Head of AI & Business TransformationThe Role
If you are passionate about Artificial Intelligence, business transformation and operational excellence, and want to shape how an ambitious engineering company operates, read on.
Machinelab is a Robotics Automation and Precision Engineering company with an experienced management team. We are looking for a Head of AI & Business Transformation to lead the adoption of Artificial Intelligence across every department of the business.
This is not an IT role.
Your mission is to transform how every person at Machinelab works by identifying repetitive tasks, implementing AI tools, redesigning business processes, and ensuring our systems work together seamlessly. You will work closely with every department—from engineering and sales to purchasing, finance and management—to help people work faster, smarter and with fewer manual tasks.
Alongside driving AI transformation, you will also take ownership of several operational functions, including ERP administration and continuous improvement across the business.
Working in automation is an incredible learning opportunity. You will be joining a fantastic team who help each other and who are building something exciting, innovative and contributing to Irish engineering. People who thrive at Machinelab have a "can-do" attitude, enjoy solving difficult problems and are constantly looking for better ways of doing things.
At Machinelab, decisions are made quickly without layers of bureaucracy. Every person has the opportunity to make a significant impact.
This role has exceptional career progression opportunities and will become one of the key leadership positions within the company as AI becomes central to how we operate.
A Role That Requires Exceptional Initiative
Please note that this is not a role where every task will be assigned to you.
Many of Machinelab's engineers are highly experienced specialists with deep technical knowledge in automation, robotics, controls engineering, machine vision and special purpose machinery. Understanding what they do, how our machines work and where AI can genuinely improve productivity involves a significant learning curve.
Success in this role depends on exceptional initiative, curiosity and persistence.
You will be expected to immerse yourself in every aspect of the business, ask intelligent questions, challenge existing processes and identify opportunities that nobody else has spotted. Rather than waiting for instructions, you will proactively deliver AI-driven improvements that make every department more productive.
If you enjoy figuring things out for yourself, thrive on solving difficult business problems and love learning new technology, this role will suit you perfectly.
Key ResponsibilitiesAI Transformation
- Lead the company's AI strategy and implementation.
- Identify repetitive and manual processes across every department.
- Build AI assistants for engineering, purchasing, sales, finance and management.
- Implement AI tools that reduce administrative workload and improve productivity.
- Research, evaluate and deploy emerging AI technologies.
- Develop internal AI workflows and standard operating procedures.
- Train employees to use AI effectively in their daily work.
- Measure and report productivity improvements delivered through AI initiatives.
- Continuously seek opportunities to eliminate wasted time and improve business processes.
Operational Excellence
- Continuously improve how the business operates.
- Analyse operational bottlenecks and recommend improvements.
- Standardise business processes across departments.
- Lead digital transformation initiatives.
- Support management with strategic operational projects.
- Identify opportunities to automate manual workflows.
- Help create a culture of continuous improvement throughout the organisation.
ERP Administration
- Administer and maintain the company's ERP system.
- Manage users, permissions and system configuration.
- Improve ERP workflows and reporting.
- Ensure accurate project, purchasing and production information.
- Support employees using the ERP system.
- Work with software providers on upgrades and improvements.
- Identify opportunities to automate ERP processes using AI.
Business Intelligence & Data
- Develop dashboards and KPIs for management.
- Build automated reports using AI and reporting tools.
- Analyse business performance data.
- Identify trends and opportunities using company data.
- Improve visibility of operational performance across the business.
Systems Integration
- Improve communication between software platforms.
- Integrate ERP, CRM, accounting and engineering systems where appropriate.
- Reduce duplicate data entry through automation.
- Evaluate new business software that improves efficiency.
- Implement AI solutions that connect multiple business systems.
Change Management
- Champion AI adoption throughout the company.
- Help employees embrace new technology.
- Develop AI best practices and internal guidelines.
- Stay at the forefront of AI developments.
- Continually identify new opportunities to improve the business.
The Ideal Candidate
You are someone who naturally asks:
- Why are we still doing this manually?
- Can AI do this instead?
- Is there a faster way?
- Can this process be automated?
- Can we eliminate this task completely?
You enjoy solving problems that others don't even notice.
Essential Skills & Experience
- Demonstrated experience implementing AI, automation, digital transformation or business improvement initiatives.
- Strong understanding of modern AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot or similar.
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Strong communication and stakeholder management abilities.
- Comfortable working across multiple departments.
- Excellent organisational skills.
- Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
- Strong commercial awareness.
- Excellent written and spoken English.
Highly Desirable
- Exceptional initiative with a relentless drive to improve how work is done.
- Comfortable working independently with minimal direction.
- Able to quickly build an understanding of complex engineering and manufacturing processes.
- Comfortable working alongside highly technical automation engineers.
- Able to translate engineering processes into AI-driven improvements.
- Naturally curious and motivated to continually learn.
- Passionate about emerging AI technologies.
- Experience with ERP systems.
- Experience within manufacturing, engineering or industrial automation.
- Experience with Microsoft 365, Power BI, Power Automate or similar platforms.
- Experience integrating business systems.
What Success Looks Like
After your first year, you will have:
- Significantly reduced manual work across multiple departments.
- Introduced AI tools used daily throughout the company.
- Improved the efficiency of engineers, sales, purchasing, finance and management.
- Streamlined ERP processes and data quality.
- Delivered measurable productivity improvements.
- Built a roadmap for the continued transformation of Machinelab through AI.
Every week you should be asking yourself:
- How can we make this faster?
- How can AI remove repetitive work?
- Can software do this automatically?
- Why are we still doing this manually?
- Can we save somebody an hour every day?
If somebody spends four hours completing a task, your goal is to reduce it to one—or eliminate the task altogether.
Why Join Machinelab?
At Machinelab you won't simply implement software—you will fundamentally transform how an engineering company operates.
You'll work directly with company leadership, experienced automation engineers and cutting-edge technology to build one of Ireland's most AI-enabled manufacturing businesses.
You'll have the freedom to experiment, implement new ideas and make decisions quickly without unnecessary bureaucracy.
This is an opportunity to build a role that could become one of the most influential positions within the company.
Job Details
Job Type: Full-time
Location: On-site – Wexford, Ireland
Working Hours: Monday to Friday (flexibility with start time)
Benefits
- Competitive salary (depending on experience)
- Company pension
- On-site parking
- Continuous professional development
- Access to the latest AI technologies and tools
- Opportunity to shape the future of an innovative Irish engineering company
- Clear progression into senior leadership
Essential Requirements
- Minimum 3 years' experience in AI implementation, digital transformation, process improvement, business systems, ERP administration or a similar role.
- Authorised to work in Ireland.
- Ability to work on-site in Wexford.
- Full professional proficiency in English.
If you are excited by the idea of combining Artificial Intelligence, operational excellence and engineering to transform how an innovative manufacturing business operates, we'd love to hear from you.
Pay: €30,000.00-€55,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Work Location: In person
