Facility: 1800 Parkway Center

Job Summary:

The Exec Director of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Wellstar Health System will provide strategic leadership, oversight, and operational management for AI-driven initiatives across Wellstar domains. This role is responsible for developing and executing Wellstar's AI strategy, ensuring AI solutions align with Wellstar's mission, regulatory standards, ethical frameworks, and digital transformation goals.

The Exec Director of AI will lead the AI Operations team in the AI Center of Excellence (COE) at Wellstar, collaborating with executive leadership, data science teams, clinicians, engineering, compliance, and external partners to support and advance AI capabilities at Wellstar. The role will oversee AI governance, risk management, deployment, and optimization efforts to ensure AI adoption is safe, effective, and sustainable.

The ideal candidate is a proven leader in AI strategy and implementation within healthcare, with expertise in machine learning, data science, AI governance, and compliance. They must possess strong leadership skills to drive AI adoption, risk mitigation, and stakeholder engagement across the organization.

Core Responsibilities and Essential Functions:

• Develop and execute Wellstars enterprise AI strategy, ensuring alignment with clinical, operational, and financial priorities.
• Oversee AI evaluation and risk assessments to ensure safe and equitable AI use at Wellstar.
• Work with the AI Center of Excellence (AI COE) and AI Governance Council at Wellstar to establish policies, governance models, and compliance monitoring strategies.
• Partner with IT, data science teams, and AI architects to build scalable AI infrastructure and MLOps capabilities.
• Build, mentor, and manage a high-performing AI team, including data scientists, ML engineers, AI ethicists, and domain SMEs.
• Engage with regulatory agencies, legal teams, and external auditors to ensure compliance with emerging AI regulations.
• Drive a culture of responsible AI innovation, balancing technological advancement with risk mitigation.
• Performs other duties as assigned
• Complies with all Wellstar Health System policies, standards of work, and code of conduct.

Required Minimum Education:

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or related is required.
• Masters Artificial Intelligence is preferred
• Doctorate Artificial Intelligence is preferred

Required Minimum Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years experience in technical roles such as engineering, architecture, or product development with a focus on automation or artificial intelligence is required.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in technology leadership roles with a preference in driving automation and human-computer interaction initiatives is required.
• Minimum of 3 years experience of hands-on experience with machine learning and AI algorithms is required.
• Experience in developing, deploying, and managing AI-driven solutions in clinical and operational settings is required.
• Strong knowledge of healthcare data (EHR, claims, imaging, genomics, population health data) and interoperability standards (FHIR, HL7, DICOM, etc.) is required.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional technical and non-technical teams is required.
• Experience in risk assessment, bias mitigation, and AI governance frameworks is required.
• Demonstrated ability to work with C-suite executives, clinical leadership, IT, compliance, and legal teams to align AI initiatives with business and regulatory priorities is required.
• Experience working with large-scale healthcare AI projects, including predictive analytics, clinical decision support, automation, and natural language processing (NLP) is preferred.
• Knowledge of HIPAA, HITECH, FDA AI/ML regulatory frameworks, ISO/IEC 42001, and AI governance best practices (e.g., NIST, WHO AI ethics, IEEE AI standards) is preferred.
• Experience managing AI risk assessments, bias audits, and explainability models is preferred.
• Familiarity with cloud-based AI platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud AI) and AI deployment best practices (MLOps, CI/CD for AI, model monitoring, retraining strategies) is preferred.
• Strong experience in change management, AI adoption strategies, and training programs for AI literacy in healthcare organizations is preferred.
• Ability to translate complex AI concepts into clear, strategic recommendations for non-technical stakeholders, including clinicians and executives is preferred.