Director, AI Transformation, Value & Portfolio

Edwards Lifesciences•Irvine, CA

2d•$202,000 - $287,000

About The Position

Innovation starts from the heart. Our Advanced Innovation & Technology (AI&T) teams harness the imagination, courage, and resourcefulness to think beyond what’s currently possible, and create solutions for patients many years into the future. If you’re an early-stage innovator, then Edwards AI&T team is the place for you to take the next steps in your career. We’ll give you the tools and resources you need to create groundbreaking innovations that shape the future of structural heart technology. This role is the operating leader for the AI organization, translating enterprise priorities into scalable AI capabilities, measurable business outcomes, and sustained organizational change. It owns portfolio governance, investment prioritization, AI operating model effectiveness, executive reporting, organizational readiness, adoption tracking, and value realization across the enterprise AI portfolio.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in related field, with 12 years of experience of leadership experience in enterprise transformation, strategic operations, portfolio management, operating model design, PMO leadership, or technology transformation or equivalent work experience based on Edwards criteria -OR- Master's Degree or equivalent in related field, with 10 years of experience of leadership experience in enterprise transformation, strategic operations, portfolio management, operating model design, PMO leadership, or technology transformation or equivalent work experience based on Edwards criteria

Nice To Haves

Experience leading large-scale, cross-functional transformation initiatives to a measured outcome, not only to launch
Experience influencing senior executives and operating effectively in complex matrix organizations
Demonstrated success building governance, operating models, or transformation capabilities from the ground up rather than inheriting a mature one
Experience preparing executive-level and Board-level materials
Experience taking ownership of an inherited, partially validated portfolio and making it defensible
Enterprise transformation and operating model design
Portfolio governance, intake design, and prioritization
Organizational change and adoption leadership, including capability maturity assessment
Strategic planning and roadmap development
Governance framework design
Program leadership across complex, matrixed environments
Executive communication and storytelling, including Board-level narrative development
Cross-functional influence without direct authority
Strong analytical and business judgment, including the ability to hold up under an FP&A-level challenge to a benefits case rather than only to produce one
Prior transformation or operating-model leadership in a regulated industry
Experience building an intake or governance function from scratch
Familiarity with portfolio or PPM tooling (Clarity, Planview, or equivalent)
Adhere to all company rules and requirements (e.g., pandemic protocols, Environmental Health & Safety rules) and take adequate control measures in preventing injuries to themselves and others as well as to the protection of environment and prevention of pollution under their span of influence/control

Responsibilities

Own the evolution of the enterprise AI operating model, including governance structures, intake processes, decision rights, funding mechanisms, and delivery rhythms
Establish and continuously improve the mechanisms required to scale AI adoption across business functions, and identify the organizational bottlenecks that slow delivery
Drive alignment across Product, Science, Engineering, Data, Evaluation, Governance, IT, and business stakeholders
Serve as the operating leader for the AI Center of Excellence and the AI Council, owning intake, agenda, cadence, decision record, and follow-through. AI Engineering & Architecture remains Operating Chair of the COE for technical rulings, and the SVP chairs both bodies
Own the enterprise AI intake, evaluation, prioritization, and portfolio review process, including the inherited backlog
Establish frameworks for measuring AI adoption, organizational readiness, and capability maturity, and monitor them across business functions
Partner with business leaders to improve change readiness and accelerate adoption, and build executive visibility into enterprise AI maturity over time
Develop executive and Board-level reporting on portfolio progress, organizational maturity, adoption, risks, dependencies, and ranked investment opportunities
Maintain a sequenced enterprise AI roadmap aligned to business priorities and to organizational readiness, not only to technical dependency
Facilitate investment and prioritization discussions across competing business demands
Identify reusable capabilities, common patterns, and cross-functional opportunities that enable enterprise scale
Build executive narratives that connect AI initiatives to enterprise priorities and strategic objectives
Establish consistent approaches for defining expected outcomes and measuring progress across AI initiatives
Ensure initiatives have clear ownership, success measures, and accountability mechanisms before execution begins
Track business outcomes, adoption, operational impact, and progress against strategic objectives across the portfolio
Own the Finance partnership for the AI portfolio and the reconciliation of inherited benefit claims, with Role 21 building the underlying baselines and audit trail
Other incidental duties