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Associate Director, AI & Automation Strategy

New York, NY

Studs is a category-defining ear piercing and earring brand named one of “the 10 most innovative companies in retail for 2023” by Fast Company. Studs connects ear piercing with aftercare and earring shopping to create an end-to-end Earscaping® experience. We offer a better retail and digital experience that prioritizes safety and expertise in a cool, fun and welcoming environment, along with a wide earring assortment—all at an accessible price point.

Studs runs a fast-moving, operationally complex business and is making deliberate investments in AI and automation to scale it. The Associate Director of AI & Automation owns that program: governing the portfolio, holding the quality bar on what gets built, and taking direct ownership of high-priority initiatives from scoping through sustained adoption. This role reports to the CEO and operates across every function. In practice, that means sitting at the intersection of strategy and execution: shaping where the company invests, pressure-testing whether the work is actually solving the right problems, and seeing initiatives through to real adoption. It is a role for someone who wants meaningful ownership and is comfortable with the ambiguity that comes with it.

Salary Range: $155,000 to $175,000

Key Responsibilities:

Portfolio Governance, Quality & Outcomes

  • Maintains a cross-functional AI and automation portfolio: what is in flight, what is queued, and what has been deprioritized and why
  • Evaluates incoming proposals against business impact, feasibility, and strategic fit before resources are committed
  • Reviews and stress-tests proposed solutions before build begins: scoping, problem definition, and success criteria
  • Owns outcomes across the portfolio; tracks deployed solutions against intended results and drives resolution when initiatives stall
  • Diagnoses underperformance by distinguishing between tool failure, implementation gaps, and adoption problems

Functional Transformation

  • Takes direct ownership of high-priority initiatives (typically cross-functional, ambiguous, and requiring both design and execution through to sustained use)
  • Gets into the work directly when needed: building workflows, configuring tools, or producing outputs rather than delegating everything to a builder or vendor
  • Manages scope, vendors or builders, and adoption end-to-end; does not hand off at launch
  • Partners with functional leadership to design solutions around how teams actually work and drives the behavior change required to make them stick

Cross-Functional Engagement

  • Partners with leads across Marketing, Operations, Finance, and People to surface opportunities and align on priorities
  • Moves ambiguous problems to clear decisions without unnecessary process overhead
  • Translates between business problems and technical solutions in both directions

Reporting & Executive Visibility

  • Produces concise portfolio reporting for the CEO and functional leadership on status, outcomes, and emerging priorities
  • Brings evidence-based recommendations on where to invest next

Requirements:

  • 5 to 8 years of experience; background in top-tier management consulting is required
  • Demonstrated ability to govern complex, multi-workstream programs, not just contribute to them
  • Experience owning at least one end-to-end functional transformation from scoping through adoption, in an environment with incomplete systems or unclear ownership
  • Track record of driving initiatives to completion when things stall; accountable for resolution, not escalation
  • Naturally cross-functional and energized by it; this role requires someone who builds trust quickly, leads teams that do not report to them, and is comfortable being the person in the room who drives things forward
  • Ability to influence senior stakeholders without formal authority
  • Clear, direct communicator in writing and in person; comfortable presenting ambiguous situations to executive audiences
  • Sufficient familiarity with AI and automation tooling to evaluate proposals and ask the right questions (deep technical background not required)
  • Based in or willing to relocate to New York; hybrid schedule

Benefits & Perks

  • Flexible Work Environment (3 days in office, 2 days work from home)
  • Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance (including a plan option with $0 in-network mental health visits)
  • Access to Mental Health and Work/Life Resources including Online Therapy, Gender Affirmation Support Services, and Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
  • Voluntary Life Insurance
  • Health and Commuter Tax-Advantaged Accounts
  • Stock Options in connection with the Company’s Equity Incentive Plan
  • 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan
  • Paid Time Off, Paid Safe & Sick Leave, and Paid Parental Leave
  • Paid Sabbatical After 4 Years of Service
  • Exclusive Employee Discounts on Piercings and Jewelry (we’ve got your friends and family covered too!)
  • Access to PerkSpot and additional benefits such as pet insurance, discounted tickets, personal finance coaching, healthy rewards, and more!

Studs is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing a work environment that fosters diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunity without regard to race, color, gender, age, creed, sex, religion, national origin, disability (physical or mental), marital status, citizenship, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, or any other legally protected status. Studs considers qualified applicants with criminal histories. We comply with applicable state and local laws prohibiting discrimination in employment in every jurisdiction in which we operate. If you require an accommodation for the application process, please fill out this form.

Massachusetts Applicants: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. 

Click here for the Studs Privacy Notice for California Applicants.

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