Director, AI Products and Solutions

Patterson-UTI Drilling Company is seeking an experienced oil and gas drilling leader to define, develop, and drive the adoption of AI-powered products and digital solutions across drilling operations and customer workflows.

The ideal candidate will bring deep domain expertise in oil and gas drilling, gained through significant experience with an Exploration & Production (E&P) operator, drilling contractor, or drilling focused service provider. The successful candidate must understand how drilling organizations operate, how wells are planned and executed, how drilling performance is measured and improved, and how technology is evaluated, deployed, and adopted in field operations.

In addition to strong drilling domain expertise, the candidate should have a demonstrated track record of applying digital technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Generative AI (GenAI) to real world oil and gas problems and successfully moving solutions from concept and pilot through production deployment and user adoption.

Reporting to the Vice President of Digital Solutions, the Director – AI Products & Solutions will lead the AI product strategy and roadmap for Patterson-UTI Drilling Company. This individual will work directly with customers, drilling operations, performance and optimization teams, Product Management, Software Engineering, Data Engineering, Data Science, and technology partners to identify high-value opportunities and transform them into scalable products that deliver measurable operational and commercial value.

This is not primarily a Data Science or AI research position. It is a drilling domain, product, and business leadership role requiring sufficient technical depth to understand modern AI technologies and architectures and the ability to translate them into practical solutions for drilling operations and customers.

Detailed Description

• Lead the vision, strategy, roadmap, and lifecycle management of AI-enabled products supporting drilling operations, performance and optimization, equipment reliability, HSE, and customer facing digital solutions.
• Partner with drilling operations, engineering, customers, and commercial teams to identify high-value opportunities where AI, GenAI, analytics, and automation can improve operational performance and create differentiated customer value.
• Translate drilling and business challenges into product requirements, use cases, business cases, and measurable success criteria; lead solutions from concept and field trials through production deployment, commercialization, and continuous improvement.
• Define product requirements for integrating real-time and historical data from rig telemetry, drilling reports, downhole and directional services, equipment systems, HSE applications, customer systems, and third-party service providers.
• Champion the practical application and adoption of Generative AI, Computer Vision, Machine Learning, intelligent automation, AI copilots, natural language interfaces, and operational decision-support technologies within drilling workflows.
• Partner closely with Data Science, Software Engineering, and Data Engineering to integrate physics-based models, predictive analytics, AI capabilities, and operational data into secure, scalable, production-ready products.
• Evaluate emerging AI platforms, technologies, and strategic partners—including OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, cloud providers, and other technology companies—based on their ability to solve drilling and customer problems and accelerate product delivery.
• Build, lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing AI Products & Solutions team while providing leadership and prioritization across multiple concurrent product initiatives.
• Drive field deployment, change management, training, and user adoption to ensure AI-enabled products become embedded in operational and customer workflows and deliver measurable business outcomes.
• Maintain strong engagement with customers and field operations, including time at drilling rigs and customer locations, and represent Patterson-UTI in strategic customer, technology partner, and industry discussions.
• Identify opportunities to create differentiated, commercially viable AI-enabled products and services that generate new revenue, strengthen customer relationships, and enhance the value proposition of Patterson-UTI.

Job Requirements

• Deep knowledge of oil and gas drilling, with demonstrated credibility working with drilling operations, engineering, field leadership, and E&P customers.
• Proven track record identifying operational or customer challenges and deploying digital, AI, Machine Learning, or GenAI solutions that deliver measurable business value.
• Strong understanding of drilling workflows and data, including rig telemetry, downhole data, drilling reports, equipment data, and third-party service provider data.
• Demonstrated ability to translate business and operational needs into product strategies, roadmaps, requirements, and successful technology solutions.
• Proven experience leading, developing, and retaining high-performing multidisciplinary product and technical teams.
• Strong business acumen and ability to build business cases, prioritize investments, manage multiple initiatives, and influence across Operations, Engineering, Data Science, Commercial, and executive leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to translate technology and customer needs into commercially viable products, including developing business cases, defining value propositions, and driving revenue or measurable commercial value.
• Excellent communication and customer engagement skills, with a willingness to spend time at drilling rigs and customer locations to understand operational challenges and drive product adoption.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of progressive oil and gas experience, with significant experience in drilling operations, drilling technology, well construction, drilling services, or digital solutions.
• Proven industry experience with an E&P operator, drilling contractor, or drilling focused service provider, with direct exposure to drilling operations and customer workflows.
• Demonstrated track record of deploying digital, AI, Machine Learning, automation, or GenAI solutions within oil and gas and delivering measurable operational or business value.
• Experience leading technology or digital product initiatives from problem identification and business case development through deployment and user adoption.
• Strong understanding of drilling data and experience integrating operational data sources such as rig telemetry, downhole data, drilling reports, equipment data, and third-party service provider data.
• Demonstrated experience leading people and cross-functional technical teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience successfully deploying AI or GenAI solutions into drilling operations or customer workflows at scale.
• Experience developing or commercializing digital drilling, drilling optimization, automation, remote operations, or decision-support products.
• Experience with modern GenAI platforms and technologies such as OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Azure OpenAI, Amazon Bedrock, Snowflake Cortex AI, RAG, AI agents, MCP, or similar technologies.
• Experience working directly with E&P customers and strategic technology partners to define requirements, demonstrate value, and drive adoption of new technologies.
• Experience developing, launching, or commercializing digital, AI, or GenAI products that generated revenue, increased customer adoption, or created measurable commercial value within the oil and gas industry.