[Hiring] AI Operations Manager @The Descartes

Role Description

As part of Descartes' Enterprise IT AI Enablement team, you will lead and coordinate the day-to-day operations of enterprise AI services across our global organization. You will translate AI priorities into structured execution, develop a distributed team, and ensure secure, efficient, and scalable service delivery while driving AI adoption and continuous improvement.

• Team Leadership & Operations: Lead, develop, and coordinate a geographically distributed AI Enablement team, aligning priorities, resources, and responsibilities across locations and cultures.
• Strategy Execution: Translate AI strategy and governance direction into clear operational plans, ownership, priorities, and measurable deliverables.
• Demand & Portfolio Management: Manage AI intake, prioritization, backlogs, delivery tracking, risks, dependencies, and escalations across concurrent initiatives.
• Service Delivery Excellence: Oversee AI service operations, incident and request management, and reliable support coverage across regions.
• Cost & Capacity Optimization: Manage AI licensing, consumption, capacity, budgets, and costs in collaboration with technical teams, vendors, Finance, and Procurement.
• Governance & Risk Management: Embed AI governance requirements into daily operations, ensuring alignment with security, privacy, compliance, risk, and audit standards.
• Performance & Continuous Improvement: Establish operational metrics and reporting across demand, delivery, adoption, service performance, capacity, risk, and cost. Drive process improvements, automation, and reduced operational dependencies.
• AI Adoption & Collaboration: Partner with IT teams, business stakeholders, and vendors to promote Enterprise IT AI initiatives, identify opportunities, and support effective AI adoption.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in technology operations, service delivery, program or portfolio management, AI enablement, or a related Enterprise IT role.
• Hands-on experience implementing, operating, supporting, or driving adoption of enterprise AI technologies.
• Experience leading technology or AI-enabled services and managing geographically distributed teams across cultures and time zones.
• Proven ability to manage demand, priorities, delivery, risks, and dependencies across multiple initiatives.
• Working knowledge of IT service management, including incident, request, change, and continuous improvement processes.
• Experience applying AI governance, security, privacy, compliance, and technology risk requirements.
• Experience managing vendors, licensing, consumption, capacity, and budgets.
• Ability to use operational metrics, reporting, and analytics to drive performance and informed decisions.
• University degree, college diploma, or relevant industry certifications preferred. ITIL, project/program management, cloud, security, data, or AI certifications are assets.

Requirements

• Strong communicator, organizer, facilitator, and people manager.
• Able to lead through influence and collaborate with technical teams, business stakeholders, vendors, and senior leadership.
• Skilled at establishing structure, accountability, and clear ownership in fast-paced, evolving environments.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, prioritization, and decision-making abilities.
• Service-minded leader focused on operational excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Benefits

• Strategic Impact: Help shape and scale enterprise AI operations across a global software organization.
• Leadership & Growth: Lead a distributed team and expand your influence as Descartes' AI capabilities evolve.
• Cross-Functional Visibility: Collaborate with IT, Finance, Procurement, vendors, business stakeholders, and senior leaders.
• Ownership & Autonomy: Drive operational priorities, improve service delivery, and establish scalable processes.
• Flexible Environment: Enjoy a remote opportunity in Canada within a collaborative, fast-moving technology organization.