Associate Digital Innovation Project Mgr

Location

The position is based at Airbus Helicopters U.S. regional headquarters in Grand Prairie, TX (a suburb just outside the Dallas‑Fort Worth metropolitan area). The role is 90% onsite with occasional remote work.

Benefits

• Financial Rewards: Competitive base salary, incentive compensation (including profit‑sharing schemes), retirement savings plan, and participation in an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
• Work/Life Balance: Paid time off (personal time, holidays) and a generous paid parental leave program.
• Health & Welfare: Comprehensive insurance coverage (medical – traditional and high‑deductible plans, prescription, dental, vision, life, disability), Employee Assistance Plan (EAP), and other supplemental benefit coverages.

Primary Responsibilities

• Implement digital innovation projects (45%):
  • Define and scope operational needs; coordinate solution definition, execution set‑up, implementation planning, and business case development.
  • Lead planning and execution of digital innovation projects, managing schedules and budgets to ensure on‑time, on‑budget delivery of high‑quality results.
  • Monitor success and savings; ensure deployment of analytics and AI use cases in collaboration with the digital team.
  • Use data analytics to measure impact, identify successes and improvement areas, and establish performance metrics and reporting frameworks for continuous improvement.
  • Capture all Digital Innovation initiatives in the Airbus Helicopters North America (AHNA) Digital Portfolio.
• Facilitate AI use case definition & management (35%):
  • Partner with business functions to translate complex real‑world problems into clear AI project objectives.
  • Coordinate with data scientists, ML engineers, and technical teams to turn business requirements into actionable technical specifications.
  • Support the project lifecycle for AI and analytics initiatives, ensuring alignment with AI governance, budget, and timeline requirements.
  • Collaborate across multi‑functional teams—including data owners and engineers—to industrialize, deploy, and monitor models.
  • Act as primary liaison between business stakeholders and the Digital team, ensuring project goals and business impacts are achieved.
  • Stay informed on emerging AI trends to support strategic discussions and contribute to the internal Data Science community.
• Grow a digital culture at AHNA (20%):
  • Build relationships across the organization and manage stakeholder engagement.
  • Create a digital training curriculum covering emerging technologies and ensure accessibility for internal champions.
  • Organize “spotlights” on emerging technologies and ongoing activities to raise awareness within AHNA and the North American region.
  • Instill change management practices, address concerns, and inspire teams to adopt new ways of working.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience) in engineering, computer science, information systems, or a related field (minimum 4 years).
• At least 3 years of professional experience leading digital, innovation, or transformation initiatives within a complex industrial organization.
• Knowledge of IT and digital technologies and their business benefits.
• Ability to work autonomously, stay highly organized, and communicate achievements effectively.
• Strong reporting and presentation skills with executive presence for briefing internal and external leadership.
• Proficiency with Google Suite.
• U.S. citizenship or authorization to work in the U.S. without current or future visa sponsorship.

Preferred Education and Skills

• Master’s degree.
• Experience in digital transformation and developing data‑driven strategies that deliver business value.
• Background in continuous process improvement and change management.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent.
• Exposure to technical industry solutions such as MES, PLM, engineering systems, cloud, analytics, BPO, or digital services.
• Experience with outsourcing, systems integration, or cloud‑based analytics.
• Fluency in French and/or German is a plus.

Travel Requirements

Approximately 10% travel, domestic and international, as needed.

Physical Requirements

• Vision: Ability to see and read computer screens, documents, reports, and engineering drawings.
• Hearing: Ability to participate in in‑person and teleconference conversations and hear safety warnings on the production floor.
• Speaking: Ability to communicate effectively in meetings and presentations.
• Equipment operation: Ability to operate standard office and personal electronic equipment.
• Carrying/lifting: Ability to lift and carry documents, tools, drawings, and electronic equipment up to 10 lb.
• Push/pull: Ability to move small office furniture and equipment.
• Sitting/standing: Ability to sit for extended periods and stand for discussions.
• Squatting/kneeling: Ability to squat or kneel to retrieve items from low shelving.
• Walking: Ability to walk through office and production areas, including uneven surfaces.
• PPE: Steel‑toed shoes required for shop‑floor visits; hearing/eye protection may be required as appropriate.