Director, Applied AI (P2148)

84.51° Overview:

84.51° is a retail data science, insights and media company. We help The Kroger Co., consumer packaged goods companies, agencies, publishers and affiliates create more personalized and valuable experiences for shoppers across the path to purchase.

Powered by cutting-edge science, we utilize first-party retail data from more than 62 million U.S. households sourced through the Kroger Plus loyalty card program to fuel a more customer-centric journey using 84.51° Insights, 84.51° Loyalty Marketing and our retail media advertising solution, Kroger Precision Marketing.

Join us at 84.51°!

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Director, Applied AI (P2148)

Cincinnati, Chicago

SUMMARY:

We’re looking for a strategic, collaborative, and delivery-minded Applied AI Director to help bring AI to life across Kroger and 84.51°. This role sits at the intersection of AI capability development and business impact, focused on driving applied AI solutions, adoption, and co-development with domain teams.

You’ll lead prototyping efforts, drive tangible use case delivery, and serve as a champion for scaling AI Factory tools and services. This is a high-visibility, high-impact role that requires someone who can connect technical potential with business value — and deliver quickly.

They will drive adoption of AI technologies across the Kroger business through change management, storytelling, prototype development and user upskilling. 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The ideal candidate will be responsible for bridging the gap between cutting-edge, foundational AI technologies and Kroger + 84.51° business strategies.  This individual will play a crucial role in understanding business needs, customers problems and tying them back to the Kroger AI Factory technical roadmap.  This role will ensure AI initiatives and priorities are aligned with business vertical objectives to drive innovation and efficiency.   They will help navigate and facilitate a Buy, Build, Partner strategy in partnership with their engineering, data science and product counterparts.  They will help to drive adoption of AI capabilities across the business by being the conduit between the technical teams and the business.

Responsibilities include:

• Own the strategy and roadmap for Applied AI squad efforts within the AI Enablement team
• Partner with domain business and product teams to identify, co-develop, and validate high-impact use cases
• Work across the organization to identify opportunities to embed AI in workflows and drive measurable business outcomes
• Lead Applied AI MVP and prototype delivery in close collaboration with data scientists, engineers, and UX
• Drive adoption of AI Factory services, GenAI tooling, and reusable components across business teams
• Align stakeholders and balance trade-offs between business value and technical feasibility
• Facilitate and scale discovery through AI workshopping sessions
• Establish and maintain feedback loops with the AI Factory team to ensure platform services align with real user needs and enable broader adoption
• Oversee the work of external vendors and strategic partners, ensuring timely, high-quality, and aligned delivery
• Champion responsible, explainable, and user-centered AI in all applied solutions

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Domain Product & Business Teams: Co-develop use cases, drive adoption, embed AI where it matters
• AI Factory Team: Shape scalable services, relay feedback, align tooling with real needs
• Data Science & Engineering: Translate opportunity into prototypes and working solutions
• Vendors/Partners: Guide third-party development and delivery with strategic alignment
• Change & Enablement: Support onboarding, activation, and success metrics tracking

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, AND EXPERIENCE:

Successful candidates will thrive in a fast-paced environment that is a little unorthodox at times and will possess the following:

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree
• 8-12 years in influencing & driving business strategy, applied AI/ML, innovation, & go-to-market plans
• Strong understanding of AI/ML and GenAI technologies, and how to apply them to business problems
• Excellent communication & organizational skills, bridging cross-functional teams to a common outcome
• Experience working with cross-functional teams (