AI Manager

Company

Alaska Airlines

The Team

Guided by our purpose, core values, and leadership principles, we are creating an airline people love. Our corporate teams set the strategies and operational plans to ensure the success of our company. Whether we use our expertise in accounting, human resources, finance, planning, legal, marketing, or any of our operational divisions, our shared passion for travel and our guests is what motivates us to achieve excellence each day. If you share our passion for creating an airline people love, we want to hear from you. 

Role Summary

The Manager, AI is responsible for executing strategy for the development and deployment of AI and machine learning solutions, including Generative AI (GenAI), to optimize Alaska Airlines' performance across system operations, flight operations, inflight services, maintenance and engineering, airport operations, scheduling, network planning, marketing, and revenue management at Alaska Air Group (AAG).  As a people leader, this role provides technical leadership, is accountable for the team’s delivery of AI solutions, develops and grows the team, and collaborates with cross-functional stakeholders to prioritize and deliver scalable, efficient AI solutions that drive the greatest business impact. 

Key Duties

• Lead the development and deployment of AI and machine learning models, including GenAI-powered applications, to enhance operational efficiency and revenue optimization. 
• Oversee the full AI/ML software development lifecycle, ensuring best practices in model training, evaluation, deployment, and monitoring. 
• Accountable for the team’s delivery of responsible, reliable AI and ML solutions in production. 
• Develop and integrate GenAI models for text generation, summarization, conversational AI, and content creation to support automation and decision-making processes. 
• Collaborate with Data Engineering, MLOps, ITS, and business stakeholders to integrate AI and GenAI solutions into enterprise systems. 
• Ensure best practices in model deployment, monitoring, and performance optimization. 
• Establish scalable AI frameworks and reusable model architectures to accelerate solution deployment. 
• Guide the adoption of MLOps practices for both traditional and GenAI model deployment, versioning, monitoring, and retraining. 
• Stay current with advancements in LLMs (Large Language Models), agentic and multimodal AI, and transformer-based architectures to assess their applicability for business use cases. 
• Mentor and develop the team through performance management, ongoing feedback, and stretch assignments, fostering an inclusive culture of innovation, continuous learning, and collaboration. 
• Present AI and GenAI models and findings to stakeholders, ensuring clear communication of technical concepts. 

Job-Specific Experience, Education & Skills

Required 

• 5 years of experience in AI, machine learning, or data science, with a proven track record of deploying AI solutions at scale. 
• 2 years of leadership experience. 
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, or an additional 2 years of training/experience in lieu of this degree. 
• Proficiency in Python and experience with AI/ML libraries such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-Learn, and XGBoost. 
• Strong expertise in machine learning, deep learning, and Generative AI (e.g., GPT, BERT, DALL·E, diffusion models, etc.). 
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP) and AI/ML deployment tools. 
• Experience with LLM fine-tuning, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and prompt engineering. 
• Experience with MLOps practices, including CI/CD for machine learning, model monitoring, and automated retraining. 
• Proficiency in Databricks for large-scale data processing and model development. 
• Strong understanding of data engineering concepts, including data pipelines, ETL, and feature engineering. 
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to translate business challenges into AI solutions. 
• Effective communication skills, including presenting technical concepts to stakeholders. 
• Ability to work cross-functionally and influence technical and business teams 
• High school diploma or equivalent. 
• Minimum age of 18. 
• Must be authorized to work in the U.S. 

Preferred 

• Master’s or Ph.D. in AI, Data Science, Computer Science, Industrial Engineering, Statistics, or a related field. 
• Experience in developing enterprise-level GenAI applications, including chatbot development, document summarization, and AI-assisted workflows. 
• Experience in commercial aviation, logistics, or operational optimization. 
• Experience integrating AI and GenAI into production systems and enterprise applications. 
• Knowledge of reinforcement learning, causal inference, or advanced statistical modeling techniques.     

Job-Specific Leadership Expectations

Embody our values to own safety, do the right thing, be caring and kind, and deliver performance.

Starting Rate

Salary Range

$149,600-$224,400 / year

Bonus

Salary Details

Pay will be based on multiple factors, including and not limited to location, relevant experience/level and skillset while balancing internal equity relative to other Alaska/Hawaiian/Horizon employees. Alaska/Hawaiian/Horizon is committed to fair, unbiased compensation along with competitive benefits in all locations in which we operate.

Note: We don’t typically hire at the top of the range.

Total Rewards

Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Horizon Air pay and benefits can vary by company, location, number of regularly scheduled hours worked, length of employment, and employment status.

• Free stand-by travel privileges on Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines & Horizon Air
• Comprehensive well-being programs including medical, dental and vision benefits
• Generous 401k match program
• Annual bonus plans
• Generous holiday and paid time off 

For more information about Alaska/Hawaiian/Horizon Total Rewards please visit our career site and view benefits.

Regulatory Information

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement  

It is the policy of Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Horizon Air to comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment and to ensure equal opportunity in all terms, conditions, and benefits of employment or potential employment.   

We also prohibit discrimination and harassment against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information and other legally protected categories.  

We have established an EEO Compliance Program under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 503”) and the Vietnam Era Veteran’s Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (“VEVRAA”).  All applicants and employees are treated without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. In addition, we have established an audit and reporting system to allow for effective measurement of its equal employment opportunity activities.   

To implement this policy, we will: 

(1) Recruit, hire, train and promote qualified persons in all job titles, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information and any other legally protected categories; (2) Ensure that employment decisions are based only on valid job requirements; and (3) Ensure that all personnel actions and employment activities such as compensation, benefits, promotions, layoffs, return from layoff, Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Horizon Air sponsored programs, and tuition assistance will be administered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information and other legally protected categories. 

Employees and applicants for employment will not be subjected to harassment, intimidation, threats, coercion or discrimination because they have engaged or may engage in (1) filing a complaint, (2) opposing any act or practice made unlawful by, or exercising any other right protected by, any Federal, State or local law requiring equal opportunity, including Section 503 and the equal opportunity provisions of VEVRAA, or (3) assisting or participating in any investigation, compliance evaluation, hearing, or any other activity related to the administration of any Federal, State or local law requiring equal opportunity, including Section 503 and the equal opportunity provisions  of VEVRAA. 

Government Contractor & Department of Transportation (DOT) Regulations Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines & Horizon Air are regulated by the Department of Transportation (DOT – regulations, 49 CFR part 40) and all applicants are advised that post-offer and/or pre-employment drug testing will be conducted to determine the presence of marijuana, cocaine, opioids, phencyclidine (PCP) and amphetamines or a metabolite of these drugs prior to any offer or employment or transfer into a safety-sensitive position. Failure to submit to testing or positive indications of drug use will render the applicant ineligible for employment with Alaska Airlines/Hawaiian Airlines/Horizon Air and any employment offer will be withdrawn. 

FLSA Status

Exempt

Employment Type

Full-Time

Regular/Temporary

Regular

Requisition Type

Management

Location

Seattle - Hub

L:

#LI-B