and plant-connectivity technologies, including MES, MOM/MOS, historians, OPC, and IoT platforms, or demonstrated ability and strong motivation to build fluency in these areas quickly.

Responsibilities

Own quarterly commitments across engineering, R&D, and customer delivery, including scope, schedules, dependencies, risks, decisions, and stakeholder reporting.
Lead coordinated planning across multiple technical and delivery teams, translating shared priorities into executable plans with clear owners and milestones.
Identify at-risk initiatives early and develop recovery plans that align stakeholders, resolve dependencies, and restore delivery confidence.
Establish and run the business operating cadence, including planning cycles, business reviews, decision tracking, and action follow-through.
Build and maintain executive-ready KPIs and dashboards showing delivery progress, operational health, risks, and business outcomes.
Design practical processes, handoffs, and playbooks for repeatable customer launches that can scale as the organization grows.
Connect Platform and IT with R&D and Customer Delivery, coordinating integration and deployment of manufacturing software, including MES and MOM/MOS platforms, and supporting operational adoption in plant environments.
Coordinate a globally distributed data science and modeling organization, including team members in Israel, across time zones and functional boundaries.
Partner with customer success managers and forward-deployed engineers to support mill connectivity, training, adoption, and value realization.
Use tools such as Azure DevOps or Jira to create transparency, manage execution, and maintain accountability across workstreams.
Communicate delivery issues, trade-offs, risks, and decisions clearly to engineers, field teams, customers, and senior leaders.
Improve the operating model by applying lessons learned from current deployments to future planning and launch execution.