Director, AI Initiatives - Leidos

Description

The Leidos Chief Technology Officer organization has an opening for the Director of AI Initiatives, reporting to the Chief AI Officer (CAIO). The CAIO overseas and directs the design and execution of Leidos’ Trusted Mission AI strategy and governs the execution of Leidos AI programs, projects, and initiatives. As a key member of the CAIO’s team, the Director for AI Initiatives identifies, orchestrates, and oversees Leidos’ most impactful internal AI efforts. The work overseen by the Director of Internal AI Initiatives spans a broad range of Leidos functions ranging from Growth to Performance to Finance to HR and is designed to drive fundamental transformations across the Enterprise that deliver significant improvements in efficiency, quality, and performance. This is an exciting opportunity to drive significant organizational change within a Fortune 250 company through the design and implementation of major AI efforts.

The ideal candidate will reside in the Northern Capital Region, to attend onsite meetings in the Reston HQ facility with some opportunity for remote hybrid work.

Primary Responsibilities

The Director of Internal AI Initiatives is a passionate champion for systematically driving change through the introduction of AI to transform workflows and work processes. They are responsible for orchestrating and overseeing the most impactful internal AI programs within Leidos. Working directly with the CAIO as well as senior leaders across Leidos functions, the Director identifies and prioritizes internal AI initiatives across Leidos. The Director establishes objectives and coordinates the assignment of resources (staffing and financial) from across Leidos, including the AI Accelerator, to accomplish those objectives. Throughout execution, the Director monitors initiatives to assess progress against planned schedule, budget, and performance goals. The Director proactively identifies risks and barriers to successful execution, working with the CAIO and senior leaders across Leidos to mitigate those risks and overcome barriers.  The Director leads the design of metrics to measure performance and effectiveness and to capture and report the ROI for AI initiatives. Throughout the execution of these responsibilities, the Director achieves their objectives through influence, coordination, and resourcing rather than direct control of individual projects and initiatives.

The Director is part of a core team of senior leaders supporting the CAIO in developing and leading the execution of Leidos Trusted Mission AI strategy. The Director will be an active contributor to the design of that strategy and its articulation across the entire Leidos community, communicating to a broad range of audiences and helping them understand its implications within their organizations. The Director will help align the initiatives they oversee to that strategy, assuring that they achieve desired strategic impacts. The Director will work closely with other members of the CAIO team – as well as CTOs and solution architects from across Leidos – to assure that AI initiatives support not only Leidos internal objectives but form the basis for solutions we can bring to our customers wherever possible.

The Director will work closely with leaders across the Chief Technology Officer function, including the CTOs and Technology Integration organization, to support the broader goals of supporting the technical advancement of Leidos. They will work closely with the VP for External Technology, assuring that AI initiatives involving external technology are aligned with broader partnership objectives. They will work closely with the CIO and CISO organizations, assuring that AI initiatives are implemented in a manner that can be supported by our internal systems and processes. They will work closely with our Digital Modernization Sector and the Technology Transition team to identify opportunities for internal AI capabilities to become repeatable offerings for our customers. They will work closely with the Ethical AI Working Group to assure that AI Initiatives are brought under the AI Governance process.

Basic Qualifications

• The ideal candidate will possess a Master's Degree and 15+ overall years of experience, or Bachelor's Degree and 17+ overall years of experience, of which 8+ years are focused on related industry experience

• Prior technical roles overseeing significant technical initiatives to drive major process improvements, either within internal systems or customer environments.

• Excellent technical credentials in various subfields relevant to AI (e.g., Data Science, Data Engineering, Machine Learning, Computer Science).

• Familiarity with Generative AI, including workflow patterns like RAG and prompt engineering, while understanding of the strengths, limitations, and vulnerabilities of GenAI.

• Experienced at conceiving, designing and implementing innovative AI solutions to transform complex Enterprise-level business challenges.

• Ability to understand and implement security controls – particularly around data and data access – as part of AI solutions.

• Ability to influence and persuade others, and build consensus

• Effective at communicating with senior management including executive leaders.

• Strong public speaking skills. Strong oral and written communication skills.

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Preferred Qualifications

• Masters degree in a Science, Engineering, or Technology field or in a business-relevant discipline.

• Deep expertise in a broad range of Data Science and Data Analytic tools and techniques.

• Understanding of the importance of ML Ops and Data Ops as well as their relationship to broader DevOps concepts and processes.

• Understanding of core concepts around AI risk, AI ethics, and AI governance.

• Demonstrated ability to design and build solutions leveraging Generative AI, including workflow patterns like RAG and prompt engineering, while having a deep understanding of the strengths, limitations, and vulnerabilities of GenAI.

• Proven ability to drive successful execution of complex initiatives involving multiple stakeholders through influence and oversight rather than direct control of assets.

• Familiarity with – and ability to articulate – core elements of Leidos Trusted Mission AI strategy (FAIRS, 4A, AI Factory, etc.)

• Experience in workflow analysis, including the design and collection of metrics of performance and effectiveness and ability to forecast, measure, and report ROI.

Original Posting Date:

While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

Pay Range:

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.