Job Description
Job Description
Job Title: Manager of AI Solutions Location: Buffalo / Orchard Park, New York Area Hire Type: Direct Hire Pay Range: Starting Salary $90,000-$110,000; flexibility may be considered for an exceptional candidate Work Model: Primarily onsite/in-person initially; increased hybrid flexibility may be possible after relationships and trust are established Schedule: Monday-Friday Recruiter Contact: Samantha Marranca | smarranca@imaginegroup.com No C2C. No current or future sponsorship. Nature & Scope:Positional Overview Our client is seeking a Manager of AI Solutions to lead the planning, implementation, governance, and adoption of artificial intelligence initiatives across the organization. This business-facing role will manage a portfolio of AI-enabled solutions, lead pilots and experimentation with emerging AI capabilities, support the AI Steering Team, and partner across functional areas to identify high-value use cases. The ideal candidate combines strong communication and relationship-building skills with meaningful hands-on AI experience. This person should be able to translate operational problems into AI opportunities, evaluate build-versus-buy decisions, work credibly with technical teams and vendors, and drive adoption with executive and nontechnical audiences. Role & Responsibility:Tasks That Will Lead To Your Success
- Serve as a visible champion for AI, driving understanding, training, enablement, and adoption across the organization.
- Partner with business and academic leaders to identify, evaluate, and prioritize high-value AI use cases.
- Monitor the evolving AI landscape and bring emerging tools, capabilities, risks, and opportunities to leadership and the AI Steering Team.
- Manage the portfolio of AI-enabled tools and initiatives, considering business value, cost, performance, complexity, risk, and implementation status.
- Evaluate AI vendors and solutions, conduct structured pilots, define success criteria, and support vendor performance management.
- Assess build-versus-buy options and collaborate with IT, functional stakeholders, procurement, and vendors on implementation approaches.
- Design, build, test, and evaluate pilots involving large language models, agentic workflows, workflow automation, and other emerging AI capabilities.
- Support AI governance, including use-case intake, risk review, policies, standards, responsible AI practices, privacy, and regulatory requirements.
- Develop and deliver AI training and communicate program priorities, risks, outcomes, and recommendations to executive and general audiences.
- Help lead and support the AI Steering Team and contribute to the development of a broader AI capability as organizational needs evolve.
Required Experience
- Bachelor's degree in a relevant field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- 3+ years of experience managing technology programs, implementations, vendor relationships, AI initiatives, or related transformation efforts.
- Recent direct experience with AI or machine learning initiatives and demonstrated hands-on experience with current AI tools, including LLM applications.
- Ability to discuss specific AI projects and clearly explain personal contribution, business problem, solution approach, and results.
- Experience translating business problems into practical AI use cases, evaluating solutions, conducting pilots, and defining success criteria.
- Experience managing technology or AI vendors, including evaluation, performance monitoring, and issue resolution.
- Technical understanding sufficient to collaborate with IT/development teams, evaluate integrations/APIs, and participate in build-versus-buy decisions.
- Excellent communication, relationship-building, change leadership, and executive presentation skills.
- Strong intellectual curiosity and demonstrated ability to stay current with rapidly changing AI technologies and market developments.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with agentic AI, workflow automation, AI application development, or hands-on experimentation with AI agents and LLM-based solutions.
- Experience establishing an AI program, governance function, innovation program, or center of excellence.
- Experience with AI governance, responsible AI, risk assessment, data privacy, or frameworks such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework.
- Experience in higher education or another regulated environment such as healthcare, government, banking, or financial services.
- Change management, training, instructional design, or organizational enablement experience with demonstrated success driving adoption.
Team & Environment
- Business/operations-focused role working closely with the AI Steering Team, senior leadership, IT, and cross-functional stakeholders.
- Western New York is strongly preferred. The first approximately six months are expected to involve substantial in-person presence; greater hybrid flexibility may develop after relationships and trust are established.
- The role offers growth potential as the organization’s AI strategy matures and may help form the foundation of a future AI team or function.
Additional Information
- Published starting salary range is $90,000-$110,000, with potential flexibility for an exceptional candidate based on experience and organizational needs.
- Relocation assistance may be available and can include capped movement of household goods, approximately one month of temporary housing, and relocation/house-hunting support depending on the candidate and circumstances.
- Our client will handle the required background check; no drug screening is required for this search.