Director, AI Product Management

BUILD A BETTER CAREER WITH MSC

Serving customers and our community starts with the best people doing their best work. That is precisely what we have created at MSC Industrial Supply Co. We are a leading North American distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO), products and services. We offer more than 2 million products and have over 80 years of experience across dozens of industries. We aim to execute our Built to Make You Better brand promise for all our stakeholders, including our associates.

Requisition ID :21723

Employment Type :Full Time

Job Category :Digital/IT

Work Location :Davidson, NC (CSC)

BRIEF POSITION SUMMARY:

At MSC, we need a single, prioritized view of where AI will create value and a disciplined way to decide how AI will fit into business processes. The Director, AI Product Management owns the enterprise AI roadmap and the AI use-case portfolio and is accountable for turning business demand into a sequenced set of 3rd party AI products, agent workflows, and vendor solutions with clear business cases and measurable outcomes.

This position partners closely with business leaders, Finance, Procurement, Legal, Cybersecurity, Technology, and Data to run intake and prioritization, vet AI vendors, and design orchestrated processes that combine people, systems, and agents. The role works hand in hand with the Director, AI Governance & Operations, who owns controls, evaluation, and value tracking after implementation.

The Director, AI Product Management acts as the single owner of what gets done and why. This leader brings structure to AI demand, makes clear build-versus-buy and platform decisions and ensures every AI investment is tied to a documented business requirement, a named business owner, and a defined measure of success.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop, maintain, and communicate the enterprise AI roadmap in alignment with the enterprise business systems and AI roadmap owned by the VP, Business Systems & AI Strategy.
• Own the AI use-case portfolio, including intake, assessment, prioritization, and sequencing based on business value, feasibility, data readiness, adoption readiness, risk, and support needs.
• Build business cases with Business Partners and functional leaders, defining baseline metrics, value assumptions, success criteria, and target outcomes before work begins.
• Lead buy-versus-configure-versus-build decisions, recommending whether each use case should be sourced from a specialized 3rd Party Tool, delivered through an existing platform, or built in house.
• Own platform decisions for agentic capabilities within enterprise applications, including the evaluation and use of Salesforce Agentforce and similar embedded agent offerings.
• Lead AI vendor vetting, including market scans, capability assessments, demonstrations, pilots, and proof-of-concepts, in partnership with Procurement, Legal, Cybersecurity, and AI Governance & Operations.
• Manage the portfolio of specialized AI solutions the Company buys, including business ownership, roadmap alignment, performance expectations, service reviews, and renewal recommendations.
• Partner with BPE for process orchestration: map current-state processes, design future-state workflows that combine people, systems, and agents, and define hand-offs, decision points, and human-in-the-loop controls.
• Define agent workflows and requirements, including the scope of autonomy, tools and data each agent may use, escalation paths, and how agent performance will be measured.
• Set and maintain enterprise automation patterns that guide when to use rules-based automation, RPA, workflow tools, AI assistants, or autonomous agents.
• Ensure business and functional requirements are clearly defined, documented, and validated before solution design and implementation.
• Run portfolio reviews with business leaders to decide whether pilots and solutions should be expanded, modified, paused, or retired based on results.
• Partner with AI Governance & Operations to ensure every use case is registered in the AI inventory, risk-tiered, and reviewed through appropriate governance routines.
• Lead and develop AI product managers and AI business analysts, establishing consistent product management practices across the AI portfolio.
• Communicate roadmap status, trade-offs, and portfolio value to the VP, Business Systems & AI Strategy, the Executive Leadership Team, and business stakeholders.
• Fosters the MSC Culture in the department and throughout the company to ensure fulfillment of MSC's vision and unity of purpose.
• Participation in special projects and performs additional duties as required

QUALIFICATIONS

What You Need:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Information Systems, Engineering, Operations, or related discipline required. Advanced degree preferred.
• A minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in product management, business systems, digital transformation, or technology strategy, including at least 3 years leading product managers or analysts, required.
• Demonstrated experience owning a roadmap or portfolio for AI, automation, or enterprise software products required.
• Working knowledge of generative AI, agents, workflow automation, and responsible AI practices, with enough hands-on fluency to evaluate solutions and challenge vendor claims, required.
• Experience leading vendor evaluations, pilots, and build-versus-buy decisions in partnership with Procurement, Legal, and Security required.
• Experience with business process mapping and redesign.
• Experience with Salesforce, or other major enterprise platforms preferred.
• Experience defining agent success metrics, evaluation criteria, and human-in-the-loop controls preferred.
• Strong business case development, financial acumen, and prioritization skills required.
• Strong facilitation, executive communication, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to say no and explain why, required.

Bonus Points If You Have:

• Experience leading enterprise AI, automation, or digital transformation portfolios at scale.
• Hands-on experience with agent-based platforms, including Salesforce Agentforce, Microsoft Copilot, or similar technologies.
• Experience implementing AI governance, responsible AI, or AI risk management frameworks.
• Lean, Six Sigma, Product Management, or Agile/Scrum certification.
• Experience designing and optimizing cross-functional business processes and operating models.
• Knowledge of data science, machine learning, analytics, or advanced data platforms.
• Experience presenting AI strategies, investment recommendations, and business outcomes to executive leadership or board.

Other Requirements:

• A valid driver's license may be required.
• Position requires up to 20% of travel
• This position may require access to International Traffic in Arms Regulations Information (“ITAR”) and/or Controlled Unclassified Information (“CUI”)

*INDICATES ESSENTIAL DUTIES

To perform this job successfully an associate must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of knowledge, experience level and abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties.

Compensation starting at $146,000 - $229,350 depending on candidate location and experience.

The salary range represented is based on similar roles in comparable industries, and the cost of labor in respective cities. Actual compensation is based on the candidate's relevant experience, education requirements and peer pay equity. The Company reserves the right to modify the range as market conditions change.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa for this position at this time.

This job posting will remain open for a minimum of 3 business days from the original posting date or longer as needed to fill the position.

WHY MSC?

People. Collaboration. Insight. That's how you build something that works. Built on a foundation of trust, MSC works side by side with our customers to help them drive business results. With more than one million product offerings and 80+ years of experience across industries, MSC strives to help our customers achieve greater productivity, profitability, and growth through inventory management and other innovative supply chain solutions. We care about our associates and have programs in place to help our 6,500+ team members achieve their potential.

OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU

Our associates are our top priority and investing in their well-being is one way we execute our Built to Make You Better brand promise. Alongside competitive pay, we have a comprehensive benefits program to support you and your family's health, well-being and financial future. We offer dynamic healthcare plans, generous 401K and stock purchasing programs, tuition reimbursement opportunities, and paid time away for holidays, vacations, and illness. Visit our page for a better look at our extensive benefits: Your Future Benefits.

You will also have the opportunity to join our Associate Inclusion Circles: Women, Pride, Black, Generational, Veterans, HOLA, and Able. These circles are open to all associates and are designed to promote awareness, collaboration, and respect.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT

At MSC, we are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all qualified applicants and our associates without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, sexual orientation or any category protected by applicable law. Accommodation requests can be made at any stage of the recruitment process; applicants are asked to make their needs/requirements known.

Please note that MSC uses electronic monitoring and system logs in its workplace, including monitoring of Company-provided systems and collaboration tools, as permitted by applicable law.