VP, Manufacturing & Engineering Transformation

VP, AI & Digital Thread Solutions

The VP, AI & Digital Thread Solutions at Eaton is a board-visible enterprise transformation leader accountable for connecting engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, and service through an integrated data and AI backbone that drives measurable business outcomes. This role serves as the single-threaded owner of Eaton's Digital Thread strategy, delivery, and value realization, unifying previously fragmented digital, analytics, and manufacturing intelligence capabilities into a cohesive, outcome-driven organization.

This position is responsible for a global team of 80 employees and 70 contractors through 5 direct reports, partner directly with Sector Presidents and the CIO, and be accountable to the Board of Directors and the Executive Leadership Team for enterprise outcomes that move revenue, cost, customer experience, and operational performance.

Essential Criteria:

You will lead and drive impact across the following domains:

• Define and execute Eaton's enterprise AI & Digital Thread Solutions, integrating Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, EBS, Continuous Improvement, and Manufacturing Quality to deliver a Board of Directors–level transformation program across the Electrical and Industrial Sectors
• Accountable for $150M+ in committed 2026 business value, with increasing annual targets, by converting order backlog into revenue and shipped product through targeted Data and AI investments, rigorous value realization, and strong alignment to Sector P&Ls
• Own the end-to-end Digital Thread product portfolio, including Spec Reader, Similarity Engine, Computer Vision, Shop Floor Digital Twins, Portfolio Complexity Reduction, Production Planning & Scheduling, and predictive maintenance—driving strategy, scaled deployment, adoption, and sustained business impact
• Co-chair the Executive Leadership Team AI Steering Committee, aligning Digital Thread investments with enterprise priorities and reporting progress, risks, and outcomes to the Board of Directors
• Lead and integrate the former IDM and AI organizations into a unified Digital Thread Data and AI Delivery function, establishing a cohesive operating model, talent strategy, and high-performance culture
• Design and operationalize the enterprise delivery model, including portfolio intake and prioritization, agile and DevOps execution, MLOps, value engineering, and synchronization with Sector P&L planning and SIOP cycles
• Partner with Sector Presidents and functional leaders across Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, EBS, Continuous Improvement, and Quality to co-develop a multi-year Digital Thread roadmap, embed solutions into core workflows, and drive enterprise adoption
• Establish and lead enterprise value measurement and reporting, quantifying Digital Thread impact across revenue, cost, customer experience, and operational performance for the CEO, COO, CIO, Sector Presidents, AI Steering Committee, and Board of Directors

What you will bring:

• Executive presence with a proven track record of engaging and leading at the Board and Executive Leadership Team level; adept at presenting to C-suite leaders including CEO, COO, CFO, Sector Presidents, and Board members
• Demonstrated success integrating fragmented organizations into unified, high-performing teams with aligned operating models and cohesive cultures
• Strong commercial acumen with P&L ownership mindset; skilled at linking Data and AI investments to revenue growth, cost optimization, and customer outcomes
• Extensive experience leading global teams of 100+ professionals (employees and contractors) across multiple regions and time zones
• Proven capability managing large-scale value delivery, including multi-hundred-million-dollar benefit portfolios and multi-million-dollar operating budgets
• Exceptional cross-functional influencer; aligns Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, EBS, Continuous Improvement, Quality, IT, and business leadership around a unified Digital Thread strategy
• Change leadership expert with a track record of driving adoption of Data and AI solutions across large, distributed user bases in manufacturing, distribution, and engineering environments
• Resilient and strategic operator; thrives in ambiguity, balances competing priorities, and performs effectively under executive and Board-level scrutiny while maintaining long-term delivery focus
• Strong builder of leadership talent with a history of attracting, developing, and retaining Directors and Senior Managers across Data, AI, and digital delivery functions

Technical knowledge:

• Deep expertise in Digital Thread, Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing, and connected enterprise architectures spanning Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and Quality function
• Demonstrated experience scaling enterprise Data and AI products into core operational workflows (Spec Reader / engineering content extraction, similarity and recommendation engines, Computer Vision, Digital Twins, production planning and scheduling, predictive maintenance)
• Strong command of modern data platforms (Palantir, Snowflake, Databricks, Azure, AWS), AI/ML tooling, and MLOps for classical ML, generative AI, and agentic AI at enterprise scale
• Experience integrating Engineering (PLM, CAD), Supply Chain (planning, sourcing, logistics), Manufacturing (MES, SCADA, IoT), EBS, Continuous Improvement, and Quality systems into a unified Digital Thread
• Experience with advanced artificial intelligence workflows within the Product Engineering domain (Design, 3D Based Modeling, Performance, Quality, Simulation, etc.)
• Demonstrated ability to translate Board and Executive Leadership Team strategy into multi-year delivery roadmaps, value commitments, and measurable outcomes
• Experience operating large agile and DevOps delivery organizations with mixed employee and contractor models in global locations
• Working knowledge of AI governance frameworks (NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001, EU AI Act) and global data and trade regulations (GDPR, ITAR, CMMC)
• Proven track record converting backlog and operational performance into shipped revenue, cost reduction, working capital improvement, and customer experience gains

Additional Requirements:

Experience:

• Minimum of 15 years of progressive experience leading enterprise Data, AI, and digital delivery in industrial, manufacturing, or comparable Fortune 500 environments.
• Minimum of 10 years in senior director or executive leadership roles directly accountable for multi-hundred-million-dollar P&L-linked outcomes; demonstrated history of leading cross-sector, multi-function transformation programs at Board and Executive Leadership.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Industrial Engineering, Operations Research, or related STEM discipline from accredited university; advanced degree (MBA, MS, or PhD) preferred

Location & Travel:

• This position will require up to 35% travel (Domestic & International)
• This position may sit at our offices in Beechwood, OH; Asheville, NC; Houston, TX; Pittsburg, PA; Waukesha, WI (relocation assistance offered)