Project Manager, Data & AI

Ares Operations•Los Angeles, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Associate, AI PMO is a core member of the Data & AI Program Management Office, responsible for driving the execution rigor behind Ares' Data & AI Strategy. This role owns end-to-end program management for a portfolio of AI and data initiatives — translating strategic priorities into structured delivery plans, running agile execution in JIRA, and producing polished executive and steering committee materials that communicate progress, risk, and value to senior firm leadership. The Senior Associate operates with a high degree of autonomy, partners directly with product, engineering, and platform leads, and is expected to independently own the narrative and cadence of the PMO function.

Requirements

5–8 years of program/project management experience, ideally within a technology, data/AI, or financial services organization; PE or alternative asset management experience a strong plus.
Demonstrated ownership of complex, multi-workstream technical programs from strategy through delivery.
Advanced proficiency in PowerPoint with a strong track record of building executive and board-level narratives and visual storytelling.
Hands-on experience configuring and administering JIRA (epics, workflows, sprints) and Confluence for technical program execution; Agile/Scrum experience required.
Working domain knowledge of data and AI concepts (e.g., RAG, agentic architectures, model governance, data platforms) sufficient to translate technical work into business language.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; comfort presenting directly to senior leadership.
Bachelor's degree required.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience supporting a CDAO, Chief Data Officer, or enterprise AI transformation function.
Familiarity with Databricks, Azure, or similar cloud/data platforms.
Experience building PMO functions or governance processes from scratch (0-to-1 environments).
Exposure to private equity or credit investment workflows (CIM review, IC memos, deal diligence).
PMP, CSM, or equivalent certification preferred.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end program management for a portfolio of AI/data initiatives, managing multiple workstreams, spanning the hub-and-spoke Data & AI organization, from intake and prioritization through delivery and adoption.
Establish and run governance cadences (steering committees, sprint reviews, milestone checkpoints) across the Data & AI organization and vertical stakeholders.
Manage cross-workstream dependencies, resourcing conflicts, and critical-path risks; escalate proactively with recommended mitigations.
Define and maintain program-level RAID logs, roadmaps, and capacity/resourcing views across engineering, product, and data science pods.
Build and maintain JIRA structures (epics, initiatives, sprints, workflows) to translate strategic and executive priorities into actionable backlogs for engineering and AI product teams.
Partner with engineering leads and product managers to groom backlogs, size effort, and sequence delivery against firm priorities.
Own JIRA/Confluence hygiene and reporting standards (burndown, velocity, release tracking) across the Data & AI portfolio.
Independently develop executive-ready PowerPoint materials — strategy narratives, board and CEO talking points, quarterly business reviews — that translate technical progress into business impact.
Own the design and content of senior Steering Committee and governance forum decks, working directly with the vertical heads in Data & AI on messaging.
Develop clear, compelling storylines for complex, technical AI/data programs (e.g., agentic platform build-out, Databricks-on-Azure migration) tailored to executive level audiences.
Build and maintain a reusable library of PMO templates, status frameworks, and visual standards for the Data & AI organization.
Serve as the connective tissue across Data & AI Product, Engineering, Platform, Governance, and the vertically facing technology teams to ensure alignment on priorities and delivery.
Partner with Governance/Risk/Compliance stakeholders to track model and agent sign-offs, ensuring PMO reporting reflects governance status accurately.
Mentor and provide day-to-day direction to the Associate, AI PMO.