AI Operations ManagerEnterprise IT | AI EnablementLocation: Remote - Canada (Waterloo, Ontario preferred)As part of Descartes' Enterprise IT AI Enablement team, you will lead and coordinate the day-to-day operations of enterprise AI services across our global organization. You will translate AI priorities into structured execution, develop a distributed team, and ensure secure, efficient, and scalable service delivery while driving AI adoption and continuous improvement.
Outcomes - What Success Looks Like- Team Leadership & Operations: Lead, develop, and coordinate a geographically distributed AI Enablement team, aligning priorities, resources, and responsibilities across locations and cultures.
- Strategy Execution: Translate AI strategy and governance direction into clear operational plans, ownership, priorities, and measurable deliverables.
- Demand & Portfolio Management: Manage AI intake, prioritization, backlogs, delivery tracking, risks, dependencies, and escalations across concurrent initiatives.
- Service Delivery Excellence: Oversee AI service operations, incident and request management, and reliable support coverage across regions.
- Cost & Capacity Optimization: Manage AI licensing, consumption, capacity, budgets, and costs in collaboration with technical teams, vendors, Finance, and Procurement.
- Governance & Risk Management: Embed AI governance requirements into daily operations, ensuring alignment with security, privacy, compliance, risk, and audit standards.
- Performance & Continuous Improvement: Establish operational metrics and reporting across demand, delivery, adoption, service performance, capacity, risk, and cost. Drive process improvements, automation, and reduced operational dependencies.
- AI Adoption & Collaboration: Partner with IT teams, business stakeholders, and vendors to promote Enterprise IT AI initiatives, identify opportunities, and support effective AI adoption.
Skills & Competencies - How You Will SucceedExperience & Technical Skills- 5+ years of experience in technology operations, service delivery, program or portfolio management, AI enablement, or a related Enterprise IT role.
- Hands-on experience implementing, operating, supporting, or driving adoption of enterprise AI technologies.
- Experience leading technology or AI-enabled services and managing geographically distributed teams across cultures and time zones.
- Proven ability to manage demand, priorities, delivery, risks, and dependencies across multiple initiatives.
- Working knowledge of IT service management, including incident, request, change, and continuous improvement processes.
- Experience applying AI governance, security, privacy, compliance, and technology risk requirements.
- Experience managing vendors, licensing, consumption, capacity, and budgets.
- Ability to use operational metrics, reporting, and analytics to drive performance and informed decisions.
- University degree, college diploma, or relevant industry certifications preferred. ITIL, project/program management, cloud, security, data, or AI certifications are assets.
Professional Competencies- Strong communicator, organizer, facilitator, and people manager.
- Able to lead through influence and collaborate with technical teams, business stakeholders, vendors, and senior leadership.
- Skilled at establishing structure, accountability, and clear ownership in fast-paced, evolving environments.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, prioritization, and decision-making abilities.
- Service-minded leader focused on operational excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Culture Add: TEAM ValuesWe value team members who communicate with transparency, sharing information openly and building trust across functions. You bring excellence and expertise to your craft, holding a high bar for quality while continuously improving your skills. You demonstrate accountability by owning outcomes, following through on commitments, and taking responsibility for results. You are driven by metrics, using data and experimentation to inform decisions and deliver measurable impact.
Aptitudes- Smart: Able to quickly understand complex systems, connect ideas, and make sound judgments.
- Curious: Actively seeks to understand customer problems, emerging technologies, and better ways of working.
- Coachable: Open to feedback, willing to adapt, and continuously improving through learning.
What's in It for You- Strategic Impact: Help shape and scale enterprise AI operations across a global software organization.
- Leadership & Growth: Lead a distributed team and expand your influence as Descartes' AI capabilities evolve.
- Cross-Functional Visibility: Collaborate with IT, Finance, Procurement, vendors, business stakeholders, and senior leaders.
- Ownership & Autonomy: Drive operational priorities, improve service delivery, and establish scalable processes.
- Flexible Environment: Enjoy a remote opportunity in Canada within a collaborative, fast-moving technology organization.
Join Descartes and help build the operational foundation for secure, responsible, and scalable enterprise AI.
Compensation: The salary range for this position is
$100,000-$110,000 CAD. Compensation information provided is a good-faith estimate for this position only. Factors that may be used to determine actual salary include the candidate's specific skills and years of experience. Similar positions located in different geographic regions will not necessarily receive the same compensation or currency.
