Solutions Architect, AI & Automation Director

Director, Solutions Architect, AI & Automation

Let’s be unstoppable together!

Circana is a leading provider of technology, AI, and data solutions for consumer packaged goods companies, manufacturers, and retailers. Our predictive analytics and Liquid Data® platform help clients measure market share, uncover consumer behavior, and drive growth—powered by six decades of expertise and an expansive, high-quality data set.

At Circana, we are fueled by our passion for continuous learning and growth, we seek and share feedback freely, and we celebrate victories both big and small in an environment that is flexible and accommodating to our work and personal lives.  We’re a global company dedicated to fostering inclusivity and belonging. We value and celebrate the unique experiences, cultures, and viewpoints that each individual brings. By embracing a wide range of backgrounds, skills, expertise, and beyond, we create a stronger, more innovative environment for our employees, clients, and communities. With us, you can always bring your full self to work.  Join our inclusive, committed team to be a challenger, own outcomes, and stay curious together. Circana is proud to be Certified™ by Great Place To Work®. This prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at Circana. Learn more at www.circana.com.

Role Overview

As Solutions Architect, AI & Automation, you sit between the business problem and the technical solution — and you are responsible for making sure that gap is closed accurately before anyone starts building.

This is not a hands-off architecture role. You are in the details. You are running discovery sessions with operations teams, reviewing AI-generated process maps, writing specifications that developers can act on without a follow-up conversation, and flagging complexity before it becomes a mid-sprint crisis. You own the scoping work for a defined portfolio of micro-automation projects, and you are accountable for the quality of what goes into the build pipeline.

You will work under the guidance of the Sr Director AI/Automation, who owns program-wide technical standards and handles the most novel or complex decisions. Your domain is the middle of the pipeline: the structured, high-throughput scoping and specification work that keeps delivery moving. Within your portfolio, you have genuine technical authority. You are not a drafter for someone else’s judgement.

Over time (and this program creates an unusually fast development environment) the expectation is that you grow into the senior profile. The automation breadth means you will encounter process types, integration patterns, and AI implementation challenges that many architects take years to accumulate.

Job Responsibilities

Project Scoping and Specification

Own the scoping and technical specification for a defined portfolio of micro-automation projects — from initial intake through to a buildable, reviewed specification

Facilitate structured process discovery sessions with operations SMEs.

Identify integration dependencies, data flow requirements, and exception handling complexity before they surface as surprises in delivery

Apply the program’s WSJF prioritization methodology to score incoming automation candidates; flag submissions that are under-specified or unlikely to meet the micro-automation threshold

Make project-level technical calls independently; escalate program-level or novel architecture questions to the Senior Architect with a structured question and a recommended approach

Standards Contribution

Contribute to the technical standards library — documenting patterns, integration templates, and anti-patterns as you encounter them across your project portfolio

Participate in program-level architecture reviews; bring project-level observations that inform standards decisions

Support AI governance compliance for projects in your portfolio: model approval, prompt design review, data privacy assessment

Team and Pipeline

Act as the technical point of contact for delivery pods working on projects you have scoped — available for clarifying questions during the build phase

Support the onboarding and development of the automation developers where applicable, reviewing their specifications and offering structured feedback

Contribute to program reporting: flag technical risk, track specification quality metrics, and surface patterns that affect pipeline health

Requirements

The right candidate has crossed the threshold from ‘doing this with guidance’ to ‘owning this reliably’ and is motivated by the next threshold.

What We Need

3–6 years of experience in solutions architecture, software development, or technical consulting with genuine delivery accountability — not just advisory work

Hands-on experience with at least one production automation or AI-enabled workflow — you were in the room when something went wrong and you helped fix it

Solid working knowledge of the AI tool landscape: LLMs, prompt engineering, RPA platforms, low-code automation, and where each genuinely adds value versus where it is oversold

The ability to produce a process specification that a developer can act on without follow-up — complete, structured, and honest about what is unknown

Strong written communication: your specifications, your risk flags, and your escalation notes need to be clear enough that busy people act on them correctly

What Will Set You Apart

Experience in a data services, analytics operations, CPG, or market research environment — understanding how Circana’s kind of work flows gives you a significant head start

Experience contributing to a standards or patterns library — you have documented reusable approaches, not just delivered individual projects

Exposure to agile or sprint-based delivery: you understand how specifications are consumed by development teams and what makes them fast versus slow

Basic data skills: SQL, Python scripting, or BI tooling at a level where you can validate data flow assumptions independently

Any direct experience with AI model governance, prompt design, or LLM evaluation in an enterprise context

The Intangibles We Look For

Intellectual honesty about uncertainty. The mid-level profile we are looking for knows what they know, knows what they don’t know, and is completely clear about which is which in their specifications. Candidates who project more certainty than they have (whose specs have no unknowns, whose complexity ratings are always ‘medium’) create more rework than candidates who are explicit about the gaps. We will probe for this in the interview.

Circana Behaviors

Beyond technical skills, experience, and role-specific attributes, these shared behaviors are fundamental to our culture and success. We seek individuals who consistently demonstrate and champion these behaviors in their daily work:

• Stay Curious: Being hungry to learn and grow, always asking the big questions.
• Seek Clarity: Embracing complexity to create clarity and inspire action.
• Own the Outcome: Being accountable for decisions and taking ownership of our choices.
• Center on the Client: Relentlessly adding value for our customers.
• Be a Challenger: Never complacent, always striving for continuous improvement.
• Champion Inclusivity: Fostering trust in relationships engaging with empathy, respect, and integrity.
• Commit to each other: Contributing to making Circana a great place to work for everyone.

Location: This position can be located in the following area(s): Remote, United States

The below range reflects the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, shift, travel requirements, sales or revenue-based metrics, any collective bargaining agreements, and business or organizational needs. The salary range for this role is $115k - $135k.

This job is also eligible for bonus pay.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.

An offer of employment may be conditional upon successful completion of a background check in accordance with local legislation and our candidate privacy notice. Your current employer will not be contacted without your permission.

You can apply for this role through the Circana careers website or Intranet site for internal candidates. This role is subject to AI-assisted screening. Circana uses artificial intelligence (AI) to assess resumes for alignment with job requirements by helping locate details in resumes that relate to the job description.

The anticipated application deadline for this position is approximately 04/16/2026.

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