Director, AI Accelerator

Locations: North Brunswick, New Jersey, United States; Raritan, New Jersey, United States of America. Job Function: Procurement; Sub Function: Category; Category: People Leader.

About the role

Johnson & Johnson is recruiting for a Director, AI Accelerator within the MedTech Supply Chain Procurement Center of Excellence. The Center of Excellence strengthens procurement capabilities through clear process ownership, trusted data and digital products, scalable execution, and responsible adoption of artificial intelligence. The Director, AI Accelerator is responsible for identifying, prioritizing, designing, and scaling AI-enabled solutions that improve procurement decisions and productivity. The role owns the AI opportunity and use-case backlog, develops approved AI capabilities including agents, models, prompts, and orchestration, and ensures solutions are integrated into the broader digital blueprint. This leader works within defined process, data, security, and governance requirements and partners closely with Global Process Owners and Data Product Owners to translate validated business needs into measurable, adoptable solutions.

Role mandate: Improve decisions and productivity through responsible AI, automation, and agents, while building only against approved processes and validated data.

Responsibilities

• Build and execute the MTSCP Procurement AI acceleration strategy and roadmap, aligned with business priorities and the digital blueprint.
• Own and manage the AI opportunity and use-case backlog, including intake, value hypothesis, prioritization, sequencing, dependencies, and transparent status reporting.
• Partner with Business Unit Procurement, Global Process Owners, and Data Product Owners to define business problems, affected users, expected value, acceptance criteria, and data readiness before development begins.
• Design and deliver approved AI solutions, agents, model and prompt approaches, workflow automation, controls, monitoring, and orchestration for priority Procurement use cases.
• Lead rapid experimentation and prototyping for future-of-work opportunities, converting successful concepts into scalable, supportable solutions with appropriate delivery partners.
• Ensure AI solutions are developed against approved processes and validated data, with documented testing, approvals, release decisions, and clear separation between builder and approver responsibilities.
• Coordinate AI solution alignment with MedTech Supply Chain Digital, JJT, and the MedTech Wizard framework, including integration into the broader digital and data ecosystem.
• Establish reusable standards, playbooks, patterns, and governance for use-case intake, prompt and agent design, evaluation, deployment, monitoring, and continuous improvement.
• Monitor adoption, accuracy, automation rate, hours saved, decision impact, and realized value; translate performance insights into a prioritized improvement backlog.
• Identify and manage solution risks related to data quality, privacy, security, compliance, reliability, bias, explainability, and human oversight in partnership with the appropriate control owners.
• Lead stakeholder engagement, demonstrations, and executive updates that make AI opportunities, tradeoffs, progress, and business value clear to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Enable adoption through practical training, coaching, reusable assets, and communities of practice, in partnership with the Global Process Owner who leads process change management and communications.
• Manage relationships with AI delivery partners and internal technology teams, setting clear requirements, delivery expectations, quality standards, and handoffs.
• Develop team and organizational capabilities in AI product thinking, responsible experimentation, prompt and agent design, value realization, and outcome-based delivery.
• Maintain clear role boundaries: the AI Accelerator does not independently redefine procurement processes, source data, approve its own production release, or make supplier or business award decisions.

Key partnerships and handoffs

• Global Process Owner (GPO): Confirms the current process, controls, risk implications, and any approved change to the standard process; validates process effectiveness and leads change management and adoption.
• Data Product Owner (DPO): Validates data definitions, availability, quality, security, and platform dependencies; confirms technical performance and usability and coordinates digital integration.
• Business Unit Procurement: Owns the business requirement, business outcome, supplier decisions, and adoption within the business.
• MedTech Supply Chain Digital, JJT, GCC, and delivery partners: Support architecture, engineering, platform, integration, scalable execution, and ongoing solution support within approved governance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, Supply Chain, Procurement, Business Administration, Information Systems, or a related field is required; an advanced degree is preferred.
• Minimum of eight (8) years of relevant experience in AI, digital products, analytics, automation, procurement, supply chain, technology, or business transformation is required.
• Experience leading AI, analytics, automation, or digital product initiatives from use-case definition through testing, deployment, adoption, and value realization is required.
• Demonstrated knowledge of generative AI concepts, agents, prompt design, model evaluation, workflow orchestration, and human-in-the-loop controls is strongly preferred.
• Experience working with enterprise data, digital platforms, product roadmaps, backlogs, and cross-functional technology delivery teams is required.
• Understanding of responsible AI, data privacy, information security, compliance, model risk, monitoring, and governance principles is required.
• Procurement and/or supply chain experience, including familiarity with category strategy, sourcing, contracting, supplier relationship management, risk, resilience, or operational supply management, is preferred.
• Strong leadership, influencing, collaboration, and executive communication/presentation skills are required.
• Ability to translate business needs into clear solution requirements and to communicate technical topics in a practical, outcome-oriented manner is required.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, product management, and change leadership capabilities are required.
• Ability to influence stakeholders and coordinate large, matrixed, global, and virtual teams is required.
• Fluent English, written and spoken, with strong facilitation and communication skills is required.

Success measures

• Adoption and active use of deployed AI capabilities
• Solution accuracy, reliability, and effectiveness
• Automation rate and measurable hours saved
• Decision impact and realized business value
• Quality and velocity of the prioritized AI backlog
• Compliance with approved process, data, security, and release controls

Skills

• Business Data Analysis
• Business Savvy
• Category Management Strategy
• Compliance Management
• Contract Management
• Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA)
• Critical Thinking
• Developing Others
• Inclusive Leadership
• Leadership
• Market Savvy
• Negotiation
• New Program Development
• Performance Measurement
• Procurement Policies
• Relationship Building
• Risk Management
• Spend Analysis
• Strategic Thinking
• Succession Planning
• Supplier Collaboration
• Sustainable Procurement
• Vendor Selection

Pay

Anticipated base pay range: $150,000.00 - $258,750.00. This position is eligible to participate in the Company's long-term incentive program.

Benefits

Subject to the terms of their respective plans, employees are eligible to participate in the Company's consolidated retirement plan (pension) and savings plan (401(k)).

• Vacation – 120 hours per calendar year
• Sick time – 40 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Colorado – 48 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Washington – 56 hours per calendar year
• Holiday pay, including Floating Holidays – 13 days per calendar year
• Work, Personal and Family Time – up to 40 hours per calendar year
• Parental Leave – 480 hours within one year of the birth/adoption/foster care of a child
• Bereavement Leave – 240 hours for an immediate family member; 40 hours for an extended family member per calendar year
• Caregiver Leave –