Program Manager - AI Engineering

Citizens•Westwood, MA

7d•$146,000 - $155,000•Onsite

About The Position

This role serves as a strategic partner to the Head of AI Engineering, operating as an extension of senior leadership across a rapidly growing portfolio of AI, GenAI, and Agentic AI initiatives. The successful candidate will combine strong program management capabilities with executive-level strategic support, helping drive organizational priorities, portfolio execution, executive communications, governance, workforce planning, and cross-functional alignment. This individual will operate with significant autonomy, representing AI Engineering leadership in senior stakeholder forums, driving critical initiatives to completion, and ensuring leadership priorities are effectively translated into measurable business outcomes. The ideal candidate has demonstrated success as a trusted partner to senior technology leaders and is comfortable operating as a strategic extension of executive leadership. They combine strong program management discipline with executive communication skills, organizational influence, and the ability to independently drive complex initiatives to completion.

Requirements

8+ years in program/portfolio management within technology organizations (banking preferred)
Experience managing AI/ML, GenAI portfolios
Understanding of: AI/ML lifecycle (data, training, deployment, monitoring), GenAI and LLM-based solutions, Agentic frameworks and orchestration patterns, MLOps / AIOps practices
Familiarity with: Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), Data engineering and big data ecosystems, DevOps and CI/CD pipelines
Strong experience in: Portfolio budgeting and forecasting, Cost optimization strategies for cloud and AI workloads, Vendor contract and SOW management
Demonstrated ability to lead complex, cross-functional portfolios
Strong executive communication and reporting skills
Proven ability to drive delivery stability and operational excellence at scale
Understanding of model risk management, governance, and compliance within financial services
Demonstrated experience: Supporting senior executives, business leaders, or technology leaders, Representing leadership priorities across large organizations, Influencing without direct authority, Preparing executive-level presentations and communications, Engaging confidently with senior stakeholders

Nice To Haves

Chief of Staff, Business Operations, Strategic Initiatives, Portfolio Operations, or Executive Program Management experience
Experience serving as a strategic advisor or operational extension to senior technology leaders
Experience supporting board, executive committee, or senior leadership reviews

Responsibilities

Serve as a trusted partner and extension of AI Engineering leadership, helping drive strategic priorities across the organization.
Operate with a high degree of autonomy, translating leadership direction into actionable plans and measurable outcomes.
Represent leadership in meetings and stakeholder forums when needed.
Develop executive communications, business reviews, and leadership presentations.
Identify risks, dependencies, and opportunities, and proactively drive resolution.
Lead a portfolio of AI, GenAI, and Agentic AI initiatives from ideation through production and optimization.
Provide executive-level reporting on delivery status, risks, dependencies, and business outcomes.
Establish and maintain governance practices supporting AI lifecycle management, risk controls, and regulatory requirements.
Ensure programs align with enterprise standards and achieve target adoption, performance, and stability outcomes.
Manage portfolio budgets, forecasts, funding allocations, and financial reporting.
Oversee vendor relationships, including SOWs, contract governance, invoicing, and performance management.
Develop workforce strategies including capacity planning, staffing optimization, resiliency, and critical skill development.
Partner with leadership to build scalable operating models that support growing AI Engineering demand.
Provide oversight of strategic initiatives, ensuring alignment between business objectives, engineering delivery, and investment priorities.
Apply Agile and modern software delivery practices to improve execution and time-to-market.
Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leaders across AI Engineering, Finance, Risk, Compliance, Sourcing, and business teams.
Drive alignment, decision-making, and accountability across complex cross-functional initiatives.