IT AI Engineering Manager

Valmont Industries, Inc. • Carrollton, TX

5d • Onsite

About The Position

This is a management-level position within the Corporate Shared Services IT organization responsible for leading the development, deployment, and operationalization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative AI capabilities across the enterprise. The Manager, AI Engineering will oversee a team of AI Engineers/Contractors focused on delivering scalable, secure, and business-driven AI solutions that improve operational efficiency, manufacturing performance, quality, supply chain optimization, and employee productivity.
This role serves as a key bridge between business stakeholders, Data & Analytics, Digital Manufacturing, Enterprise Architecture, and IT teams to transform business opportunities into production-ready AI products. The position is responsible for establishing AI engineering standards, AI delivery frameworks, ML-OPs practices, governance processes, and reusable enterprise AI capabilities while supporting the organization's AI strategy and roadmap.
Lead the enterprise AI Engineering function by delivering secure, scalable, and high-impact AI solutions that enable smarter operations, accelerate innovation, improve manufacturing performance, and create measurable business value across the organization.
It is essential to embody Valmont’s core values of Passion, Integrity, Continuous Improvement, and Delivering Results while cultivating a workplace where employees feel valued, trusted, understood, and respected.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, Information Systems, Mathematics, or a related field, with 8+ years of relevant experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 3+ years of experience leading technical teams and managing technical professionals.
• Demonstrated experience developing and deploying AI, machine learning, or advanced analytics solutions in production environments.
• Strong knowledge of Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and AI agent architectures.
• Experience with cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud Platform.
• Strong programming skills in Python and experience with modern AI and machine learning frameworks.
• Experience with ML-OPs practices including model deployment, monitoring, versioning, testing, and lifecycle management.
• Understanding of software engineering best practices, API development, DevOps, and CI/CD methodologies.
• Demonstrated ability to translate business challenges into scalable technology solutions.
• Experience working with enterprise data platforms, data products, and modern data architectures.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence decision-making across organizations.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
• High degree of initiative, accountability, and self-motivation.
• Ability to work effectively with both technical and business teams.
• Passion and integrity with the drive to deliver measurable business outcomes.

Nice To Haves

• Master's Degree in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or related discipline.
• Experience in manufacturing, industrial, operations, supply chain, or quality-focused environments.
• Experience with Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Services, Microsoft Copilot Studio, Databricks, MLflow, LangChain, or Semantic Kernel.
• Experience implementing computer vision, predictive maintenance, or industrial AI solutions.
• Knowledge of Industry 4.0, Smart Manufacturing, IoT, or Digital Manufacturing initiatives.
• Azure, AI, cloud, or data-related professional certifications.
• Experience establishing enterprise AI governance frameworks and responsible AI programs.
• Experience building or scaling AI Centers of Excellence (CoE).

Responsibilities

• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing AI Engineering team responsible for developing enterprise AI and Generative AI solutions.
• Partner with business leaders to identify, prioritize, and deliver AI use cases that generate measurable business value.
• Develop and maintain the enterprise AI engineering roadmap aligned with strategic business objectives.
• Lead the design, development, testing, deployment, and support of AI-powered applications and intelligent automation solutions.
• Establish best practices for AI development, ML-OPs, model deployment, monitoring, and lifecycle management.
• Collaborate with Data Engineering teams to ensure AI solutions leverage trusted enterprise data assets from modern cloud data platforms.
• Drive implementation of Generative AI solutions, AI assistants, intelligent agents, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures.
• Develop reusable AI services, APIs, frameworks, and accelerators that enable rapid delivery of business solutions.
• Participate in data model and data product discussions to ensure AI requirements are incorporated into enterprise data architecture.
• Ensure AI solutions adhere to corporate security, compliance, privacy, and governance standards.
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and recommend opportunities to improve business operations and productivity.
• Implement monitoring, observability, and performance management practices for production AI systems.
• Apply Agile and DevOps methodologies to support effective AI product delivery and continuous improvement.
• Develop and maintain documentation, standards, and operational procedures related to AI engineering capabilities.
• Support the advancement of enterprise AI literacy and responsible AI adoption across the organization.
• Effectively communicate complex technical concepts and AI capabilities to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Act as a liaison between Manufacturing Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality, Corporate Functions, and IT to ensure AI initiatives are aligned with business priorities.
• Influence organizational adoption of AI technologies and practices.
• Exercise significant independent judgment in evaluating AI technologies, recommending solutions, and managing technical delivery activities.
• Identify risks associated with AI implementations and develop mitigation strategies to ensure reliable and trustworthy outcomes.
• Support continuous improvement efforts by identifying opportunities to automate processes, enhance decision-making, and improve operational performance using AI technologies.

Benefits

• Healthcare (medical, prescription drugs, dental and vision)
• 401k retirement plan with company match
• Paid time off
• Employer paid life insurance
• Employer paid short-term and long-term disability including maternity leave
• Work Life Support
• Tuition Reimbursement up to $5,250 per year
• Voluntary programs like tobacco cessation, Type 2 diabetes reversal, one-on-one health coaching, mortgage services and more

What This Job Offers

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