Senior Manager, People & Culture Innovation

SharkNinja•Needham, MA

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

SharkNinja is integrating AI across Product Development and Engineering as a structural shift in how teams work, design, and deliver. This is not a pilot program. It is a fundamental change to how work gets done, and it requires a people strategy built specifically for AI-era organizations. This newly created role leads that transformation. The Senior Manager, People & Culture Innovation, AI & Org Transformation is the embedded workforce strategy leader for PD&E, focused on translating AI capability into practical implications for roles, workflows, job architecture, and operating models. The work spans AI workforce planning, org design, work redesign, and change enablement. This is not a Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP) role. It requires HR fluency, but the focus is on how AI changes work, teams, and structure, not day-to-day business partner support. The right person brings structure to ambiguity, earns credibility with technical leaders, and delivers recommendations that drive decisions.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Human Resources, Organizational Development, Information Systems, Data Analytics, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
5+ years of progressive experience in HR, people strategy, org design, workforce transformation, or business transformation
At least 3 years working directly in or alongside Product Development, Engineering, R&D, Data, AI, or another technical function
Demonstrated experience leading or contributing to org design, job architecture, or role redesign efforts in the context of a major AI, digital, or operational transformation
Expert working knowledge of AI, GenAI, and agentic AI concepts, sufficient to engage credibly with engineering leaders and translate AI capability into workforce strategy without relying on technical translation from others
Experience in workflow mapping, task analysis, or business process improvement, including identifying automation opportunities and designing human-AI handoff points
Strong analytical, executive communication, and stakeholder management skills. Able to prepare and present to VP and C-suite audiences with minimal direction
Ability to operate in a fast-moving, matrixed environment where priorities shift and ambiguity is the norm

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Information Systems, Human-Computer Interaction, or Business Administration
Experience in a consumer products, hardware, or technology company with high SKU complexity and compressed innovation cycles
Familiarity with org design methodologies such as Galbraith Star Model or Kates Kesler, and digital org design tools such as OrgVue
Familiarity with task decomposition or work design methodologies, including tools such as Gloat, Reejig, or Mercer Work Design
Experience with AI and automation platforms such as Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, Power Automate, or ChatGPT Enterprise, sufficient to engage credibly in automation design conversations
Prior consulting or internal transformation experience in AI workforce transformation, org design, or digital transformation

Responsibilities

Define the people strategy for AI adoption across PD&E, covering workforce implications, role evolution, capability gaps, and adoption sequencing
Build and maintain an AI transformation roadmap from a workforce perspective, aligned to SharkNinja's enterprise AI initiative and commercial priorities
Monitor GenAI and agentic AI trends and translate them into actionable workforce strategy: which roles are affected, in what timeframe, and what SharkNinja should do about it
Develop KPIs and measurement frameworks to track AI adoption, workforce readiness, productivity impact, and organizational effectiveness. Present findings to PD and HR leadership
Lead org design analysis and role redesign efforts tied to AI adoption across PD&E, in partnership with functional leaders and the P&C team
Apply task-level decomposition to determine which work should remain human-led, be AI-augmented, be automated, or require human-AI handoffs, and design job architectures accordingly
Define emerging role types needed for AI-enabled work: AI workflow leads, human-AI teaming roles, AI adoption champions, and governance-oriented positions that don't yet exist in SharkNinja's job architecture
Ensure job architecture, competency frameworks, and career paths reflect AI-era skills and connect to downstream P&C processes including hiring, performance, and compensation
Identify high-priority PD&E workflows affected by AI tools and lead redesign efforts in partnership with functional process owners
Map current-state workflows, surface automation opportunities and human-AI handoff points, and design future-state processes that are implementable
Build a repeatable workflow redesign methodology that HRBPs and functional leaders can use to scale this work across teams and product categories
Apply structured process improvement approaches and establish feedback loops to measure impact over time
Lead change planning for AI workforce initiatives across PD&E, including stakeholder engagement, communications strategy, and adoption sequencing
Develop change strategies that account for workforce anxiety, role evolution, and the cultural dynamics of an engineering and design-heavy population
Serve as a trusted advisor to senior PD&E leaders on the human side of AI adoption: what it means for their teams, their org structures, and their talent
Equip leaders with messaging, decision frameworks, and adoption support materials
Operate as a P&C specialist focused on AI workforce transformation, not a generalist HRBP. Work closely with the Senior HRBP to align AI workforce work with the broader people agenda
Partner with Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, and Total Rewards to connect AI-driven job design outputs to hiring, performance, and compensation frameworks
Collaborate with SharkNinja's enterprise AI initiative leads to ensure PD&E workforce strategy is integrated, not siloed