AI Engineer

FIT Solutions is seeking an AI Engineer to lead Fresh Origins’ AI program from the business side, aligning strategy, delivery, and adoption across enterprise AI tools and analytics initiatives. This role owns the AI roadmap and project portfolio, working closely with leadership, IT, Operations, Finance, Sales, and external implementation partners to ensure AI and automation run on trusted, governed data.

Role overview

• Own the AI roadmap and project portfolio, prioritizing initiatives by business value, feasibility, cost, and timeline, then sequencing work and managing it end to end from discovery through adoption.
• Translate business needs into AI and analytics outcomes by educating leaders and key stakeholders on AI principles, capabilities, risks, and practical applications, converting technical concepts into clear recommendations.
• Lead business analysis for AI use cases by interviewing stakeholders, mapping current processes, quantifying manual effort and data breaks, and defining requirements and success metrics before selecting any tool.
• Act as project manager of record for each AI and automation initiative, owning scope, timeline, resourcing, risk, testing, rollout, and status reporting.

AI, analytics, and automation delivery

• Manage outside AI consultants and implementation partners day to day by setting deliverables, reviewing work, testing outputs, and holding partners to scope, budget, and timeline.
• Lead the AI-driven demand planning initiative from the business side, defining the planning questions, coordinating data readiness (planting, harvest, yield, weather, holidays, sales), and validating model outputs with Production and Sales.
• Support rollout of AI-assisted order intake and customer service automation, including process design, user acceptance testing, and clean handoff into ERP and customer-facing workflows in coordination with the EDI & Production Systems Coordinator.
• Drive adoption of enterprise AI tools by identifying use cases by department, delivering training and office hours, managing licenses, and tracking utilization and outcomes.
• Pilot and evaluate AI capabilities for forecasting, anomaly detection, document processing, and workflow automation, then recommend build, buy, or partner decisions.
• Maintain the AI governance framework with the IT Director, focused on responsible use, data privacy, vendor risk, and change management.
• Own business continuity for AI tools, automations, and integrations once live, including documentation, monitoring, fallback procedures, and clear ownership of system failure handling.

Data connectivity, KPIs, and reporting

• Define and maintain KPI definitions with Finance, Operations, and Sales so leadership reporting comes from a single source of truth.
• Partner with the analytics team and outside partners on the company data lake and Power BI: prioritize dashboards, validate data, and drive adoption of governed reporting rather than manually built spreadsheets.
• Analyze structured and unstructured data (transactions, customer service notes, emails, call records) to surface trends, exceptions, and opportunities feeding the AI roadmap and leadership decisions.
• Identify where teams manually assemble data already produced in the data lake and migrate them to governed reporting.
• Understand ERP data structures and core transaction flows (order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, inventory, financial close) well enough to design AI and analytics solutions that match how the business runs.
• Improve data connectivity across the business systems stack (NetSuite, Salesforce, Power BI, ADP, VIDA18, and EDI middleware) so AI and analytics initiatives use connected, trusted data.
• Champion master data quality across items, customers, vendors, and GL structure, leading cleanup and reclassification efforts that unblock reporting and AI.
• Review ERP release notes and platform AI features, then recommend adoption to leadership.
• Document processes, data standards, and standard operating procedures for AI-supported workflows.

Location, salary, and experience

• Location: San Marcos, CA (onsite)
• Salary: USD 100,000 - 120,000 per year
• Minimum experience: 5+ years
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Information Systems, Data Analytics, Industrial Engineering, or a related field

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Information Systems, Data Analytics, Industrial Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years as a business analyst, systems analyst, or project manager in an ERP-driven environment (NetSuite, SAP, Dynamics, Oracle, or similar).
• Proven record leading cross-functional projects end to end and managing vendors, consultants, or implementation partners.
• Hands-on experience gathering requirements, mapping processes, and defining KPIs for operations, finance, or sales teams.
• 1+ years leading or contributing to AI, machine learning, or intelligent automation initiatives in a business setting, with enterprise generative AI rollout experience strongly preferred.
• Experience with a BI platform (Power BI preferred) and a data warehouse or data lake.
• SQL for data validation and analysis, comfort with a cloud data warehouse (BigQuery or similar).
• Power BI (or equivalent) for dashboard design and KPI definition.
• Project management tools and methods (Agile or hybrid), plus requirements and process documentation experience.
• Familiarity with generative AI platforms, AI-powered analytics, and automation tools, including evaluating vendors and piloting solutions.
• Advanced Excel (pivot tables, Power Query, XLOOKUP); exposure to Python or scripting is a plus.

Preferred pluses

• PMP, CBAP, or similar project or business analysis certification is a plus.
• Experience in food production, agriculture, manufacturing, or distribution is a significant plus.
• Working knowledge of ERP data structures and core transaction flows, with NetSuite experience a plus (not required).

Technologies

• NetSuite, SAP, Dynamics, Oracle, Power BI, data lake, BI platform, SQL, BigQuery, ERP, Salesforce, ADP, VIDA18, EDI middleware, EDI, Agile, hybrid, Excel, Power Query, XLOOKUP, Python, generative AI, machine learning, intelligent automation

Leadership expectations and performance measures

• Act as a trusted advisor on AI, analytics, and business systems; own outcomes by defining success, measuring impact, and reporting results.
• Manage outside partners and consultants to deliverables, budget, and timeline; mentor the EDI & Production Systems Coordinator and other team members, with potential future supervision of analyst-level staff.
• Champion responsible AI adoption and data literacy; model professionalism, accountability, and continuous learning, while prioritizing co-worker safety by following company safety protocols.
• Performance is measured by on-time, on-scope delivery of AI and automation projects, measurable time savings/cost reduction/accuracy gains, enterprise AI tool utilization and active use cases, increased adoption of governed Power BI reporting, quality of requirements and KPI definitions, partner/vendor performance, and stakeholder satisfaction across Finance, Operations, and Sales.

Career development

• Growth into roles including Senior Manager, AI & Transformation; Director of Business Systems; Director of Data & Analytics; or Vice President of AI, Transformation & Strategic Initiatives.

Working conditions

• Standard business hours with extended support during project go-lives and key business cycles.
• Primarily on-site at Fresh Origins’ San Marcos, CA facilities.
• Office environment plus regular visits to greenhouse, production floor, cold storage, and warehouse areas to observe processes and work with users.
• Routine use of computer, ERP and BI software, phone, and standard office equipment; occasional after-hours work for rollouts or vendor coordination.