Director of AI Strategy & Adoption

Hazen and Sawyer • Raleigh, NC

12d • $275,000 - $325,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Hazen and Sawyer is hiring a senior leader to make AI a routine part of how the firm designs, delivers and runs water projects. The Director will develop the firm’s AI direction, build and lead a team, establish governance, and turn pilots into daily practice across technical practices, project delivery and corporate functions. The work focuses on accurate, defensible and useful AI for a technical, regulated, high-stakes water industry. The role involves collaboration with management, the Board, technical and business user groups, practice leaders, corporate service directors, project managers, Legal, IT, cybersecurity and enterprise software teams. The position is in-office with a hybrid schedule and periodic travel to other offices and client sites.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, data science or a related field; an advanced degree is preferred.
• At least 10 years of experience in technology, data or digital leadership, including leading enterprise AI or machine learning programs from strategy through deployment.
• Demonstrated record of driving AI adoption at scale across a large professional workforce.
• Working knowledge of generative AI, large language models, agents, retrieval and evaluation methods, and enterprise AI platforms.
• Experience with AI governance, data security and responsible-use frameworks in a regulated or professional-services setting, including data access controls and client data restrictions.
• Strong executive communication skills, including the ability to explain trade-offs to the Board and senior engineers.
• Experience hiring, leading and developing technical teams.

Nice To Haves

• Background in engineering, architecture or other professional services.
• Deep familiarity with engineering practice and professional liability.
• Experience with Microsoft 365 and Azure, and with BIM, GIS or hydraulic and process modeling tools.
• Familiarity with the economics of an employee-owned or partnership-style firm.
• Experience integrating AI with data platforms, document-heavy workflows and project controls systems.
• Advanced degree.

Responsibilities

• Develop Hazen’s multi-year AI vision and roadmap, aligned with firm strategy, client value and employee-ownership goals, coordinating across groups and gathering input from technical and business user groups and the Board.
• Prioritize AI use cases based on value, risk and effort, and recommend what to build, buy or pursue through partnerships.
• Track developments in AI and brief executives and the Board on relevant legal, procurement, ethical and public acceptance issues.
• Lead firm-wide AI adoption through practice-level champions, training and guidance, and collaborate with Communications on adoption campaigns.
• Work with practice leaders, corporate service directors and project managers to embed AI in proposals, design, QA/QC, reporting and project controls.
• Gather feedback and examples from practitioners and use them to improve adoption and solutions.
• Direct selection, configuration and rollout of enterprise AI platforms and integrations with Hazen’s data and systems, partnering with Legal and IT to enforce permitted access.
• Partner with IT, cybersecurity and enterprise software teams on architecture, identity, data access and cost management.
• Oversee custom AI solutions and agents for engineering and business workflows, from prototype through supported production service.
• Recommend refinements to AI policy and develop an approved-use framework and intake process for new tools and use cases.
• Identify and escalate AI-related confidentiality, client data, intellectual property, professional liability and contractual risks in partnership with Legal, Risk and the Director of Information Technology.
• Set standards for human review of AI output so licensed engineers remain accountable for sealed work.
• Build and lead a small, high-caliber AI team and extend its capabilities through vendors, academia and industry peers.
• Represent Hazen externally on AI with clients, regulators and professional bodies.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision and prescription plans.
• Pre-tax flexible spending plans for medical, dependent care and transportation.
• Short- and long-term disability insurance and employer-paid life insurance.
• Paid holidays, floating holidays and paid time off.
• Employer-contributed 401(k) plan and additional financial planning support.
• Professional growth opportunities, including tuition reimbursement, in-house training, and incentives for professional registration and professional organization memberships.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director