Overview
Do you want to join a team that's changing the world? Do you have a strong background as a Sr. Manager, Analytics and AI? Then we're looking for you! Check out the job description and apply now! Put your skills to meaningful use, gain unique experience, and work with world-class team members with diverse backgrounds and expertise who share the same vision. Join the PECNA team today!
Responsibilities
Sr. Manager, Analytics and AI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tMgKm_71qs (by clicking this link you are being referred to an external site that is not part of Panasonic)
Meet the Recruiter: Perry Golden
Summary:
Join us at Panasonic Energy as we expand to De Soto, Kansas, where we’re building the world’s largest lithium-ion battery factory. This is an exciting opportunity to grow your career while contributing to the future of electric vehicles. As part of our team, you’ll help push the limits of battery technology, enhancing performance and efficiency in sustainable transportation. Our state-of-the-art facility, just outside the Kansas City Metro, will be a hub for innovation in green energy solutions. If you're passionate about sustainability and eager to contribute to the electric vehicle revolution, we invite you to be part of our dynamic team. Join us and make a meaningful impact on the future of energy and transportation.
Job Summary:
Panasonic Energy is seeking a Sr. Manager, Analytics and AI, reporting to the Sr. Director, Innovation and Analytics. This leader will establish and maintain the enterprise roadmap for analytics and AI initiatives that improve manufacturing and business performance. The role leads the Analytics & AI team, comprised of DevOps engineers, data engineers, data scientists, software engineers, data analysts and forward deployed engineers. The manager partners with business and site leaders to identify high-value use cases, translate business needs into clear opportunities, prioritize the portfolio, and lead initiatives through delivery, adoption, value tracking, and expansion across PECNA sites. Essential Duties
- Serve as the accountable team leader for Analytics & AI outcomes across PECNA.
- Establish, maintain, and communicate the enterprise analytics and AI roadmap in alignment with business priorities, Hoshin, AOP, and manufacturing performance goals.
- Translate the roadmap into a prioritized portfolio with clear business outcomes, sequencing, ownership, resource requirements, dependencies, and measures of success.
- Review and update the roadmap based on business priorities, technology maturity, data readiness, delivery performance, and value realized.
- Align leaders across Nevada and Kansas on common analytics and AI priorities, platform direction, reusable capabilities, and opportunities to scale successful solutions.
- Partner with business and site leaders to identify, shape, and communicate high-value analytics and AI use cases in areas such as yield, quality, scrap, downtime, productivity, cost, supply chain, and workforce effectiveness.
- Establish a forward deployed engineering model that embeds engineers within business units to provide direct support, develop process expertise, improve use case development, and increase speed to build.
- Create a clear process for evaluating ideas brought forward by the business and communicating the highest-value opportunities to technical teams and leadership.
- Prioritize initiatives based on business value, data readiness, feasibility, risk, scalability, and available resources.
- Lead end-to-end delivery of analytics and AI solutions from discovery through deployment, adoption, and value realization.
- Provide leadership for data visualization, advanced analytics, machine learning, predictive models, computer vision models, generative AI, agentic AI, digital twins, and decision-support applications.
- Ensure analytics, ML, computer vision, and agentic AI solutions are practical, explainable, secure, governed, and integrated into business and operational workflows.
- Establish clear goals, delivery standards, governance, and performance measures for the Analytics & AI portfolio.
- Partner with Finance and business owners to define value baselines, validate benefits, and track sustained impact.
- Coordinate with IT, OT, cybersecurity, architecture, and platform teams to support reliable and scalable deployment.
- Provide concise portfolio updates to senior leadership, including progress, value delivered, risks, resource needs, and decisions required.
- Lead change management, training, and communication needed to support adoption and long-term ownership.
- Manage relationships with technology providers, consultants, systems integrators, and other external partners.
- Develop team capability and repeatable approaches that allow successful solutions to scale across Nevada and Kansas.
Supervisory Responsibilities
- Provides direct leadership and day-to-day oversight for DevOps engineers, data engineers, data scientists, software engineers, data analysts, forward deployed engineers, and other assigned team members.
- Sets team priorities, assigns work, reviews progress, and ensures accountability for delivery and business outcomes.
- Coaches and develops team members through goal setting, performance feedback, technical guidance, career development, and cross-functional collaboration.
- Plans team capacity and allocates resources across initiatives based on business value, urgency, and skill requirements.
- Oversees work performed by contractors, consultants, platform partners, and other external resources supporting Analytics & AI initiatives.
- Serves as the functional and technical leader for Analytics & AI while balancing innovation, governance, and operational requirements.
Travel Requirement
- Occasional local travel between company facilities, as required to support business needs.
- Up to 20% travel required, including travel between Nevada and Kansas sites.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Requirements:
- To ensure the health and safety in the workplace and for the protection of our employees, wearing PPE is a possibility and may include equipment such as a full Tyvek suit, safety shoes, gloves, safety glasses, face mask, bump cap, and a full hazmat suit that includes a respirator.
The foregoing description is not intended and should not be construed to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills and efforts or work conditions associated with the job. It is intended to be an accurate reflection of the general nature and level of the job.
Qualifications
Requirements - Required and/or Preferred
Education, Certifications, and Licenses:
- Required: Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Industrial Engineering, Information Systems, Business, or a related field.
- Preferred: Master's degree in a related field. Relevant certifications in analytics, AI/ML, cloud platforms, Palantir Foundry, project management, Lean Six Sigma, or responsible AI are preferred.
Essential Qualifications
- 8+ years of experience in analytics, data science, applied AI/ML, data products, digital transformation, or related technology delivery.
- 3+ years of experience leading multidisciplinary technical teams or a significant analytics and AI portfolio.
- Proven ability to lead analytics or AI initiatives from opportunity identification through deployment, adoption, and measured business impact.
- Strong understanding of data visualization, statistical analysis, predictive analytics, machine learning, computer vision models, generative AI, agentic AI, and AI solution delivery.
- Experience managing a portfolio, setting priorities, allocating resources, and communicating recommendations to senior leaders.
- Experience with modern data and analytics platforms such as Palantir Foundry, Microsoft Azure, AWS, Power BI, Tableau, or comparable technologies.
- Working knowledge of manufacturing and business systems such as MES, SCADA, ERP, CMMS, quality systems, historians, inspection systems, and Tableau-based operational and executive reporting.
- Ability to guide technical teams and evaluate solution approaches without serving as the primary developer for every initiative.
- Strong leadership, coaching, communication, stakeholder management, customer engagement, structured problem-solving, and change-management skills.
- Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment and balance near-term business needs with longer-term capability development.
- Willingness and ability to meet onsite and travel requirements.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in lithium-ion battery, semiconductor, automotive, pharmaceutical, chemical, or high-volume manufacturing.
- Experience delivering manufacturing analytics, quality analytics, predictive maintenance, yield optimization, SPC automation, ML solutions, computer vision models, digital twins, command-center capabilities, GenAI applications, or agentic AI workflows.
- Experience with data governance, model governance, responsible AI, cybersecurity, privacy, and production monitoring practices.
- Experience applying Lean, Six Sigma, TPM, 4DX, or other structured continuous-improvement and execution methods.
- Experience working across multiple sites or with Japanese manufacturing partners and cross-cultural teams.
Physical Demands
Physical Activities:
- The role regularly works in office, meeting, and manufacturing environments and may require periods of sitting, standing, and walking.
Lifting and Carrying:
- May occasionally lift or carry items up to 20 pounds.
- Team lifting is required for heavier items.
Benefits & Perks - What's In It For You:
Panasonic Energy prioritizes total well-being and offers comprehensive benefits options to support physical, emotional, financial, social, and environmental health:
- Health Benefits – Offering medical, dental, vision, prescription plans, plus Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account options.
- Voluntary Benefits – Life, accident, critical illness, disability, legal, identity theft, and pet insurance.
- Panasonic Retirement Savings & Investment Plan (PRSIP) – 401(k) plan with company matching contributions and immediate vesting.
- Paid Time-Off Benefits – Vacation, holidays, personal days, sick leave, volunteer, and parental & caregiver leave.
- Educational Assistance – Tuition reimbursement for job-related courses after six months of service.
- Health Management and Wellbeing Programs –Lifestyle Spending Account, EAP, virtual health management, chronic condition, neurodiversity, tobacco cessation, substance abuse support, and life stage and fertility resources. Available to eligible employees starting the first day of the month following your start date. Eligibility for each benefit may vary based on employment status, location, and length of service.
- Employee Recognition Program - High5 employee recognition and awards platform, quarterly and annual employee recognition
- Annual Bonus Program - Opportunity for an annual performance-based bonus.
- On-site Food Options: Several on-site cafes, plentiful snack and beverage kitchens, revolving on-site vendor visits and employee events.
Where You'll Be:
For our onsite roles, Panasonic Energy is committed to fostering an ideal working environment that goes beyond the conventional. We understand the significance of moments that matter in your onsite experience, and we prioritize creating a workspace that not only promotes productivity but also ensures a fulfilling and positive work atmosphere. Join us at Panasonic Energy, where your onsite presence is valued, and we strive to make each moment count in your professional journey.
Who We Are:
Meet Panasonic Energy! At Panasonic Energy, you'll do work that matters as we are dedicated to transforming the world through the acceleration of sustainable energy. By producing safe, high-quality lithium-ion batteries, you become part of a team that plays a crucial role in creating technologies that move us. Our journey began in 2017, and now, as the world's largest lithium-ion battery factory, we are expanding operations to De Soto, Kansas, providing you with the opportunity to experience career growth in more ways than one. As an innovative thinker, you'll thrive here, as we continually push the boundaries of lithium-ion battery technology and production capabilities to enhance efficiency and performance in EVs. Being part of Panasonic Energy means positively contributing to society, aligning with our commitment to building a better world through sustainable energy solutions. We care about what you care about, fostering an environment where your contributions make a meaningful impact on the future of energy and transportation. Join us and be part of a team that values your work, encourages innovation, and actively contributes to a positive societal impact. In addition to an environment that is as innovative as our products, we offer competitive salaries and benefits.
We Take Opportunity Seriously:
At Panasonic Energy, we are committed to a workplace that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. Fairness and Honesty have been part of our core values for more than 100 years and we are proud of our diverse culture as an equal opportunity employer. We understand that your career search may look different than others and embrace the professional, personal, educational, and volunteer opportunities through which people gain experience. If you are actively looking or starting to explore new opportunities, submit your application!
Supplemental Information:
Pre-employment drug testing is required. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. All qualified individuals are required to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. Due to the high volume of responses, we will only be able to respond to candidates of interest. All candidates must have valid authorization to work in the U.S. without restriction.
Thank you for your interest in Panasonic Energy Corporation of North America.
R-107323