Director - Applied AI Engineering - Erlanger, KY

Archer Daniels Midland•Erlanger, KY

About The Position

ADM Global Technology is accelerating the company’s transformation through AI-powered solutions that create measurable business value. The Director of Applied AI Engineering leads the team responsible for building AI solutions that address business needs across ADM’s global operations. The role owns end-to-end delivery of AI products and capabilities, from use-case discovery and scoping through prototyping, MVP development, and production deployment, while building and scaling a high-performing team of Applied AI Engineers. The Director serves as the primary bridge between business partners and AI execution, ensuring use cases are well-defined, solutions are delivered rigorously, and outcomes are measurable. The role also owns the function’s budget, headcount plan, and 1–3 year capability and technology roadmap; manages strategic vendor and partner relationships; and works with data, platform, and architecture teams to ensure AI solutions have suitable data foundations and durable, scalable, secure deployment foundations. The Director sets engineering standards, champions responsible AI, advises leaders on AI approaches, and communicates progress, risks, and outcomes to senior stakeholders.

Requirements

Demonstrated track record leading teams that build and deliver AI-powered products and solutions in production.
Deep hands-on understanding of Generative AI techniques, including prompt engineering, RAG, fine-tuning, and agentic frameworks, as well as classical machine learning approaches.
Ability to guide teams in selecting appropriate AI methods for different problems.
Familiarity with commercial and open-source models and frameworks such as Claude, OpenAI, Google Vertex, AWS Bedrock, Azure Foundry, LangChain, LlamaIndex, and HuggingFace.
Proven ability to drive structured AI solution delivery from ambiguous business problems through production systems, with a focus on measurable business value.
Experience building, growing, and leading high-performing engineering teams.
Ability to engage effectively with senior business stakeholders, shape use cases, set expectations, present options, and communicate outcomes with clarity and influence.
Understanding of responsible AI principles, data privacy considerations, and governance frameworks relevant to enterprise AI deployment.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or a related field.
At least 12 years of experience in IT, including at least 7 years of experience with AI, machine learning, or deep learning, and at least 5 years in a leadership or management role overseeing AI engineering teams or delivery functions.
Experience leading teams that ship AI-powered products or capabilities to internal or external users, with demonstrated business impact.
Strong executive presence and ability to navigate organizational complexity and influence decisions across business and technology stakeholders.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to represent the team’s work credibly at all organizational levels.
Strategic thinking and ability to balance short-term delivery pressures with longer-term capability building.
Proven ability to lead through ambiguity, set direction under uncertainty, and drive high-quality outcomes in a dynamic environment.
Successful completion of a background check is required.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or a related field.
Working knowledge of cloud environments, preferably Azure, AI/ML platforms, and deployment concepts.
Industry knowledge in agriculture, commodities, supply chain, or manufacturing.

Responsibilities

Lead the Applied AI Engineering team in designing, building, and delivering AI-powered solutions that address business priorities across ADM’s global operations.
Own the AI solution delivery lifecycle, from use-case identification and scoping through rapid prototyping, MVP development, and production-grade deployment.
Partner with business leaders, product owners, and cross-functional stakeholders to develop a prioritized pipeline of high-value AI use cases aligned with business outcomes.
Build and develop a team of Applied AI Engineers by attracting talent, setting expectations, coaching, providing performance feedback, and fostering technical excellence and continuous learning.
Own the function’s budget and headcount plan, including annual planning, vendor contracts, tooling investments, and resource allocation.
Define and own a 1–3 year capability and technology roadmap for Applied AI Engineering, connecting capability development and investment to ADM’s broader digital and business strategy.
Manage strategic vendor and partner relationships, including performance management, contract oversight, and identifying partnership opportunities.
Collaborate with Advanced Analytics and Data Engineering teams to ensure AI solutions have well-structured data foundations.
Partner with AI Platform Engineers and AI Architects to ensure solutions are deployed on durable, scalable, and secure foundations.
Define and uphold engineering standards for code quality, model evaluation, documentation, and responsible AI principles.
Serve as a senior technical voice and thought leader on applied AI within the Digital & Innovation organization, advising on appropriate AI approaches and championing pragmatic, high-impact execution.
Communicate progress, milestones, risks, and outcomes to executive and senior leadership stakeholders, translating technical work into clear business language.
Stay current with Generative AI, machine learning, and AI tooling advancements and identify opportunities to improve team capabilities and solution quality.
Champion responsible AI practices and ensure solutions reflect ADM’s values and comply with relevant AI governance, data privacy, and regulatory requirements.

Benefits

Medical and prescription coverage, dental and vision insurance, and access to an on-site wellness center or gym reimbursement, as applicable.
Flexible spending accounts and a health savings account.
401(k) with matching contributions and a cash balance plan.
Discounted employee stock purchasing program.
Life insurance, disability coverage, workers’ compensation, legal assistance, and identity theft protection.
Employee Assistance Program, Employee Resource Groups, and Colleague Giving Programs.
Paid time off, including paid holidays.
Adoption assistance and paid maternity and parental leave.
Tuition assistance.
Company-sponsored training and development resources, including LinkedIn Learning, language training, and mentoring programs.