Director of AI Initiatives & Development Operations

ISG Enterprises LLC•Indianapolis, IN

12d

About The Position

As Director of Artificial Intelligence Initiatives & Development Operations, you will lead high-impact projects and operational initiatives that drive efficiency, digital transformation, and lasting value across ISG. The role oversees strategic efforts, technology implementations, proprietary software development, and data integration and reporting on an Azure cloud foundation. It also identifies and delivers practical AI applications that improve decision-making and operational performance. The Director leads cross-functional initiatives and technology programs; develops and maintains software, system integrations, and an Azure SQL data warehouse; oversees Azure platform operations; and delivers AI and automation capabilities. The role also leads NetSuite implementation and optimization, drives analytics adoption, and ensures KPI scorecard compliance and project delivery.

Requirements

Proven experience leading special projects, IT programs, and software development initiatives in a complex business environment.
Strong background in project and program management, especially technology, process improvement, and data integration.
Hands-on expertise in .NET Core, Blazor, Azure SQL, and ERP/CRM/payroll systems integration.
Experience designing and operating an enterprise data warehouse, including dimensional modeling, ETL/ELT development, advanced T-SQL, and performance tuning.
Working knowledge of Microsoft Azure cloud services, including compute, storage, networking, identity, security, monitoring, and cost management.
Practical understanding of artificial intelligence and machine learning concepts, with experience evaluating or delivering AI-enabled business solutions.
Demonstrated track record of driving measurable improvements in business operations and performance analytics.
Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to align cross-functional teams around strategic priorities.
Bachelor’s degree required, ideally in business, computer science, engineering, data science, or a related field.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree, such as an MBA or M.S. in Computer Science, Data Science, or Information Systems.
Experience with Microsoft Fabric, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Factory, Databricks, or Power BI semantic modeling.
Experience with Azure OpenAI Service, Azure AI services, prompt engineering, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), or Python for data and AI workloads.
Microsoft certifications such as Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305), Azure Data Engineer (DP-203) / Fabric Data Engineer (DP-700), Azure AI Engineer (AI-102), or Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900).
Familiarity with AI governance frameworks such as NIST AI RMF or ISO/IEC 42001 and data privacy requirements.
Experience in industrial services, MRO, or private equity–backed environments.

Responsibilities

Spearhead high-profile special initiative projects that create lasting impact and sustainable efficiencies.
Lead major IT and digital transformation projects, including enterprise software implementations, cloud migrations, and complex integrations.
Direct cross-functional teams and align work with ISG business strategies and project objectives.
Design, manage, and maintain proprietary software applications using technologies such as .NET Core and Blazor on Azure services.
Develop and maintain integrations between ERP, payroll, and CRM systems, using tools such as Azure Data Factory, Logic Apps, and API Management.
Apply secure development practices and CI/CD pipelines to deliver reliable software releases.
Own the architecture, operation, and roadmap of ISG’s Azure SQL data warehouse.
Design and maintain dimensional data models, fact and dimension tables, and a governed semantic layer.
Build and optimize ETL/ELT pipelines with data quality checks, lineage, and monitoring.
Evaluate analytics platforms such as Microsoft Fabric, Azure Synapse Analytics, or Databricks for warehouse scaling and advanced analytics.
Establish data governance standards for master data management, cataloging, access controls, and retention in partnership with IT security and compliance.
Oversee ISG’s Azure environment, including resource organization, landing zone standards, and development, test, and production environment strategy.
Manage cloud cost optimization practices, including budgeting, tagging, rightsizing, and reserved capacity planning.
Ensure cloud workloads meet security, identity, and compliance requirements using relevant Azure services and controls.
Implement monitoring, backup, and disaster recovery practices to meet availability and recovery objectives.
Apply infrastructure-as-code practices to standardize and automate deployments.
Identify, prioritize, and deliver AI and machine learning use cases that improve gross margin, labor utilization, forecasting, and operational efficiency.
Lead AI solution implementation using platforms such as Azure OpenAI Service, Azure AI Foundry, Azure Machine Learning, and Microsoft Copilot, integrated with the data warehouse and business systems.
Develop AI-enabled capabilities such as intelligent document processing, predictive analytics, natural-language reporting, and workflow automation.
Establish responsible AI practices for privacy, model governance, human oversight, usage policies, and performance monitoring.
Promote AI literacy and adoption through training, enablement, and change management.
Lead NetSuite implementations and ongoing optimization, including SuiteScripts, custom workflows, and advanced PDF/HTML template design.
Collaborate with internal stakeholders to align technology solutions with operational and strategic needs.
Drive adoption and effective use of analytics tools and dashboards, such as Power BI.
Ensure KPI scorecard compliance by embedding metrics in operational processes and reporting frameworks.
Monitor improvement project progress and ensure milestones and deliverables are achieved.