Director, Digital, Data & AI

Elliott Group, Ebara Corp•Jeannette, PA

About The Position

The Director, Digital, Data & AI owns and operates Ebara Elliott Energy’s Digital Program end-to-end. The role brings Automation & AI, data engineering, data science and analytics, and application development together under one accountable leader, establishing program discipline through prioritization, value tracking, fail-fast decision-making, and Finance-facing business cases. The Director establishes a single intake funnel, scored prioritization through a Digital Decision Team, Digital Pod execution, and quarterly portfolio reviews across eight capability domains and EEE’s value arcs: Make the Product, Serve the Customer, and Run the Enterprise. The role advances the program from “Crawl” to “Transform,” assessing initiatives based on net value rather than novelty. A core responsibility is partnering with Finance to design and implement a dedicated digital funding model that funds flexible, variable program resources based on demonstrated value. The Director evaluates application-development opportunities as buy-versus-build decisions based on business value and speed to market, and develops a variable-cost staffing model that may include offshore delivery capacity and managed services in partnership with EEE’s incoming IT Shared Services organization. The role operationalizes digital governance, integrates cybersecurity testing from intake, aligns investments with Oracle E-Business Suite and the broader ERP roadmap, and translates technical initiatives into business language. This supervisory Director-level program-leadership role leads the Automation & AI, data engineering, data science/analytics, and application-development teams, as well as matrixed Digital Pod resources and outsourced, contracted, and offshore delivery resources. At launch, the team includes approximately two manager-level direct reports and nine staff-level individual contributors. The position has hiring, discipline, discharge, performance appraisal, and salary-increase planning responsibilities. It requires regular interaction with internal executives and stakeholders, external delivery and technology partners, and Ebara Corporation counterparts in Japan. Occasional domestic and international travel of approximately 10% to 20% is required.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field.
At least 15 years of strategic IT leadership experience.
At least 5 years driving Smart Manufacturing initiatives, with credibility bridging corporate technology and shop-floor realities.
Proven track record building or running a digital transformation, automation, AI, analytics, or application-development program at scale.
Direct experience conducting or commissioning digital/IT maturity and capability-gap assessments.
Demonstrated experience designing structured project-scoring and prioritization frameworks and building net-value, ROI, and total-cost-of-ownership business cases.
Experience evaluating application-development decisions as a mix of buy and build, considering business value and speed to market.
Direct experience designing and operating flexible, variable-cost staffing models, including managed services, staff augmentation, or offshore delivery.
Experience evaluating, selecting, and implementing enterprise CRM or customer-data platforms.
Working knowledge of IT/digital governance policy design and cybersecurity best practices.
Ability to translate technical initiatives into business language for executive audiences and build cross-functional consensus.
Experience supporting IT/digital due diligence, integration, and separation activity around mergers and acquisitions.
Ability to lead managers, staff-level individual contributors, matrixed teams, and outsourced or offshore delivery resources.
Willingness to travel domestically and internationally approximately 10% to 20%.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree, such as an MBA or a degree in a related technical or business discipline.
Formal training or certification in a recognized digital/technology governance or value-management discipline, such as TBM Council, PMI/PgMP, or SAFe.
Deep working knowledge of ERP systems, with Oracle E-Business Suite strongly preferred.
Experience operating in a global or international manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

Own and operate EEE’s Digital Program end-to-end, establishing its governance and operating model.
Lead Automation & AI, data engineering, data science/analytics, and application-development teams, along with matrixed Digital Pod resources.
Establish and run a single intake funnel, initiative-scoring and prioritization process, Digital Decision Team governance, Digital Pod execution, and quarterly portfolio reviews.
Apply a consistent net-value-versus-total-cost-of-ownership methodology to evaluate, prioritize, and manage the digital portfolio.
Evaluate and select technology, platforms, and delivery approaches, including disciplined build-versus-buy and architecture decisions.
Build and defend ROI and total-cost-of-ownership business cases for initiatives, and partner with Finance to design and implement the Digital Program’s funding model.
Assess internal teams for duplicative work and build a flexible, variable-cost staffing model across the Digital Program.
Establish offshore delivery models for digital, analytics, and application-development work, and govern managed services, staff augmentation, and other outsourced delivery resources.
Translate technical initiatives, business cases, and portfolio updates into business language for stakeholders and executives.
Operationalize digital governance policy through a practical operating cadence appropriate to EEE’s maturity level.
Partner with Cybersecurity to ensure initiatives are designed, reviewed, and tested against baseline security best practices from intake.
Align Digital Program investments with Oracle E-Business Suite and EEE’s broader application landscape to prevent duplicative investments.
Own technology and governance strategy for customer-data and CRM platforms, including stewardship of the customer golden record.
Build the Digital Program’s talent model and commission periodic digital-maturity assessments to inform the strategic roadmap.
Provide supervisory leadership, including recommendations and planning related to hiring, discipline, discharge, performance appraisals, and salary increases.
Partner with Ebara Corporation counterparts in Japan on digital strategy alignment and shared sourcing opportunities.
Travel occasionally to regional offices, manufacturing sites, and offshore delivery locations.