Applied AI Lead
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Summary
Hands-on applied AI lead at Instinct, a raw pet food brand, owning internal AI agents, automations and tools end to end — mainly partnering with Finance on reporting automation and analytics. Core stack: Python, LLM APIs/agents (tool use, MCP), workflow automation, APIs and SQL, with human-in-the-loop guardrails. Remote, with occasional travel to the St. Louis HQ.
Company Description: At Instinct®, our purpose is to feed the unspoken bonds between pets, their people, and the planet. As The FreshRaw Brand, we believe nothing is fresher than raw and that raw nutrition has the power to help pets live healthier, happier lives. Guided by our leadership capabilities — acting as Change Agents, driven by Consumer Obsession, and fueled by a Challenger Mindset — we’re redefining what’s possible in pet food and challenging the status quo. From our St. Louis headquarters to our Center of Excellence Raw Food Kitchens in Lincoln, Nebraska, we’re united by a shared passion for making a meaningful difference through the power of raw.
Instinct® is part of the family-owned group, Agrolimen, who owns leading pet food and human food businesses in the US, China, Europe, and Africa.
Position Summary: The Applied AI Lead owns applied AI for Instinct. This is a hands-on builder seat within Data Hub & Analytics, responsible for delivering agents, automation, and high-ROI tools that partner Finance and the business on reporting automation, daily analytics, and selected commercial and operations use cases, always with a human owning the final call. The role requires strong technical depth, sound judgment about what AI may answer unsupervised versus what needs a human check, and the ability to explain trade-offs in plain language without hype.
Primary Job Responsibilities:
In-House AI Ownership
- Own agents, builds, and orchestration across Instinct priorities, from scoping through production handoff.
- Design, build, and maintain internal AI tools, automations, and integrations (Python scripts, APIs, LLM agents with tool use, workflow automation) that solve business challenges.
- Build tools that others can run and improve without the builder: usable by non-developer teammates and maintainable by Instinct developers.
Finance Partnership
- Serve as the primary build partner to the CFO on reporting automation, close and forecast support, and decision-ready analytics.
- Partner with FP&A and other decision owners to turn recurring manual reporting and analysis into automated, trustworthy workflows.
- Establish a working operating rhythm with Finance leadership to manage the priority queue.
Use-Case Portfolio Management
- Maintain a short, ranked list of AI use cases by dollar impact and feasibility, and be willing to stop low-value work before it consumes engineering time.
- Run fast, low-cost experiments to test emerging AI capabilities against real business challenges before committing budget or scaling.
- Scout new tools, models, and techniques and bring forward the ones with real potential ahead of demand.
- Deliver production tools the business relies on, not demos or pilots that fade after the first presentation.
Data Foundation & Quality
- Build on trusted data in partnership with Data Architecture, Master Data, and Data Control.
- Perform data-quality audits on source feeds prior to automation and flag issues back to data owners.
- Partner with IT and data teams on integrations, access, and security for AI workloads.
Governance & Safe Use
- Define safe-use guardrails with Data Hub leadership: what AI may answer unsupervised and what requires human review.
- Document what is safe to trust and make the governed path the easy path for Finance and business users.
- Monitor AI tool usage, cost, and performance, with automated reporting and KPI tracking.
- Technically review and validate work from external vendors and developers for quality, security, and fit before anything goes live.
Enablement & Adoption
- Drive adoption of AI tools through onboarding materials, working examples, and reusable playbooks and templates.
- Act as the day-to-day technical reference point for Finance and business users on approved AI tools.
- Communicate trade-offs, limitations, and results clearly to executives and non-technical audiences.
Personal Attributes:
- Builder mindset with a preference for shipping a working solution over writing a recommendation
- Strong business acumen with the ability to connect AI work to financial and commercial outcomes
- Plain communicator who can explain trade-offs without hype, to all audiences
- Sound judgment on risk, data quality, and where a human should own the call
- Self-directed and comfortable owning priorities end to end in a remote environment
- Curious, with a bias toward fast experimentation and continuous improvement
- Ability to translate complex data and technology into actionable business insights
- A true collaborator who builds trust cross-functionally
Preferred Experience:
- 4-8+ years building applied AI, ML, or automation solutions in a business setting (finance, CPG, operations, or similar)
- Background in CPG, pet food, food & beverage, or a similarly complex operating environment is a plus
- Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent practical experience
- Hands-on proficiency in Python (or equivalent), LLM APIs and agents (including tool use and MCP), workflow automation, and APIs; able to ship, not only advise
- Demonstrated experience partnering with Finance or similar decision owners on reporting, forecasting, or analytics automation
- Experience with SQL, data-quality auditing, and building on governed data sources
- Experience defining safe-use guardrails and human-in-the-loop controls for AI workflows
- Experience technically evaluating or overseeing the work of vendors, contractors, or consultants
- Track record of prioritizing use cases by dollar impact and feasibility and delivering them to production
- Familiarity with AI governance and data privacy practices is a plus
Travel Requirements: Remote position; occasional travel to Instinct's St. Louis headquarters or other Instinct locations as needed
Compensation and Benefits: Highly competitive compensation package includes health and dental insurance, life and AD&D insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings account, short and long-term disability, paid time off, Purpose Days off for company partner volunteer opportunities, and 401k with company match.