Industrial Systems and AI Integration Expert

Role Description

Shape the future of Manufacturing, allowing AI systems to integrate with physical devices, including robots, vehicles, and machines, using a broad range of sensors and actuators to perceive, decide, and act in real-world environments. A Senior Director serves as a leader within Gartner’s Business and Technology Insights sector, establishing credibility at local, regional, and global levels. They produce pragmatic and provocative research that clients use to advance key objectives and act as trusted advisors through client interactions, meetings, briefings, and conference engagements.

What you will do:

• Create innovative, thought-provoking, highly leveraged research content for Manufacturing CIOs and AI Leaders, their teams, and stakeholders.
• Develop new research ideas and offer actionable approaches to client needs.
• Analyze client challenges to identify root causes and reframe thinking.
• Demonstrate thought leadership around the future of manufacturing; ecosystems, geopolitics, technologies, vendors, and the regulations impacting it; the role of data; required business capabilities; and help shape research positions across analyst teams.
• Research and predict manufacturing market vendors and trends to provide actionable insights, e.g. Magic Quadrants, Critical Capabilities, Strategic Roadmaps.
• Assist Manufacturers in their digitalization and AI Journeys by providing guidance on readiness, strategy, use case prioritization, business case, architecture, design, and vendor selection.
• Bring independent insights that influence research agendas and help clients make informed, unbiased decisions.
• Collaborate with Team Managers and Research Cohort Leads to align stakeholders and drive high-impact outcomes.
• Pivot into adjacent research areas as client demand evolves and boundaries between industries and technologies blur.
• Provide actionable client advice via virtual or in-person interactions.
• Create and deliver high-value presentations for Gartner events and client briefings.
• Support Research and Sales by representing the voice of the market and driving client engagement.
• Peer-review research content to ensure quality and timeliness.
• Build credibility as an industry expert representing Gartner research and methodology.
• Participate in innovation and research discussions with peers.
• Identify and improve research processes.
• Mentor and coach junior team members.
• Be client-centric and encourage regular engagement with Gartner research.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in Manufacturing IT, with deep expertise in manufacturing core systems and preferably deterministic, production-grade AI use cases.
• Proven background in the design, deployment, and integration of:
  • Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), including orchestration of shop-floor processes.
  • IIoT (Industrial IoT).
  • Enterprise integrations across MES, ERP, Data Warehouses, PLM, and Quality systems.
  • Deterministic AI and analytics applications in manufacturing, including:
    • Decision-support systems.
    • Rules-based optimization and scheduling.
    • Domain-specific large models (DSLMs) applied to manufacturing operations.
    • Computer vision for quality inspection and defect detection.
    • Edge computing architectures enabling low-latency, high-reliability manufacturing use cases.
    • Robotics and automation integration within controlled, safety-critical manufacturing environments.
    • Analysis and improvements of manufacturing/operations data using AIoT, Data Platforms, Digital Twins/Threads.
• Deep knowledge of the competitive global landscape of the industrial and AI SW and service market.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; graduate degree preferred.
• Executive presence and ability to establish credibility quickly.
• Strong collaboration and organizational skills.
• High-quality research, writing, analytical, and presentation skills.
• Ability to explain complex concepts simply.
• Comfort presenting to internal and external clients at various scales.
• Strong business and financial acumen.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a multicultural environment.
• Learning agility and ability to navigate matrixed environments.
• Ability to represent Gartner’s research methodology effectively.
• Willingness to travel up to 25%.

Benefits

• World-class benefits.
• Highly competitive compensation.
• Disproportionate rewards for top performers.
• Flexible hybrid work environment.
• Generous PTO.
• 401k match up to $7,200 per year.
• Opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount.