Director, Digital Innovations - Contact Center AI Strategy & Operations
At GE Appliances, a Haier company, we come together to make "good things, for life." As the fastest-growing appliance company in the U.S., we're powered by creators, thinkers and makers who believe that anything is possible and that there's always a better way. We believe in the power of our people and in giving them the freedom to explore, discover, and build good things, together. The GE Appliances philosophy, backed by three simple commitments defines the way we work, invent, create, do business, and serve our communities : we come together, we always look for a better way, and we create possibilities. Interested in joining us on our journey? We are seeking an experienced and strategic Digital Innovations Director to lead the transformation of our consumer and customer support operations through AI-driven technologies, digital tools, and automation.
This leader will oversee a tech-focused organization spanning AI bot development, digital automation, and remote workforce enablementdirectly managing an IT leader, their team, and multiple AI specialists. The Director will develop and execute an enterprise AI strategy across all areas of our contact center organizationincluding Service, Home Delivery, Parts, Builder Support, Direct-to-Consumer Sales, and emerging Microenterprises. This multi-year roadmap will drive the transition from human-heavy to digital-first customer experiences, delivering millions in annualized productivity gains.
Key responsibilities include :
- Evaluating AI tools for performance, suitability, and cost efficiency.
- Managing budgets for AI implementation and operations.
- Driving measurable improvements in productivity, revenue, and owner experience.
The Director will build and lead a dedicated AI and Digital Innovation team, responsible for identifying, developing, training, and monitoring AI solutions such as virtual agents, agent assist tools, knowledge automation, generative AI applications, and digital sales assistants. This role also oversees the IT leader managing the technology enablement team, which supports remote agents (hardware logistics, headset / laptop deployment), performs light scripting and programming, manages cloud-based telephony systems, and maintains operational reporting. The ideal candidate will be a champion for AI governance and innovation within defined guardrails, collaborating closely with GE Appliances' Digital Transformation (DT) team to ensure all AI initiatives align with enterprise standards, tools, and ethical frameworks.
Relocation Assistance Available.
Location : USA, Louisville, KY
AI Strategy & Execution (40%) :
Lead the design and implementation of our AI and automation strategy within our customer service operations, supporting voice, chat, messaging, self-service, and B2B (business-to-business) channels.Develop and drive a 3 7 year AI transformation roadmap to deliver productivity goals, grow revenue, and improve owner and agent experiences.Evaluate AI platform / toolsets for efficiency and cost, then adjust our roadmap and platform / tool selections to optimize results for the contact center organization, consistent with DT-defined security protocols and any cross-functional interactions.Recommend, prove-out, and deliver changes to our contact-center AI platforms for various customer service departments to optimize productivity, revenue, and experience.Deliver millions of dollars in annualized productivity through implementation of AI and other automation strategies, transforming our human / automation mix to strongly favor automation over the roadmap timeframe.Prioritize and deliver scalable AI use cases that improve contact deflection, agent productivity, and customer satisfactionincluding virtual agents, intelligent routing, post-call summarization, and AI-powered troubleshooting assistants.Collaborate with internal product support teams to integrate product knowledge bases and warranty data into AI tools for better contextual automation.Own and manage annual operating and capital budgets for AI platforms, vendor contracts, and technology enablement initiatives.Lead vendor selection, contract negotiation, and lifecycle management in collaboration with DT, Procurement, and Legal.Act as a strategic thought partner in enterprise AI governance and serve as a senior member of the enterprise-wide AI advisory committee.AI Team Leadership (30%) :
Build and manage a high-performing team of specialists focused on LLM prompt design, conversational AI, and process automation. Scale the team size to deliver the roadmap results targets, ensuring productivity targets are met.Establish governance practices for model training, ethical use of AI, performance evaluation, and bias detection.Monitor and optimize AI solution performance using contact center KPIs such as containment rate, average handle time (AHT), first contact resolution (FCR), and CSAT.Remote Workforce Enablement (10%) :
Manage the contact center Digital Technology team, consisting of an IT leader with 15 direct reports, to meet the ongoing daily DT needs of a contact center organization.This team is responsible for remote contact center equipment logistics (laptops, phones, headsets, network support), ensuring agents are fully equipped to work efficiently from anywhere.Manage light scripting / programming resources that support workforce automation and streamline operations (e.g., automated status dashboards, form-fillers, API integrations for ticketing systems).Cross-Functional Collaboration (10%) :
Partner with DT, HR, Customer Experience, Field Service, and Warranty Operations to ensure AI solutions are secure, compliant, scalable, and enhance the end-to-end service journey.Coordinate with 3rd-party vendors and platform providers to implement and optimize technologies such as chatbots, agent-assist platforms, and knowledge tools.Serve as the primary liaison between the Contact Center and the Digital Transformation (DT) team regarding AI. Optimize the AI platform within the contact center space while ensuring AI integrations with other systems are compliant, aligned, and informed by enterprise-wide strategy.Ensure all AI implementations comply with DT-defined security frameworks and governance standards.Change Management & Adoption (10%) :
Lead organizational change efforts (change management) to ensure effective rollout and adoption of digital tools across frontline agents, team leads, and supervisors.Design training materials and workflows to support smooth integration of AI tools into the contact center ecosystem.Showcase and measure AI maturity over time by developing dashboards and scorecards aligned to adoption, usage, and impact metricssuch as automation rate, tool engagement, and business outcome improvements.What You'll Bring to Our Team :
Basic Qualifications :
Technical understanding of AI and Machine Learning : While not requiring deep expertise in every technical area, a strong grasp of AI and machine learning concepts, algorithms, and their applications is crucial for informed decision-making and effective communication with technical teams.Bachelor's or Master's degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent experience.10+ years of relevant business experience including experience in contact center operations or digital transformation, with a focus on automated customer support.3+ years leading the implementation of AI / ML solutions in customer service settingspreferably involving voice and chat automation.Strong business acumen : Understanding the business domain, identifying opportunities for AI integration that align with business goals, and demonstrating the return on investment for AI initiatives. Solid understanding of consumer / customer care metrics, operations, and tools relevant to consumer / customer product support (including field service scheduling and warranty management).Demonstrated success in building and leading cross-functional teams with both technical and operational responsibilities.Familiarity / experience with scripting (Python, JavaScript) or process automation (e.g., using RPA tools).Strategic thinker with a bias toward execution and iteration.Strong communicator across technical and non-technical stakeholders.Proven ability to act as a change agentleveraging technology to drive measurable operational improvements, customer experience gains, and team enablement.Passion for AI innovation with a track record of using automation and intelligent tools to influence business transformation.Preferred Qualifications :
Familiarity with contact center platforms (e.g., cloud telephony, Salesforce Service Cloud, Oracle) and chatbot frameworks.Experience in consumer durables, home appliances, or electronics industries.Background in remote agent workforce support, including logistics and IT coordination.Knowledge of LLM technologies, prompt engineering, and customer service chatbot design.Passion for empowering customers and frontline employees through intelligent tools and automation.Working
