Senior Director, Applied AI and Data Solutions

Job ID: 291793
Location Name: CA-FSC SF Off (0174)
Address: 350 Mission St, 20th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105, United States (US)
Job Type: Full Time
Position Type: Regular
Job Function: Information Technology
Work Location: Hybrid-San Francisco Office

Your Role at Sephora:

Ready for a career glow up? As Senior Director of Applied AI and Data Solutions, you'll be establishing and leading the Applied AI & Data Solutions vertical within Business Systems. This is a rare opportunity to build from the ground defining strategy, assembling a team, and driving transformative Agentic AI adoption, Business Automation across Supply Chain, Merchandising, and Finance domains. This leader will help translate cutting-edge AI capabilities into tangible business outcomes, working directly with business leaders to identify high-impact opportunities and deliver production-ready solutions that drive measurable value. This role requires equal parts strategic vision and hands-on execution expertise.

What You'll Do:

• Build AI Business Cases. Develop ROI-driven business cases for Agentic AI initiatives, partnering with domain leaders to identify high-impact opportunities and translate them into scalable AI/data solutions — including digital agents, productivity automation, and AI-assisted decision-making.

• Drive Executive Stakeholder Relationships. Manage C-level and cross-functional relationships across Supply Chain, Merchandising, and Finance, grooming AI ideas into strategic initiatives, innovation programs, and actionable roadmaps aligned with enterprise objectives.

• Lead and Scale a High-Performing Team. Build, mentor, and grow a team of data scientists, ML engineers, and analytics professionals — fostering a culture of innovation, experimentation, and continuous learning while developing talent pipelines across the organization.

• Define Agentic AI and Automation Strategy. Set the vision and execution strategy for Agentic AI and Business Automation aligned with enterprise goals, identifying and prioritizing AI/ML opportunities across key retail domains.

• Partner with Technology Leadership. Collaborate directly with VP/CTO/CIO on AI enablement and foundational technology setup, influencing all levels of the organization to embrace AI-first transformation and new ways of operating.

What You'll Bring:

• 10+ years in AI/ML and data science leadership, including Director-level or above experience delivering production AI/ML solutions at scale in enterprise environments.

• Deep technical expertise in modern AI/ML techniques — including generative AI (LLMs, RAG), NLP, predictive modeling, computer vision, supervised/unsupervised learning, and data engineering platforms such as Databricks and Snowflake.

• Proven domain knowledge in retail operations — specifically Supply Chain, Merchandising, or Finance — with a demonstrated track record of driving organizational change and AI adoption at a strategic leadership level.

• Strong communication and executive influence skills, with the ability to build AI fluency across an organization, present to C-suite stakeholders, and balance long-term vision with short-term execution.

• Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering or MBA from a prestigious institution required; AI/ML certifications preferred.

What You’ll Get: 

The annual base salary range for this position is $271.530,00 - $301.700,00 The actual base salary offered depends on a variety of factors, which may include, as applicable, the applicant’s qualifications for the position; years of relevant experience; specific and unique skills; level of education attained; certifications or other professional licenses held; other legitimate, non-discriminatory business factors specific to the position; an