Director, AI Center of Excellence

About Instructure

At Instructure, we believe in the power of people to grow and succeed throughout their lives. Our goal is to amplify that power by creating intuitive products that simplify learning and personal development, facilitate meaningful relationships, and inspire people to go further in their education and careers. We achieve this by giving smart, creative, passionate people opportunities to create awesome.

About the Role

We are establishing an AI Center of Excellence and are looking for a Director, AI Transformation to lead this critical initiative. You will own the system that makes Instructure an AI-native company, encompassing shared infrastructure, governance, a cross-functional roadmap, and a clear, honest read on impact. You will partner with leaders across every function to evolve AI from scattered pilots into a robust, continuously improving capability. This role reports directly to the SVP, Data.

Our mission for this team is simple: make Instructure the most operationally capable AI-native company in education — transforming every function and team into a system that gets smarter and faster every quarter.

What You Will Be Doing

• Build the Foundation: Stand up and run the shared AI infrastructure, including integrations, data boundaries, the approved-model registry, and a standard AI stack with single sign-on and data-loss prevention that every function can build upon.
• Set the Guardrails: Charter and run the governance council, implementing the security, privacy, approval, and quality monitoring necessary for teams to move fast without creating undue risk.
• Own the Roadmap: Define AI COE priorities in close collaboration with other departments.
• Prove the Impact: Define standard metrics for cost, throughput, and quality, and report progress through the AI efficiency scorecard.
• Build Capability: Create centralized training libraries and enablement programs in partnership with the HR team, establishing a platform for teams to share best practices for company-wide benefit.
• Lead the Operating Model: Implement a centralized-expertise, decentralized-execution model where the Center of Excellence owns the system, and functions own the outcomes.
• Build and Grow the Team: Hire, coach, and develop the Center of Excellence team, including forward-deployed AI engineers, admins, and other specialists.

What You Need to Know and Have

• Experience: 12 or more years of experience in technology, data, or product roles, including 5 or more years leading teams, with a track record of delivering measurable operational impact at scale – not just pilots.
• AI/ML Expertise: 2 or more years working directly with AI or machine-learning systems, including hands-on familiarity with modern AI tooling, agentic systems, and large language models.
• Infrastructure Acumen: Deep understanding of the infrastructure, data, and security required for production AI, including model registries, integrations, single sign-on, and data-loss prevention.
• Governance Instincts: Proven ability to set guardrails for security, privacy, and quality that accelerate teams rather than slow them down.
• Influencing Skills: Demonstrated ability to influence across an organization, from individual contributors to executives, and to build coalitions in a decentralized operating model.
• Data-Driven Mindset: A bias for clear metrics and honest reporting, measuring what matters and communicating progress transparently.
• Enablement Experience: Experience building enablement and training programs that effectively change how people work.
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical topics clearly to non-technical audiences.
• Education: A bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, data, business, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. An advanced degree is a plus.

Benefits

Get in on all the awesome at Instructure! We offer competitive, meaningful benefits in every country where we operate. While they vary by location, here's a general idea of what you can expect:

• Compensation & Ownership: Competitive compensation, plus all full-time employees participate in our ownership program – because everyone should have a stake in our success.
• Flexible Work: Flexible work culture with remote, hybrid, and in-office collaboration spaces varying by role, team, and location.
• Generous Time Off: Including local holidays and our annual “Dim the Lights” period in late December, encouraging teams to step back and recharge based on departmental needs.
• Wellness: Comprehensive wellness programs and mental health support.
• Learning & Development: Resources including professional development tools and tuition reimbursement to support your growth.
• Tools & Technology: The technology and tools you need to do your best work.
• Recognition: Motivosity employee recognition program.
• Culture: A culture rooted in inclusivity, support, and meaningful connection.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We believe in hiring great people and treating them right. The more diverse we are, the better our ideas and outcomes. Instructure is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We comply with applicable employment and anti-discrimination laws in every country where we operate.

All employees must pass a background check as part of the hiring process. To help protect our teams and systems, we’ve implemented identity verification measures. Candidates may be asked to verify their legal name, current physical location, and provide a valid contact number and residential address, in accordance with local data privacy laws. Any attempt to misrepresent personal or professional information will result in disqualification.