Vice President, AI

American Credit Acceptance • Spartanburg, SC

8d

About The Position

The Vice President of Artificial Intelligence will lead the execution of AI initiatives, translating strategic use cases identified by business leaders into scalable, high-impact solutions. This role is not about setting the AI vision but about making it happen—ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget, and aligned with business objectives. The ideal candidate is a pragmatic IT leader who avoids overhyped technology trends and focuses on measurable outcomes, collaborating closely with cross-functional teams and stakeholders. This role will focus taking a business problem that is likely solved by AI and driving the execution of the project, avoiding tech-for-tech’s-sake pitfalls (like the "hammer looking for a nail" problem). The Director of AI Implementation will focus on execution—making sure ideas become reality without over-engineering or misapplying AI. We are looking for someone with a track record of aligning technology with business outcomes, not just AI expertise. The role will work closely with business stakeholders, not setting the AI vision but enabling it. This person is someone who has implemented AI in practical, incremental ways (e.g., starting with small pilots) rather than overhyped, flashy projects.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business, or related field (Master’s preferred).
• 8+ years of experience in IT leadership, with at least 3 years managing AI/ML projects.
• Proven track record of delivering technology projects that align with business objectives and deliver measurable ROI.
• Strong understanding of AI/ML platforms, cloud infrastructure (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), and data pipelines.
• Exceptional project management skills, with experience leading cross-functional teams.
• Ability to translate business needs into technical requirements without over-engineering solutions.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills to work effectively with non-technical stakeholders.
• Pragmatic mindset, with a focus on incremental progress and practical outcomes over trendy technologies.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in the finance industry is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Maintain an inventory of deployed AI use cases across all departments, including updated scorecards for each use case.
• Work with business units to establish KPIs to track the success and ROI of AI initiatives.
• Lead the AI compliance committee, ensuring all AI implementations adhere to regulatory, security, and ethical standards.
• Understand each use case and assist and or/lead the implementation with the business unit, as they are prioritized, to deliver secure, scalable, and compliant AI solutions.
• Partner with business unit leaders to prioritize and implement AI use cases that drive measurable value (e.g., cost savings, revenue growth, process optimization).
• Collaborate with the architecture team to design and integrate AI technologies with existing systems, cloud platforms, data pipelines, and IT infrastructure.
• Stay informed on AI trends to help us grow our maturity in the use of AI; however, always remaining practical and focus on solving prioritized business problems.
• Develop a buy vs. build perspective on each use case, and substantiate that opinion in facts.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees