Deckers Brands

Sr. Manager, AI Engineering

Deckers Brands • $137K — $185K *
US-Anywhere
+ 12 other locationsRemote
Information Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field; Master’s preferred.
  • 8–12 years of software, data, or machine learning engineering experience.
  • 3–5+ years leading engineering teams in cloud-native environments.
  • 3+ years delivering production AI or machine learning systems with a focus on generative AI or LLM applications.
  • Hands-on experience with retrieval augmented generation and AI engineering practices.
  • Experience with platforms like AWS Bedrock or Azure OpenAI.
  • Strong leadership skills focused on coaching and developing talent.

Responsibilities

  • Own the enterprise AI platform with governed access to foundation models and cost controls.
  • Define reusable AI patterns for various applications and architectures.
  • Lead the evaluation framework for production AI systems, including quality monitoring and regression testing.
  • Deliver AI applications from proof of concept through production deployment.
  • Manage operational quality metrics for production AI systems.
  • Track and evaluate new capabilities in the AI tooling landscape.
  • Establish the AI engineering roadmap and manage staffing plans.

Benefits

  • Competitive Pay and Bonuses to reward and recognize success.
  • Financial Planning resources to assist with income protection and investments.
  • Support for Time away from work to recharge and be with family.
  • Generous Extras and perks, including community programs and discounts.
  • Growth and Development opportunities for personal and professional advancement.
  • Comprehensive Health and Wellness programs.
Full Job Description
Job Title:  Sr. Manager, AI Engineering

Reports to:  Director, Data Platforms & Engineering


Location: US (Remote)


Interested applicants must reside in one of the following approved states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Indiana, Massachusetts, 

Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington


The Role

As Sr. Manager, AI Engineering, you will lead Deckers’ enterprise AI engineering capability, owning the platform that provides governed access to foundation models and reusable patterns for retrieval augmented generation, agents, and LLM applications. You’ll drive the delivery of AI applications into production, ensuring responsible AI controls and production readiness. This role is central to Deckers’ digital transformation, empowering teams with innovative AI solutions that shape the future of our business.


Your Impact

  • Own the enterprise AI platform, including governed access to foundation models, unified gateway, model routing, prompt and context management, and cost controls.
  • Define and maintain reusable AI engineering patterns for retrieval augmented generation, agents, orchestration, and LLM application architecture.
  • Lead the evaluation framework for AI systems, including offline evaluation suites, online quality monitoring, regression testing, and acceptance criteria for release.
  • Deliver AI applications into production across customer-facing and internal use cases, from proof of concept through governed deployment and ongoing operation.
  • Manage operational quality for production AI systems, including latency, availability, cost per interaction, quality regression detection, and support coverage.
  • Track the foundation model and AI tooling landscape, evaluate new capabilities, and manage migration as models and providers change.
  • Own the AI engineering roadmap and staffing plan, translating enterprise and brand priorities into a sequenced delivery plan.
  • Manage and mentor AI engineers, direct external AI delivery partners, and supply AI engineering capability into cross-functional teams.
  • Establish production readiness bar for AI systems, including guardrails, safety controls, human-in-the-loop design, fallback behavior, and incident response.
  • Implement responsible AI policy as engineering controls, including model risk documentation, evaluation evidence, output monitoring, and audit trails.
  • Partner with business, digital, data, ML engineering, enterprise architecture, security, privacy, and infrastructure teams to identify, scope, and prioritize AI use cases.

Who You Are

  • Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field; Master’s degree preferred.
  • 8–12 years of software, data, or machine learning engineering experience building production systems.
  • 3–5+ years leading engineering teams in cloud-native environments.
  • 3+ years delivering production AI or machine learning systems, including 2+ years building generative AI or large language model applications.
  • Demonstrated experience taking generative AI from proof of concept into governed production, including evaluation, guardrails, and monitoring.
  • Hands-on experience with retrieval augmented generation, agent frameworks, tool use, and orchestration patterns.
  • Experience with foundation model platforms such as AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, or equivalent.
  • Deep understanding of large language model application architecture, including retrieval, context management, tool use, agent design, and orchestration.
  • Strong grasp of AI evaluation methods, safety and security concerns, and cost awareness for AI systems.
  • Strong leadership and people-management skills with a focus on coaching and developing talent.
  • Excellent problem-solving, analytical thinking, and decision-making skills.
  • Strong communication and influencing skills across technical and business stakeholders.
  • Comfortable working in a fast-paced, matrixed, and global environment.

What We'll Give You –

  • Competitive Pay and Bonuses - We’ve created a variety of competitive compensation programs to foster career development, reward success and to show our employees just how much they’re valued.
  • Financial Planning and wellbeing - No matter what financial goals our employees have set, we want to help them get there. Our plans provide powerful ways to protect income, pay for expenses and invest in the future.
  • Time away from work - Sometimes we need time away to be with family, focus on our health or just simply recharge. Our plans support our employees’ needs to get out, get healthy and come back stronger than ever.
  • Extras, discounts and perks - Being a valued member of the Deckers Brands team means more than just a paycheck. From generous discounts to community-based programs, we offer a variety of cool extras
  • Growth and Development - Deckers Brands was built on the idea of pursuing passion. That’s why we offer extensive opportunities and support for personal and professional development.
  • Health and Wellness - There’s nothing basic about our comprehensive health and wellness programs and offerings. While at work and at play, we aim to support a healthy lifestyle.

 

$137,500.00 - $185,600.00

 

The salary range posted reflects the estimated minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for this role in:

Goleta, California (Remote)

 

Individual pay will be determined by location and additional factors, including job related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary for your preferred location during the hiring process.

About Deckers Brands

Deckers Brands is a global leader in designing, marketing, and distributing innovative footwear, apparel, and accessories developed for both everyday casual lifestyle use and high-performance activities. The Company's portfolio of brands includes UGG®, KOOLABURRA®, HOKA ONE ONE®, Teva®, and Sanuk®. Deckers Brands products are sold in more than 50 countries and territories through select department and specialty stores, Company-owned and operated retail stores, and select online stores, including Company-owned websites. Deckers Brands has a 40-year history of building niche footwear brands into lifestyle market leaders attracting millions of loyal consumers globally. To learn more about Deckers Brands, visit www.deckers.com.
Learn more about Deckers Brands
Size
4,000 employees
Market Cap
$10.4 billion
Industry
Net Income
$365.2 million
Founded
1973
5 Year Trend
+12%
Revenue
$2.3 billion
NASDAQ

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