Position Purpose:

The Home Depot is undergoing a fundamental transformation, leveraging all forms of AI from Machine Learning to Generative and Agentic to build the next generation of retail experiences for our Customers and Associates. We are seeking a visionary and highly skilled  Director – AI Solutions Lead capable of spearheading complex projects utilizing tools & platforms across that spectrum. In this pivotal role, you will help design, build, orchestrate and deploy sophisticated, multi-agent AI systems that will power our core business processes. This role requires both deep technical and retail acumen to harness AI’s power and deliver significant results for our business. You will collaborate with front line functions, product and technology teams to bring solutions to life. As a key AI leader, you will be instrumental in transforming our models and business processes into robust, reliable and adaptive production systems, and as the technology continues rapidly evolving, you will provide input to help shape Home Depot’s platforms.  

Key Responsibilities:

35% People Management & Team Leadership - Provide leadership, mentorship and coaching to direct reports and evaluate performance, execution, and contribution; Establish a clear vision for the team and influence reach with business partners; Attract, retain and develop top talent to build an effective and high performing teams; Support team in development of business knowledge and technical skills with clear plans and regular assessment of progress; Develop onboarding and training plan for both technical and soft skills that will ensure high level of capabilities within the team; Foster collaboration and alignment between different data science roles to develop a supportive and engaged team; Ensure best practices and world-class techniques are leveraged in the solutioning for business problems and future team reach; Drive team's results and celebrates accomplishments30% Data Science Advocacy - Collaborate with business leaders to align on objectives and expectations; Serve as escalation point for any issues or difficulties with specific projects or initiatives; Champion data science capabilities and new skills to continually identify ways to impact the business; Define effective metrics to understand the high level performance against business goals35% Strategy & Business Development - Leverage extensive business knowledge and relationships to seek out new business opportunities to leverage data science and advocate for team's skills; Ensure a successful operating model and cost structure for Data Science is developed and leveraged across the enterprise to standardize ROI calculations and project/team funding; Effectively develop trust and collaboration with internal customers and cross-functional teams; Support data science research and innovation efforts that can serve as competitive advantage for the enterprise; Develop an integrated data science vision and end-to-end strategy; Drive adoption of leading-edge data science techniques and methods, both predictive and prescriptive

Direct Manager/Direct Reports:

This position typically reports to Senior Director or aboveThis position has Direct Reports and manages programs

Travel Requirements:

Typically requires overnight travel less than 10% of the time.

Physical Requirements:

Most of the time is spent sitting in a comfortable position and there is frequent opportunity to move about. On rare occasions there may be a need to move or lift light articles.

Working Conditions:

Located in a comfortable indoor area. Any unpleasant conditions would be infrequent and not objectionable.

Minimum Qualifications:

Must be eighteen years of age or older.Must be legally permitted to work in the United States.

Preferred Qualifications:

A Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, or a related technical field.7+ years of professional experience in software engineering, data science, or business intelligence & analytics, with a proven track record of designing and deploying large-scale, production-grade systems.Strong expertise in building and deploying AI/ML applications, with deep proficiency in Python.Direct, hands-on experience developing agentic or generative AI applications using frameworks like Google's Agent Development Kit (ADK), LangChain, or similar.Knowledge of implementing memory and context systems for AI agents, such as Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines and vector databases.Familiarity with the Google AI ecosystem, including Vertex AI (Agent Engine, Model Garden) and large language models like the Gemini family.A strong portfolio of personal or professional projects showcasing functional AI agent systems or scalable ML infrastructure.Demonstrated experience designing and deploying large-scale, production-grade systems on cloud platforms, specifically Google Cloud Platform (GCP).Excellent analytical and systems-thinking skills, with a core focus on designing for scalability, reliability, and performance.Experience in a retail or related industry.Prior experience in managing and leading a team.

Minimum Education:

The knowledge, skills and abilities typically acquired through the completion of a bachelor's degree program or equivalent degree in a field of study related to the job.

Preferred Education:

No additional education

Minimum Years of Work Experience:

10

Preferred Years of Work Experience:

No additional years of experience

Minimum Leadership Experience:

None

Preferred Leadership Experience:

None

Certifications:

None

Competencies:

Attracts Top Talent: Attracting and selecting the best talent to meet current and future business needsBuilds Effective Teams: Building strong-identity teams that apply their diverse skills and perspectives to achieve common goalsBuilds Networks: Effectively building formal and informal relationship networks inside and outside the organizationBusiness Insight: Applying knowledge of the business and the marketplace to advance the organization's goalsCommunicates Effectively: Developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiencesDevelops Talent: Developing people to meet both their career goals and the organization's goalsDirects Work: Provides direction, delegating and removing obstacles to get work doneDrives Engagement: Creating an environment where people are motivated to do their best to help the organization achieve its objectives- Drives Vision and Purpose: Painting a compelling picture of the vision and strategy that motivates others to actionInstills Trust: Gaining the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticityInterpersonal Savvy: Relating openly and comfortably with diverse groups of peopleOrganizational Savvy: Maneuvering comfortably through complex policy, process, and people-related organizational dynamicsPersuades: Using compelling arguments to gain the support and commitment of othersStrategic Mindset: Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies