Sr. Director, AI APAC Transformation - Supply Chain

About the Role:

You will own the strategy and execution of AI integration across SharkNinja's APAC operations -- supply chain, product engineering, and quality and testing. This is the single, dedicated owner of AI transformation for the region where SharkNinja designs, builds, and increasingly sells its products.

The mandate is deliberately broad. Its center of gravity is supply chain and product (quality, testing, engineering) -- where you will go deepest -- but it reaches across product engineering, quality, testing, and logistics. You are not expected to be an expert in every function on day one; you are expected to be genuinely curious, to learn fast, and to earn credibility with teams that do not report to you. This is also where AI adoption is hardest: fragmented tooling, vendor efforts running in parallel, and a large local workforce with uneven AI fluency.

This is not a research or coordination role. You will be measured on adoption, speed, and measurable business impact. You report to the VP, Chief of Staff to the CEO, with a dotted line to the Global Chief Supply Chain Officer & Managing Director, APAC, and partner closely across every APAC function.

LOCATION: Shenzhen (On-site)

Here are some of the EXCITING things you’ll get to do:

Responsibilities:

• AI Platform, Vendors & Data Foundation
• Own the APAC AI vendor landscape: evaluate and consolidate regional partners (AI platforms, consultancies, agency tooling), making build-vs-buy decisions that avoid duplication and lock-in
• Build the data foundation so APAC operational data is usable by AI systems, partnering with IT and enterprise data engineering (Snowflake, AWS)

Supply Chain & Operations Transformation

• Deploy AI across supply and demand planning, sourcing, manufacturing engineering, quality, and logistics -- cutting cycle times, improving accuracy, and surfacing risk earlier
• Replace manual, spreadsheet- and PowerPoint-based workflows with AI-powered tooling that delivers real-time visibility and accountability
• Sequence and prioritize ruthlessly -- drive each initiative to completion before starting the next

Product (Quality, Testing, Engineering)

• Embed AI into Suzhou product engineering and development workflows -- accelerating design iteration, test analysis, and the flow of engineering knowledge into future products
• Connect APAC engineering data and institutional knowledge to SharkNinja's broader Product Development and Product Excellence transformation, so learnings compound globally, not just regionally

Team Building & Change Management

• Build, lead, and scale a team of AI Sharks embedded directly into APAC teams to drive hands-on adoption
• Drive behavioral change across a large local workforce with varying AI fluency, translating capabilities into practical, adoptable solutions
• Establish success metrics, track adoption, and report measurable outcomes to executive leadership
• Champion fast iteration and scaling what works -- localizing SharkNinja's "Jailbreak" mindset for the region

Required Skills/Qualifications / Experience:

Depth in supply chain and manufacturing engineering is the anchor; breadth across the other APAC functions can be learned by the right person. The AI transformation requirements below are non-negotiable for every candidate.

• Full professional fluency in both English and Mandarin, spoken and written -- you operate daily across a regional workforce and global leadership and move seamlessly between them
• 10+ years anchored in supply chain, manufacturing, or product engineering, combined with AI/ML or technology-driven transformation
• First-hand experience operating in China and APAC -- across supply chain, manufacturing, or commercial -- including the practical realities of deploying technology in the region
• Intellectual curiosity and range -- not a domain expert in every function, but able to learn adjacent functions fast, ask sharp questions, and earn credibility with teams that do not report to you
• Strong technical fluency in AI/ML, with hands-on experience deploying enterprise LLM platforms (Claude, ChatGPT)
• Experience productionalizing AI prototypes from proof-of-concept to enterprise-grade tools
• Proven track record leading large-scale transformation in complex, multi-stakeholder, cross-border environments
• Able to both build hands-on and translate technical capability into business outcomes; decisive and comfortable in ambiguity, where speed beats perfection
• Strongly Preferred:
• Experience at an AI-native company, or where AI was core to operations or the product process
• Familiarity with supply chain and manufacturing systems (ERP, planning platforms) and/or China commercial channels (TikTok Shop, DTC, live-streaming)
• Existing network across the China AI vendor and talent ecosystem
• Additional Requirements:
• Based in Suzhou, Shenzhen, or Hong Kong (on-site)
• Travel required across APAC sites and periodically to Boston HQ

Why This Role Matters

SharkNinja's CEO has made AI transformation a top company priority -- and APAC is where the company designs, builds, and increasingly sells its products. This role owns AI for that region: connecting the projects already underway, solving the infrastructure problems, and making AI an irreversible part of how SharkNinja operates in the market most critical to its future. You will have direct visibility and support from the highest levels of the company, and the mandate to move fast.