Sr Director, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer

Requisition ID: 108968

Share Our Purpose. Be Yourself. Feel Valued.

People are the heart of our business. As an American Water employee, you will be offered a competitive salary and health benefits package, along with opportunities to develop, grow, and evolve your career. Our benefits packages focus on key areas such as health & wellness, emotional & well-being, and savings for current & future goals.

We are Beautifully Different. We strongly believe having diversity across our company makes us more successful and helps us provide essential services to our customers. We are stronger because we embrace different ideas, viewpoints, experiences, and backgrounds. American Water is the best choice for your next role! Click here for more information on our inclusion, diversity, and equity journey.

About American Water

American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States. With a history dating back to 1886, We Keep Life Flowing® by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people across 14 regulated jurisdictions and 18 military installations. American Water’s 6,500 talented professionals leverage their significant expertise and the company’s national size and scale to achieve excellent outcomes for the benefit of customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders.

As one of the fastest growing utilities in the U.S., American Water expects to invest $40 to $42 billion in infrastructure repairs and replacement, system resiliency and regulated acquisitions over the next 10 years. The company has a long-standing history of executing its core operations, aligned with sustainable best practices, through its commitments to safety, affordability, customer service, protecting the environment, an inclusive workforce and strengthening communities.

American Water has been recognized on the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for the fifth consecutive year, ranked 18th on Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies 2023 List, earned the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act designation and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense® Excellence Award, among additional state, local and national recognitions.

For more information, visit amwater.com and join American Water on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Primary Role

The Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO) is a strategic leadership role responsible for creating and managing enterprise-wide artificial intelligence (AI) program, including developing and implementing governance and oversite of development and implementation of all AI initiatives. This role ensures the effective use of data as a strategic asset, driving innovation through AI, GenAI, machine learning and modern technology solutions to optimize operational efficiency, enhance customer experience, and drive innovation within the utility sector. The CAIO aligns data and AI strategies with business and technology objectives, fostering a data-driven culture, and ensuring ethical, compliant, and impactful deployment of AI technologies across the organization to support the company’s focus of delivering highquality, safe, and reliable water and wastewater services.

Key Accountabilities

- Develop and execute the organization’s AI strategy, ensuring high-quality, secure, and value-added AI program and use cases.

- Lead the deployment of AI and machine learning solutions to enhance business processes, products, and services.

- Establish data governance frameworks, policies, and standards for the AI program to ensure data integrity, privacy, and compliance with regulatory and risk requirements.

- Drive innovation by identifying opportunities for AI to create and drive value.

- Collaborate with executive leadership to integrate AI initiatives into overall business strategy.

- Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing AI team.

- Design and develop AI organization and operating model, including but not limited to center of excellence (CoE) constructs

- Manage relationships with external partners, vendors, standards bodies and research institutions to stay at the forefront of AI advancements.

- Monitor and evaluate emerging data and AI technologies and methodologies for potential adoption.

- Ensure ethical AI practices, addressing bias, transparency, and accountability.

- Contribute to and lead the delivery of business and technology transformation programs

- Develop and manage AI KPIs/OKRs and lead monthly reviews with executive leadership to align on value and future needs

- Report on AI initiatives’ performance, impact, and ROI to stakeholders.

Knowledge/Skills

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Skills:

Role Specific:

- Proven expertise in AI, GenAI, machine learning, deep learning, and related technologies.

- Knowledge of data privacy laws, regulations in the utilities industry, and ethical AI principles.

- Awareness of industry standards, trends and emerging AI innovations.

- Understanding of utilities business operations and strategic planning

- Experience with multi-functional, multi-phase transformation programs

- Strong cross-functional leadership

- Presents in an organized manner

- Ability to develop a strategy and set a vision, and be seen as a thought leader

- Confident in presenting to the ELT and the Board of Directors

Self-Management:

- Delegates to team members well

- Entrepreneurial spirit Strong adherence to deadlines and commitments

- Willing to hold others accountable who are not in line of reporting

- Strategic thinker

Skills:

- Strategic thinking and vision setting.

- Exceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.

- Ability to translate complex technical concepts into business language.

- Ethical judgment and integrity in AI deployment.

- Project management expertise with a focus on large-scale enterprise initiatives.

- Innovation mindset with a continuous learning approach.

- Good presentation skills engaging a variety of audiences from the frontlines to the ELT.

- Highest personal and professional integrity and strong work ethic.

- Ability to articulate vision of transformation efforts and a sense of mission.

- Demonstrated ability to manage adversity and challenging situations.

- Ability to manage senior relationships across all the Business and Functional areas.

- Effectiveness in building trust, respect, and cooperation among teams.

Experience/Education

- Proven experience (15+ years) in data management, analytics, and AI development. - Demonstrated success (5+ years) in leading cross-functional teams and managing large-scale data and AI projects.

- Track record of deploying AI solutions that deliver measurable business value.

- Experience working with regulatory compliance related to data and AI.

- Experience working with technology ecosystem vendors (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google, Snowflake, Databricks, others)

- Prior experience in utilities or understanding of the utilities industry is preferred.

- Master’s or Doctorate degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or related fields.

- Additional certifications in Data Management, AI, or related areas (e.g., Certified Data Management Professional, AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty).

Certifications & Licenses

Certified Data Management Professional

Travel Requirements

As necessary

Work Environment

Primarily in an office environment

Competencies

Drives Safety Culture

Drives Vision & Purpose

Strategic & Learning Agility

Political & Organizational Savvy

Builds Effective Teams & Network

Situational Adaptability

Persuades

Join American Water...We Keep Life Flowing™

American Water is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and prohibits employment discrimination for employees and applicants based on his or her age, race, color, pregnancy, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, marital status, citizenship, or because they are an individual with a disability, protected veteran or other status protected by federal, state, and local laws.