Industry Solution Leader - Food & Agriculture… at C3 AI · Chicago

C3 AI (NYSE: AI), is the Enterprise AI application software company. C3 AI delivers a family of fully integrated products including the C3 Agentic AI Platform, an end-to-end platform for developing, deploying, and operating enterprise AI applications, C3 AI applications, a portfolio of industry-specific SaaS enterprise AI applications that enable the digital transformation of organizations globally, and C3 Generative AI, a suite of domain-specific generative AI offerings for the enterprise. Learn more at: C3 AI

C3 AI is seeking an Industry Solution Leader (ISL) for Food & Agriculture to lead the design and delivery of enterprise AI solutions for its clients with a specialization in Food Manufacturing.

Industry Solution Leaders combine deep industry and engineering expertise with end-to-end ownership of customer solutions. They are expected to understand a customer's operations deeply enough to challenge assumptions, identify and quantify the highest-value opportunities, define the right technical solution, and lead cross-functional teams through design, deployment, validation, and scale.

The role combines the responsibilities of a senior domain expert and solution leader. Industry Solution Directors work directly with customer engineering, operations, maintenance, and executive teams while leading C3 AI Forward Deployed Engineers, data scientists, product teams, and other technical resources to deliver measurable business outcomes.

The ideal candidate brings significant hands-on experience in engineering, manufacturing, operations, reliability, or maintenance and has the technical judgment, customer leadership, and delivery ownership required to lead complex enterprise AI solutions from problem definition through production.

The ISL, Food & Agriculture - Food Manufacturing should have hands-on experience in food or beverage plant operations, with direct exposure to continuous/batch processing, packaging, and utilities, and ownership of OEE, yield, throughput, quality, sanitation/CIP, downtime, labor, or energy outcomes.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own the overall solution strategy, technical direction, and delivery outcomes for assigned customer engagements, maintaining accountability from initial problem definition through production deployment and scale.
• Serve as the primary customer-facing solution leader and domain expert, developing a detailed understanding of customer operations, equipment, processes, constraints, and business objectives.
• Identify and quantify high-impact business opportunities across equipment reliability, maintenance, production performance, process optimization, throughput, yield, quality, energy efficiency, and operating economics.
• Translate complex engineering and operational challenges into tractable AI, machine learning, optimization, and software problems with clearly defined requirements, success criteria, and expected business value.
• Lead engagements through use case definition, requirements gathering, solution architecture, application configuration, validation, production deployment, user adoption, and scale-out.
• Apply deep engineering and industry expertise to challenge assumptions, evaluate technical approaches, interpret analytical results, and ensure solutions are consistent with engineering fundamentals and operational realities.
• Lead cross-functional teams of Forward Deployed Engineers, data scientists, product managers, engineers, and industry experts, establishing technical priorities and driving alignment around customer outcomes.
• Work directly with customer engineers, operators, reliability teams, maintenance organizations, and executives to validate requirements, solution performance, operational workflows, and business impact.
• Guide the interpretation and use of industrial data, including process signals, equipment attributes, operating states, maintenance history, production information, alarms, quality data, and other engineering information required to solve customer problems.
• Maintain accountability for solution quality, business value, technical risks, delivery progress, customer adoption, and executive communication throughout the engagement.
• Partner with C3 AI product management and engineering teams to identify reusable capabilities, inform product development, and scale successful solutions across assets, production lines, facilities, and business units.
• Support sales teams during opportunity assessment and capture by helping define customer problems, solution approaches, business value, technical requirements, deployment strategy, and demonstrations.
• Support development of statements of work and deployment plans, ensuring scope, deliverables, assumptions, data requirements, risks, timelines, and resource requirements are clearly defined.
• Develop repeatable industry methodologies, solution patterns, and best practices and represent C3 AI in relevant customer, industry, and technical forums.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline. Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, Industrial, Mining, Metallurgical, Petroleum, Materials, or similar engineering backgrounds are preferred.
• 7+ years of experience in engineering, manufacturing, operations, reliability, maintenance, industrial technology, or technically focused consulting.
• Deep experience in one or more asset-intensive industries, including high-tech or semiconductor manufacturing, steel and metals, minerals and mining, utilities and power generation, oil and gas, chemicals, petrochemicals, LNG, pharmaceuticals, or heavy manufacturing.
• Demonstrated experience solving complex operational problems and improving equipment reliability, production performance, throughput, yield, quality, maintenance effectiveness, energy efficiency, or operating economics.
• Strong understanding of industrial equipment, manufacturing or production processes, process controls, maintenance practices, and operational workflows.
• Experience working with industrial data including sensor and time-series data, equipment states, alarms, maintenance history, production data, laboratory or quality information, equipment hierarchies, and engineering data.
• Experience with industrial systems such as process historians, SCADA, DCS, MES, EAM/CMMS, ERP, advanced process control, or industrial analytics platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to reason from engineering fundamentals and determine whether analytical and AI-driven recommendations are physically, technically, and operationally credible.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, customer-facing technical engagements and working directly with engineering, operational, and executive stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to structure ambiguous problems, establish priorities, and drive teams toward practical solutions.
• Ability to work effectively with software engineers, data scientists, product managers, and customer technical teams and translate between domain, business, and technical requirements.
• Excellent presentation, written communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to travel to customer locations as required.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience delivering AI, machine learning, advanced analytics, optimization, predictive maintenance, condition monitoring, process optimization, or industrial digital transformation solutions.
• Hands-on technical experience working with industrial data, SQL, Python, analytics tools, application configuration, scripting, or similar technologies, with the ability to directly inspect data, prototype analyses, and troubleshoot solution behavior.
• Experience with rotating equipment, electrical equipment, production equipment, manufacturing lines, process units, mining systems, utility assets, or other complex industrial systems.
• Experience taking technical solutions from initial proof of value through production deployment and scale.
• Experience scaling solutions across multiple assets, plants, facilities, or business units.
• Advanced degree in Engineering, Science, or a related technical discipline.

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for current or future company sponsorship.

C3 AI provides excellent benefits, a competitive compensation package and generous equity plan.

Illinois Base Pay Range

$130,000—$203,000 USD

C3 AI is proud to be an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of any legally protected characteristics, including disabled and veteran status.