Director, AI Changemaker - People & Culture

SharkNinja is a global product design and technology company, with a diversified portfolio of 5-star rated lifestyle solutions that positively impact people’s lives in homes around the world. Powered by two trusted, global brands, Shark and Ninja, the company has a proven track record of bringing disruptive innovation to market and developing one consumer product after another has allowed SharkNinja to enter multiple product categories, driving significant growth and market share gains. Headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts with more than 4,100 associates, the company’s products are sold at key retailers, online and offline, and through distributors around the world.

About the Role

The Director, AI Change Maker is a high-impact, strategic / doer role at the intersection of People and Culture. The successful candidate will operate as a player/coach, co-leading both the strategy and the hands-on project management execution of AI integration and work reimagination across SharkNinja – from hire to retire, service delivery, and enterprise storytelling. This role will be the connective tissue that carries AI forward in SharkNinja’s ways of working in all areas of the company.

You will build the data foundation, deploy AI capabilities, and transform workflows so that SharkNinja’s People & Culture organization operates faster, smarter, and delivers greater impact enterprise-wide. The Director, AI Change Maker carries a dual mandate: drive the current portfolio of AI initiatives to measurable completion, and partner directly with P&C leadership to shape what comes next. You are here to build the AI capability and solutions that transform how People & Culture (P&C) works -- today and in the future. You will be measured on adoption, speed, and measurable business impact.

Reports to: VP, Chief of Staff to the CEO (dotted line to EVP, Chief People Officer).

Responsibilities

• AI-led Org Transformation
  • Co-own the AI transformation roadmap across the full P&C function, identifying overlaps, dependencies, and consolidation opportunities.
  • Deploy work-reimagination and skills-mapping platforms to enable smarter workforce deployment across P&C and the enterprise.
  • Build and scale AI coaching tools for managers, enabling always-on development support, real-time feedback, and career pathing at a fraction of the cost of external coaching tools.
  • Build enterprise AI capability programs, run cross-functional sprints, and embed new ways of working at scale.
  • Sequence and prioritize ruthlessly: act as PMO to drive each initiative to completion before starting the next, unless directed otherwise.
  • Leverage employee-first HR technology (e.g., Oracle, Greenhouse, Lattice).
• Enterprise Storytelling
  • Work with enterprise storytelling and communications teams to build AI-augmented content production models, shifting from fully human time-consuming workflows to a majority-AI speed and high-quality production model.
  • Build agents and AI-powered workflows that turn company moments into internal stories in near real-time (e.g., newsletters, town hall recaps, and internal posts drafted and published in hours, not days).
• Talent Access (Hiring) & Service Delivery
  • Deploy AI agents, automations, and workflows that augment service-level tasks across P&C (e.g., scheduling, sourcing, onboarding, content production, information gathering, and sharing).
  • Accelerate candidate sourcing and scheduling through AI agents, compressing time-to-fill and widening the funnel while reducing coordinator dependency.
  • Shift P&C to a customer-centric service delivery model with easily accessible key information (e.g., benefits, retirement, policy, personal info, manager tools, etc.).
• Team Building & Change Management
  • Drive hands-on AI adoption into the P&C organization.
  • Change work for the future, not just execute on change management.
  • Drive change management across large, global workforces with varying levels of AI fluency.
  • Translate complex AI capabilities into practical, adoptable solutions.
  • Establish success metrics, track adoption, and report measurable outcomes to executive leadership.
  • Champion a culture of experimentation: fast iteration, learning from failure, and scaling what works.

Requirements

• 8+ years in AI/ML, HR transformation, talent operations, or technology-driven change management.
• Strong technical fluency in AI/ML: ability to evaluate tools, assess platforms, and collaborate effectively with engineers and data scientists.
• Deep understanding of enterprise HR operations (talent access, talent experience, HR service delivery, people analytics) and how AI reshapes HR work.
• Proven track record leading large-scale transformation in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
• Ability to bridge technical and business: translate IT requirements into business outcomes and vice versa.
• Decisive, action-oriented, and comfortable in ambiguity where speed matters more than perfection.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience deploying AI across HR or talent functions at scale, not just pilots.
• Experience producing AI prototypes from proof-of-concept to enterprise-grade tools.
• Familiarity with skills-based organization design, workforce reimagination platforms, or RPO/CLM-style vendor models.

Additional Requirements

• Some travel needed (domestic and international).
• On-site at Boston HQ or New York office full-time.

Why This Role Matters

SharkNinja's CEO has made AI transformation a top company priority. People & Culture is where that transformation becomes both an internal proof point and the model for every other function: faster hiring, always-on coaching, leaner service delivery, and capacity redirected to the work that matters most. Multiple projects are already underway. What is missing is the person who owns the full picture, drives each one to the finish line, and ensures P&C doesn’t just adopt AI—it becomes the blueprint for how the rest of the enterprise works differently.

Pay

Pay Range: $184,200—$270,100 USD

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts (HSA) with company contribution.
• 401(k) retirement plan with matching.
• Employee stock purchase program.
• Life insurance, AD&D, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance.
• Generous paid time off, company holidays, and parental leave.
• Identity theft protection and pet insurance.
• Pre-paid legal insurance.
• Back-up child and eldercare days.
• Product discounts and referral bonus program.

Our Culture

At SharkNinja, we don’t just raise the bar—we push past it every single day. Our Outrageously Extraordinary mindset drives us to tackle the impossible, push boundaries, and deliver results that others only dream of. If you thrive on breaking out of your swim lane, you’ll be right at home.

What We Offer

• Competitive health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, and employee stock purchase options.
• Wellness programs and SharkNinja product discounts.
• High-impact Learning Programs featuring bold voices redefining what’s possible.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At SharkNinja, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vital to our global success. Valuing each unique voice and blending all of our diverse skills strengthens SharkNinja’s innovation every day. We support ALL associates in bringing their authentic selves to work, making an impact, and having the opportunity for career acceleration. With help from our leadership, associates, and our community, we aim to have equity be a key component of the SharkNinja DNA.