Director of IT- Transportation

Director of IT – Transportation
Lead the Digital Transformation of One of the World's Largest Transportation Networks

About Ashley
Ashley Furniture Industries is the world's largest manufacturer of furniture, serving customers in more than 123 countries. Every day, our transportation technology powers the movement of products across North America through our shipper, brokerage, and private fleet operations.

As we continue investing in AI, automation, cloud technologies, and modern digital platforms, we're looking for a technology leader who wants to transform how transportation operates at enterprise scale.

Summary
This is a highly visible technology leadership role responsible for defining and executing the technology strategy behind Ashley's transportation ecosystem.

You'll lead the modernization of the platforms that power our shipper, brokerage, and private fleet operations, partnering closely with Product, Supply Chain, and executive leadership to deliver innovative solutions that improve efficiency, visibility, and customer experience.

You'll oversee transportation technology strategy while driving enterprise initiatives around AI, intelligent automation, modern architectures, and next-generation digital capabilities.

This role is ideal for a leader who enjoys building high-performing teams, influencing executive strategy, and delivering technology that directly impacts business performance.

What You'll Lead

Transportation Technology Strategy
Define and execute the long-term technology strategy supporting Ashley's transportation business.

• Partner closely with Product leaders to develop roadmaps, prioritize investments, and maximize business value
• Build scalable, modern platforms that support transportation execution across shipper, brokerage, and private fleet operations
• Evaluate emerging technologies and identify opportunities to create competitive advantage

AI & Digital Transformation
Help shape the future of transportation technology by leading initiatives including:

• Predictive analytics
• Intelligent automation
• AI-powered decision support
• Agentic AI workflows
• Autonomous orchestration
• Machine learning-driven optimization

You'll identify opportunities where AI can improve routing, carrier selection, transportation planning, exception management, payment processing, operational efficiency, and customer experience.

Application & Platform Leadership
Own the strategy, modernization, and lifecycle of transportation technologies including:

• Transportation Management Systems (TMS)
• Carrier management platforms
• Driver mobile applications
• Onboard computer systems
• Fleet asset tracking solutions
• Transportation integrations across ERP, WMS, planning, and enterprise platforms

Drive continuous modernization while ensuring platforms remain secure, scalable, reliable, and aligned with business priorities.

Operational Excellence & Production Support
Ensure transportation technology operates with the reliability expected of a mission-critical enterprise platform.  You'll lead teams responsible for:

• Production support and operational stability
• Platform availability and performance
• Incident management and root cause analysis
• Disaster recovery and business continuity
• Continuous service improvement
• Cybersecurity compliance and operational resilience

You'll also serve as a senior technology leader during critical production incidents and major business events.

Program Delivery

• Lead complex technology initiatives from strategy through execution.
• Deliver large-scale enterprise programs on time and within budget
• Align IT execution with Product roadmaps and business priorities
• Translate complex transportation challenges into scalable technology solutions
• Communicate progress, risks, and outcomes to executive leadership
• Drive consistent delivery practices across the organization

Vendor & Technology Partnerships

• Build strong partnerships with strategic technology vendors and implementation partners.
• You'll evaluate emerging solutions, negotiate vendor relationships, oversee implementations, and ensure partners consistently deliver measurable business value.

People Leadership

• Develop and inspire a high-performing technology organization.
• Foster a culture of innovation, ownership, and continuous improvement