Sr. Director, AI Architecture

Job description

Job Description Summary The AI Architect is the senior technical leader for the team building AI enabled engineering capabilities across the business organizations of an aero engine and propulsion OEM. The role sets the reference architecture, selects and sequences the use cases worth pursuing, validates feasibility through proof of concept builds, and leads and coaches the engineers who deliver them, ensuring everything the team ships is deliverable inside aerospace constraints on data, security, and export control. It pairs hands on technical ownership with the second line leadership, operating plan and budget ownership, and governance responsibilities of the Sr. Director, Architecture (SPB1) standard, with five AI Engineers, one aligned to each business, as direct reports (growing to include team leads), and the mandate to grow the function as the portfolio expands. Deep credibility in the physics and engineering of the product, turbomachinery, aerodynamics, combustion, heat transfer, structures, and materials, and a product mindset shaped by certified, safety critical hardware are core to the role; AI is applied to challenging propulsion and turbomachinery engineering problems across design, analysis, test, manufacturing, and sustainment, not treated as a specialty unto itself. Job Description In this role, you will: Lead and coordinate the technical and business discussions on future AI architectural direction across multiple teams and complex product lines, anchored to real propulsion and turbomachinery engineering problems. Analyze, design, and develop a roadmap and implementation plan for AI enabled engineering capabilities based on a current vs. future state, in a cohesive architecture viewpoint aligned to the digital thread. Review, analyze, and develop architecture at the domain level and across multiple teams, reference architectures for data pipelines, model and agent deployment, evaluation, and integration with PLM and existing simulation and analysis toolchains. Ground the reference architecture in the realities of aero engine, propulsion, and turbomachinery engineering, design, analysis (CFD, FEA, thermal and structural), test, manufacturing, and sustainment, defining how AI integrates with model based systems engineering, the digital thread, PLM, engine and rig test data, and the existing simulation toolchains. Participate in the enterprise architecture domain governance model, and define the AI governance, security, and export control posture (ITAR / export control, CMMC, RMF / ATO) so solutions are compliant by design across classified and unclassified environments. Contribute to the development of software, data, and technology platforms with reusable components across teams that can be orchestrated together, capturing reusable patterns, libraries, and reference implementations from each delivery. Lead the research and evaluation of emerging AI technology, industry, and market trends (LLM and retrieval augmented generation, vector databases, agentic orchestration) to inform development and operational support across multiple teams; run proof of concept builds to validate architectural and physical assumptions, including where physics informed or surrogate modeling of engine analysis (CFD/FEA/thermal) is appropriate versus where it is not, before committing the team. Set model and agent lifecycle practice: evaluation against engineering ground truth, versioning, monitoring, drift detection, retraining triggers, and rollback. Provide leadership, technology guidance, and mentorship throughout the domain; provide architecture direction to the embedded AI Engineers, review their designs, and remove technical blockers to keep delivery moving. Be a technical leader within the function and develop and coach the technical resources within it; serve as the single technical interface to enterprise platform, data, and security functions. Influence from a strategic and technical standpoint across the function and the business; present business and technical discipline solutions to senior leaders, communicate complex messages, and negotiate internally and with external partners, vendors, and customers to align on direction, tradeoffs, feasibility, and risk. Own and influence the budget and operating plan for the AI engineering function; provision and budget via capital and operating, and manage financials across programs and projects. Develop peer, cross functional, and cross business relationships to maximize best practice sharing and team effectiveness. Be responsible for management activities including recruiting, development, performance management, compensation, organization, and teaming. Lead the AI Engineering team, five AI Engineers, one aligned to each business, plus team leads as the function scales toward second line management, with the ability to attract, develop, and retain talent and to grow the team as the portfolio expands. Share technical, procedural, and business knowledge with others. Leverage your domain expertise to further the knowledge and improve the productivity of colleagues, creating learning content, giving presentations, and supporting a continuous learning culture. Education Qualification Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a ST M major Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) 10 years of experience, including production AI/ML systems, architecture at enterprise scale, and leadership of technical teams. Clearance: US person required; ability to obtain a US security clearance. Active clearance preferred Desired Characteristics Advanced Degree Technical Expertise Ability to consult with the business on the alignment of outcomes and desired AI technical solutions at an enterprise level. Ability to analyze, design, and develop an AI solution roadmap and implementation plan based on a current vs. future state of the business. Demonstrated architecture experience covering model training, deployment, and monitoring at enterprise scale, on a strong software engineering foundation: design patterns, APIs, integration approaches, cloud (AWS, Azure, or GCP), and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes). Hands on experience with LLM and retrieval augmented generation patterns, vector databases, and agentic orchestration frameworks. Working knowledge of configuration choices and related cost implications, compute, model hosting, and build vs. buy, and experience with complex solution configurations. Working knowledge of data engineering, data governance, and assessing data readiness for AI on messy, real engineering data. Experience sustaining operational stability through lifecycle phases (planning, implementation, steady state, decommissioning), including the model and agent (MLOps) lifecycle; ability to provision and budget via capital and operating. Experience delivering inside aerospace & defense or comparable regulated constraints: ITAR / export control, CMMC, RMF / ATO, and airgapped or impact level environments. Working fluency in the physics and engineering of aero engines and turbomachinery, aerodynamics, combustion, heat transfer, structures and rotordynamics, and materials, with the judgment to tell where a model is physically credible; familiarity with CFD, FEA, and thermal/structural simulation, engine and rig test data, surrogate and physics informed modeling, model based systems engineering, the digital thread, and PLM. Able to lead early stage interactions with domain engineering teams; guide them as they develop confidence and comfort with the approach and integrate it with their legacy tooling and investments. Leads others to find creative solutions within complex, interdependent engineering and production processes, drawing on multiple internal and external resources to evaluate conflicting information and arrive at decisions. Business Acumen Interprets internal and external business challenges and recommends best practices to improve products, processes, and services; stays informed of industry trends to inform decision making. Understands how the internal and external business model works, engine and propulsion programs, certification, and service / MRO, and facilitates active engagement. Able to articulate the value of what is most important to the business to achieve outcomes. Able to produce functional area information in sufficient detail for cross functional teams to use, applying presentation and storytelling concepts. A product mindset for safety critical, certified hardware: comfort with verification and validation, certification evidence, reliability, and the long product and service lifecycle of an engine program. Six Sigma Green Belt certification or equivalent quality certification. Leadership Demonstrated working knowledge of the internal organization. Ability to foresee obstacles, identify workarounds, leverage resources, and rally teammates. Demonstrated ability to work with and/or lead blended teams, including third party partners and customer personnel. Demonstrated change management / acceleration capabilities. Strong interpersonal skills, including creativity and curiosity, with the ability to communicate and influence effectively across all organizational levels, and to lead without direct authority. Proven analytical and problem resolution skills. Ability to attract, hire, develop, and retain talent, including building and scaling a team of senior professionals and emerging team leads. Ability to influence and build consensus with other engineering, IT, and platform teams and leadership. The base pay range for this position is $176,000-235,000. The specific pay offered may be influenced by a variety of factors, including the candidate’s experience, education, and skill set. This position is also eligible for an annual discretionary bonus based on a percentage of your base salary/ commission based on the plan. This posting is expected to close on [include anticipated date expected to close on July 10, 2026. GE Aerospace offers comprehensive benefits and programs to support your health and, along with programs like HealthAhead, your physical, emotional, financial and social wellbeing. Healthcare benefits include medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage; access to a Health Coach from GE Aerospace; and the Employee Assistance Program, which provides 24/7 confidential assessment, counseling and referral services. Retirement benefits include the GE Aerospace Retirement Savings Plan, a 401(k) savings plan with company matching contributions and company retirement contributions, as well as access to Fidelity resources and planning consultants. Other benefits include tuition assistance, adoption assistance, paid parental leave, disability insurance, life insurance, and paid time-off for vacation or illness. GE Aerospace (General Electric Company or the Company) and its affiliates each sponsor certain employee benefit plans or programs (i.e., is a “Sponsor”). Each Sponsor reserves the right to terminate, amend, suspend, replace or modify its benefit plans and programs at any time and for any reason, in its sole discretion. No individual has a vested right to any benefit under a Sponsor’s welfare benefit plan or program. This document does not create a contract of employment with any individual. This role requires access to U.S. export-controlled information. Therefore, employment will be contingent upon the ability to prove that you meet the status of a U.S. Person as one of the following: U.S. lawful permanent resident, U.S. Citizen, have been granted asylee or refugee status (i.e., a protected individual under the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)). Additional Information GE Aerospace offers a great work environment, professional development, challenging careers, and competitive compensation. GE Aerospace is an Equal Opportunity Employer . Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. GE Aerospace will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a drug screen (as applicable). Relocation Assistance Provided: Yes