Manager, AI Solutions

Rich’s, also known as Rich Products Corporation, is a family-owned food company dedicated to inspiring possibilities. From cakes and icings to pizza, appetizers and specialty toppings, our products are used in homes, restaurants and bakeries around the world. Beyond great food, our customers also gain insights to help them stay competitive, no matter their size. Our portfolio includes creative solutions geared at helping food industry professionals compete in foodservice, retail, in-store bakery, deli, and prepared foods, among others. With more than 13,500 associates working globally in 100 countries and annual sales of $5.9 billion, Rich’s is a global leader with a focus on everything that family makes possible. Rich’s®—Infinite Possibilities. One Family.

Job Summary This role is responsible for leading a team of AI, data science, and analytics professionals in designing, developing, and implementing AI-powered solutions that support business objectives and deliver measurable enterprise value. This includes overseeing the development and deployment of predictive analytics, machine learning, generative AI, intelligent applications, and other emerging AI capabilities, while ensuring solutions are scalable, secure, governed, and aligned to enterprise technology standards. The role is also responsible for partnering with cross-functional business and technology teams to identify and prioritize opportunities for AI-driven innovation, translating business needs into practical solutions, and communicating complex technical concepts and business outcomes to stakeholders at all levels of the organization. This role is based at our WHQ in Buffalo, NY.

Key Accountabilities And Outcomes

• Lead and manage a team of AI, data science, analytics, and related technical professionals.
• Develop and implement AI and data solution strategies that support business objectives and enterprise priorities.
• Design, develop, and deploy predictive models, machine learning solutions, generative AI applications, intelligent agents, and other AI-powered capabilities to drive business insights, automation, and decision-making.
• Lead the end-to-end delivery of AI solutions from opportunity identification and experimentation through production deployment, adoption, and continuous improvement.
• Establish and promote reusable solution patterns, components, and capabilities to accelerate delivery and scale AI across the enterprise.
• Ensure data quality, security, responsible AI, and governance requirements are incorporated into AI solutions and delivery practices.
• Collaborate with cross-functional business and technology teams to identify, evaluate, and prioritize high-value AI opportunities.
• Translate complex business problems into clearly defined AI solution strategies, requirements, and measurable outcomes.
• Partner with data, technology, architecture, cybersecurity, and platform teams to ensure solutions are scalable, maintainable, and aligned with enterprise standards.
• Monitor solution performance, adoption, cost, and business value to ensure AI investments deliver measurable outcomes.
• Communicate complex AI, data, and technology concepts and recommendations effectively to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Stay current with industry trends and emerging technologies in artificial intelligence, machine learning, generative AI, agentic AI, data, and automation.
• Manage and allocate team resources to meet strategic priorities, delivery timelines, and business outcomes.

Knowledge, Experience And Skills

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics or related field. Masters Degree preferred.
• 5–7 years of experience in artificial intelligence, data science, analytics, software engineering, data engineering, or related technology disciplines.
• Experience managing/leading technical teams and delivering data, AI, or technology solutions into production.
• Strong knowledge of machine learning, statistical analysis, predictive analytics, generative AI, and emerging AI technologies.
• Working knowledge of AI application patterns including retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), semantic search, intelligent automation, and AI agents.
• Experience with programming languages such as Python and SQL; experience with modern software engineering practices is preferred.
• Experience working with cloud-based data and AI platforms and technologies such as Azure, Databricks, Palantir or comparabl…