Director Artificial Intelligence & Automation

Sonepar Management Group (SMG) supports our Sonepar brands (i.e. operating companies) in the US through a shared services model. These services include, but are not limited to: human resources, finance, digital enterprise, supply chain, vendor relations, marketing, legal, and communications. The SMG teams enable our brands to do business in their local regions while taking advantage of the scale and collective resources of a global enterprise.

SMG fosters an inclusive and supportive culture. We offer leadership and development programs to help you reach your career goals. Our associates share in our collective achievements, and we firmly believe that Sonepar is “Powered by Difference.” By driving technology and innovation, enabling paths to success, and caring about our people and their families, we have built a workplace where you can build a fulfilling career.

The Director Artificial Intelligence & Automation is responsible for leading Sonepar North America's Artificial Intelligence and Automation delivery capabilities and executing the enterprise AI strategy. This role oversees the design, development, deployment, operation, and continuous improvement of scalable AI, Generative AI, agentic workflow, and intelligent automation solutions that drive measurable business outcomes.

Working closely with AI Product Management, Data & Analytics, Enterprise Architecture, Cybersecurity, and application development teams, this leader delivers secure, reliable, and reusable AI capabilities while ensuring operational excellence, governance, and responsible AI practices. The Director will play a critical role in shaping Sonepar's future technology landscape by identifying emerging technologies and transforming innovation into business value at scale.

Key Responsibilities

AI & Automation Portfolio Delivery
Lead execution of Sonepar's enterprise AI and automation portfolio, ensuring approved initiatives are delivered on time, within budget, and aligned with business objectives.
Drive successful deployment of Generative AI, machine learning, automation, and intelligent workflow solutions that generate measurable business impact.
Establish delivery plans, resource requirements, and success metrics for AI and automation initiatives.
Monitor value realization, adoption, performance, and operational outcomes across the portfolio.

AI Engineering & Operational Excellence
Establish and lead AI Engineering, Automation Engineering, DevOps/MLOps, testing, release management, monitoring, and production support capabilities.
Ensure enterprise AI solutions are scalable, secure, reliable, and operationally sustainable.
Implement engineering best practices that support consistent deployment, monitoring, maintenance, and continuous improvement of AI-powered solutions.
Develop operational readiness standards for production-grade AI and automation applications.

Enterprise AI Standards & Architecture
Define and govern enterprise AI delivery standards, architecture patterns, reusable components, development frameworks, and implementation methodologies.
Establish standards for prompt engineering, AI agents, integration patterns, automation frameworks, documentation, and solution delivery.
Partner with Enterprise Architecture teams to ensure consistency, scalability, interoperability, and alignment with technology roadmaps.
Promote reuse and standardization to accelerate delivery and reduce technical complexity.

Continuous Improvement & Innovation
Drive continuous enhancement of AI delivery practices, development methodologies, testing disciplines, deployment strategies, and operational monitoring capabilities.
Evaluate emerging AI technologies, tools, platforms, and industry trends to identify opportunities that enhance business performance.
Establish processes for measuring solution performance, adoption, business value, and operational effectiveness.
Foster a culture of innovation, experimentation, learning, and continuous improvement.

Team Leadership & Capability Development
Build, lead, and develop a high-performing team of AI engineers, automation engineers, solution architects, technical specialists, and delivery partners.
Create a culture focused on accountability, innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning.
Mentor and coach associates while developing future technical leaders and delivery capabilities.
Manage external vendors, systems integrators, and strategic partners to ensure successful delivery outcomes.

Responsible AI, Risk & Compliance
Implement Responsible AI practices, model governance, security controls, privacy requirements, and compliance standards across the AI lifecycle.
Partner with Cybersecurity, Legal, Risk Management, Compliance, Data Governance, and Enterprise Architecture teams to mitigate operational and regulatory risks.
Ensure AI solutions align with enterprise governance standards and ethical AI principles.
Maintain oversight of model performance, lifecycle management, and operational controls.

Required Qualifications

Experience
10+ years of progressive leadership experience in information technology, software engineering, AI engineering, automation, data and analytics, digital platforms, or related technology disciplines.
5+ years leading enterprise-scale AI, automation, advanced analytics, technology delivery, digital product engineering, or platform teams in complex organizations.
5+ years of project and program leadership experience utilizing Agile, DevOps, and modern software delivery methodologies.
Experience with enterprise data governance, cybersecurity, privacy, and risk management practices.
Proven track record deploying production-grade AI, automation, workflow, analytics, or software solutions that deliver measurable business value.
Experience establishing engineering standards, delivery methodologies, DevOps/MLOps practices, testing frameworks, monitoring capabilities, and support models.
Demonstrated success leading technical teams, managing vendors, and coordinating cross-functional delivery across architecture, data, security, infrastructure, and application teams.

Preferred Experience
Experience in wholesale distribution, industrial distribution, manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, or related industries.
Experience scaling enterprise Generative AI and intelligent automation capabilities.
Experience supporting large, complex, multi-brand organizations.

Education

Required
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Data Science, Business, or a related field.
Equivalent combination of education and professional experience may be considered.

Preferred
Master's degree in Business Administration, Technology, Data Science, Analytics, Engineering, or a related discipline.
Professional certifications in AI, Cloud Computing, Automation, Agile Delivery, DevOps/MLOps, Product Management, or Enterprise Architecture.
Technical Competencies
Artificial Intelligence & Automation
Generative AI & Large Language Models (LLMs)
AI Agents & Agentic Workflows
Prompt Engineering & Prompt Frameworks
Machine Learning & Deep Learning
Intelligent Automation & Workflow Orchestration
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Computer Vision
AI Governance & Responsible AI
Engineering & Technology
AI Engineering & Solution Delivery
DevOps/MLOps
Cloud Architecture & Integration
API Development & Integration Patterns
Enterprise Architecture Principles
Data Platforms & Enterprise Data Foundations
Application Lifecycle Management
Preferred Technologies
Microsoft Copilot Ecosystem
Azure AI & Azure OpenAI Services
Microsoft Fabric
Power Platform
Power Automate
AI Studio & Agent Frameworks
Databricks
Snowflake
Hadoop, Spark, and Kafka
Programming Languages
Python
R
Java
C++
SQL

#LI-CM1

What We Offer You

We offer great family-friendly benefits to full-time associates:

We’re proud to be a military-friendly company, and our many employee resource groups (ERGs) help you make connections and feel supported.

Learn More About Us

Get to know us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube and learn how we’re “Powering Progress for Future Generations.”

Learn more about us and our Sonepar family of brands: https://www.soneparusa.com/us-en/about-us

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Sonepar is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their race, color, creed, religion, national origin, citizenship status, ancestry, sex, age, physical or mental disability unrelated to ability, marital status, family responsibilities, pregnancy, genetic information, sexual orientation, order of protection status, protected veteran or military status, or an unfavorable discharge from military service, or any other categories protected by federal, state or local law.

Sonepar and our family of brands are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. In keeping with our commitment, we will take the steps to assure that people with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. Accordingly, if a reasonable accommodation is required to fully participate in the job application or interview process, to perform the essential functions of the position, and/or to receive all other benefits and privileges of employment, please call 843-745-2420 or email [email protected].