Director of AI Programs and Automation

Overview

Presbyterian's story is really the story of the remarkable people who choose to work here. The hard work of our physicians, nurses, employees, board members and volunteers grew Presbyterian from a tiny tuberculosis sanatorium to a statewide healthcare system that serves more than 875,000 New Mexicans.

 

The Director of AI Programs - Automation is a strategic leader, responsible for driving the vision, development, and execution of artificial intelligence and robotic process automation (RPA) initiatives.

 

As Director of AI Programs, you'll:

• lead a team of AI and RPA technologists charged with innovating and implementing solutions. 
• oversee the end-to-end delivery of AI and RPA projects.
• collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• ensure that AI solutions align with business goals and ethical standards.

With a strong background in AI/ML technologies, project management, and team leadership, the Director, AI Program engages with stakeholders to identify opportunities, mitigate risks, and ensure continuous innovation in AI and RPA solutions.

 

This position typically requires a background in computer science or engineering, along with proficiency in AI/ML tools and certifications. The position is ideal for individuals seeking to shape AI strategy and lead transformative projects across industries like tech, finance, and healthcare. 

This position is intended to be conducted in the state of New Mexico with on-site presence. Relocation assistance is available.

Qualifications

Bachelors degree in computer science, data science, engineering, or a related field is typically required. Advanced degree (Masters or Ph.D.) preferred.Technical Expertise:

• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, R, or Java, and experience with AI/ML frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, or Scikit-Learn.
• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in an AI centered role.
• Experience with modern databases, cloud environments, and data ecosystems.
• Experience within healthcare or another highly regulated industry preferred.

Project Management Skills:

Demonstrated experience in managing AI projects from conception to development, including team leadership and stakeholder communication.Certification:While not mandatory, certifications like Certified Artificial Intelligence Practitioner (CAIP), Google Professional Machine Learning Engineer, AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty, and Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate are preferred.

 

 

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Program Management:

• Define, develop, and drive the organizations AI vision and long-term strategy in close partnership with executive leadership, ensuring all AI initiatives are aligned with overarching business objectives.
• Develop AI use cases in alignment with PHS strategy.
• Lead the end-to-end planning, execution, and delivery of large-scale, complex AI programs and strategic initiatives, ensuring timely completion and high-quality outcomes.
• Foster a culture that embraces AI's potential to complement human creativity, decision-making, and innovation.
• Identify and prioritize AI opportunities that drive innovation, efficiency, and competitive advantages.
• Craft and implement a companywide AI roadmap aligned with business objectives.
• Collaborate with other senior executives to integrate AI across departments.
• Lead AI research initiatives, develop proprietary models, and foster partnerships with academia and tech firms.
• Monitor emerging AI regulations and partner with other PHS leaders to evaluate impact to PHS.
• Establish a framework to ensure transparency, fairness, and compliance with regulations.
• Build and manage multidisciplinary AI teams and promote AI literacy across the organization.
• Translate AI strategy into actionable projects and oversee their implementation.
• Manage AI engineering, data science, and machine learning teams.
• Define and track KPIs to measure the impact of AI on business performance.
• Collaborate with enterprise architects and security architects for design deployment.
• Partner with teams for seamless integration of AI tools into existing workflows.
• Collaborate with external AI vendors and technology partners.
• Lead the design, development, and deployment of AI models and systems.
• Provide guidance on AI architecture, model selection, and data pipelines. Ensure models meet performance, reliability, and ethical standards.
• Translate technical progress into business value for non-technical stakeholders.

Team Leadership:

• Manage an AI cross-functional team, while mentoring team members and fostering a high-performance, collaborative, and inclusive team culture.
• Play a pivotal role in driving strategy execution and enabling transformational change by embedding AI into personal practices, team workflows, and cross-functional processes.
• Oversee model training and optimization.
• Coach and mentor others on building scalable data and machine learning solutions.
• Lead the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) team, with a strategic focus on leveraging AI Agentic technologies to enhance automation capabilities, streamline business processes, and enable intelligent, autonomous decision-making workflows.

Ethical Oversight and Continuous Improvement:

• Establish and enforce standards for the ethical, legal, and responsible development and deployment of AI solutions, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and proactively mitigating potential risks.
• Continuously monitor AI trends, emerging technologies, and potential partnerships to inform strategic directions and drive innovation, ensuring the organization remains at the forefront of AI advancements.
• Lead the development, governance, and execution of organization AI programs, including frameworks, policies, and roadmaps.
• Ensure alignment between AI initiatives and enterprise architecture, data strategy, data security and risk management practices.
• Manage cross-functional AI teams, including data scientists, ML engineers, product managers, and external partners.
• Allocate resources effectively across AI initiatives, balancing innovation with delivery and risks.
• Act as a key liaison between technical AI teams and business stakeholders to translate business needs into AI-driven solutions.
• Enable adoption by co-developing AI use cases, value cases, and performance KPIs with business units.
• Champion change management and AI literacy across the enterprise.
• Lead or contribute to AI risk reviews, model audit processes, and responsible AI committees.
• Track and report progress of AI initiatives using key metrics, ensuring transparency and accountability.
• Share insights, wins, and learnings with senior leadership to reinforce program value.

Benefits

We offer more than the standard benefits!

Presbyterian employees gain access to a robust wellness program, including free access to our on-site and community-based gyms, nutrition coaching and classes, wellness challenges and more!

Learn more about our employee benefits:

https://www.phs.org/careers/why-work-with-us/benefits

Why work at Presbyterian?

As an organization, we are committed to improving the health of our communities. From hosting growers' markets to partnering with local communities, Presbyterian is taking active steps to improve the health of New Mexicans. For our employees, we offer a robust wellness program, including free access to our on-site and community-based gyms, nutrition coaching and classes, wellness challenges and more.

About Presbyterian Healthcare Services

Presbyterian Healthcare Services exists to improve the health of patients, members and the communities we serve. We are a locally owned, not-for-profit healthcare system of nine hospitals, a statewide health plan and a growing multi-specialty medical group. Founded in New Mexico in 1908, we are the state's largest private employer with nearly 14,000 employees - including more than 1,600 providers and nearly 4,700 nurses.

Our health plan serves more than 580,000 members statewide and offers Medicare Advantage, Medicaid (Centennial Care) and Commercial health plans.

 

About New Mexico

New Mexico continues to grow steadily in population and features a low cost-of living. Varied landscapes bring filmmakers here from around the world to capture a slice of the natural beauty New Mexicans enjoy every day. Our landscapes are as diverse as our culture - from mountains, forests, canyons, and lakes, to caverns, hot springs and sand dunes.

 

New Mexico offers endless recreational opportunities to explore and enjoy an active lifestyle. Venture off the beaten path, challenge your body in the elements, or open yourself up to the expansive sky. From hiking, golfing and biking to skiing, snowboarding and boating, it's all available among our beautiful wonders of the west.

AA/EOE/VET/DISABLED. PHS is a drug-free and tobacco-free employer with smoke free campuses.

Maximum Offer for this position is up to

USD $81.77/Hr.

Compensation Disclaimer

The compensation range for this role takes into account a wide range of factors, including but not limited to experience and training, internal equity, and other business and organizational needs.