Technical Lead, Automation & AI Enablement

Technical Lead, Automation & AI Enablement

Role Summary:

At TireHub we move more than tires – we move businesses forward, support communities, and help keep America rolling. And behind it all? Our people. We call them Hubbers – because they’re at the center of everything we do. From behind the wheel to the warehouse floor, from customer calls to corporate strategy, every Hubber plays a role in something bigger than themselves. And we show up every day ready to say yes – to challenges, to each other, and to getting it done right.

The Automation & AI Enablement Technical Lead is a hands-on technical leader responsible for architecting and delivering TireHub's enterprise automation and AI enablement programs. This role drives end-to-end solution design and execution across the full Microsoft automation and AI stack - Power Platform, Copilot Studio, and Microsoft Foundry - while directly managing and developing a team of engineers. This leader translates complex business problems into production-ready AI-powered automation solutions, partners with stakeholders to identify and prioritize high-value opportunities, and owns the technical direction, delivery quality, and capability growth of the team. The role requires equal command of automation, AI agent design and orchestration, and the integration patterns that connect them across enterprise systems.

This role will report to the Sr. Leader, BI & Analytics.

When you say YES to something bigger:

• Choose your day one benefits which include a no cost health insurance option
• TireHub funded Health Savings Account
• Additional benefit options including TireHub paid short/long term disability and life insurance benefits
• Paid vacation and holidays
• Parental leave programs
• Build your financial future with 401k including TireHub match
• Access to tire discounts, perks, and so much more!
• Enjoy access to the TireHub headquarters location in Ravinia Plaza including free parking, free gym, convenient restaurants, outdoor spaces, special

The individual must exhibit the following core attributes of the TireHub commitment:

• Approachable - If a company could smile, we would. Instead, we rely on our people to show it. We care about each other and our customers because we know business only gets done right when people respect each other and value relationships.
• Adventurous - What TireHub is set up to is intentionally outrageous. So, we readily embrace challenges with the courage to introduce new ideas and the ambition to build something unique.
• Relentless - We tackle our work with energy. We deliver on our commitments with enthusiasm. And we do not give up until we get to the end.
• Speedy - Speed is the currency in the tire industry. When we commit to a job, we get the job done – and we do it fast.

Role Specifics:

Team Leadership & People Development

• Directly manage, mentor, and develop a team of engineers, fostering a high-performance culture aligned with TireHub's values.
• Set clear goals, provide regular feedback, and support the professional growth and career development of direct reports.
• Establishes team standards for solution design, documentation, testing, and deployment practices across the automation and AI program.
• Acts as a force multiplier: translate business priorities into clear technical direction, unblock team members, and ensure consistent delivery velocity.
• Coordinates effectively across onshore and offshore team members, adapting communication and workflows to support a distributed team model.

AI & Automation Architecture

• Designs and own the enterprise architecture for TireHub's automation and AI enablement programs, spanning Power Platform, Copilot Studio, and Microsoft Foundry.
• Establishes architecture patterns that connect AI agents, automated workflows, and enterprise systems - including Microsoft Fabric, Dataverse, Azure services, ERP system, and third-party APIs.
• Defines technical standards, governance frameworks, and best practices for solution design, security, and lifecycle management across the automation and AI stack.
• Leads evaluation of new Microsoft AI and automation capabilities, running rapid proof-of-concepts and pilots to assess business value and implementation feasibility.
• Partners with IT security to ensure automation and AI solutions adhere to data privacy, access control, and compliance requirements.
• Collaborates with business stakeholders to build deep understanding of core business processes and translate that context into scalable, AI-powered automation solutions.
• Provides technical leadership across complex, cross-functional initiatives - guiding design decisions, reviewing solution architecture, and ensuring delivery quality.

AI Enablement & Automation Engineering

• Leads the design, development, and deployment of AI agents and copilots using Microsoft Copilot Studio, including conversational agents, task automation bots, and orchestrated multi-agent solutions.
• Architects and implements AI solutions on Microsoft Foundry, including model selection and grounding, prompt engineering, RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) patterns, and responsible AI guardrails.
• Builds and modernize end-to-end automation workflows using Microsoft Power Automate, Power Apps, Logic Apps, and Azure integration services - connecting automated processes with AI capabilities where they add business value.
• Designs robust integration layers using REST APIs, Dataverse, Service Bus, and Azure services to connect automation and AI solutions across TireHub's enterprise systems.
• Ensures reliability, observability, and security of deployed solutions through comprehensive error handling, logging, alerting, and monitoring frameworks.
• Partners with business units to analyze processes end-to-end, identify AI and automation opportunities, and translate functional requirements into technical specifications and user stories.
• Delivers technical demonstrations and enablement sessions to stakeholders to drive adoption and ensure the full value of AI and automation investments is realized.
• Maintains comprehensive technical documentation and establish knowledge standards across the team.

Delivery & Operations

• Operates within an Agile/Sprint environment; lead sprint planning and delivery cadence for the automation and AI team.
• Balances direct technical contribution with oversight responsibilities, contributing to solution design, code review, and architecture decisions.
• Demonstrates a commitment to continuous learning by researching, recommending, and applying emerging automation and AI techniques to advance TireHub's capabilities.
• Ensures individual and team adherence to TireHub policies, procedures, and guidelines.
• Complete other tasks assigned by their supervisor or another member of Leadership, as requested.

Competencies:

• People Leadership: Establishes clear expectations, provides ongoing coaching and feedback, and develops the technical and professional capabilities of direct reports. Builds a team culture grounded in accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Innovation Orientation: Demonstrates a high degree of commitment to creating and exploring innovative approaches - particularly at the intersection of AI and automation - that enhance performance and drive organizational success.
• Entrepreneurship/Intrapreneurship: Identifies and evaluates opportunities for AI-powered automation with a business-focused mindset (e.g., cost savings, efficiency gains, competitive advantage) and takes decisive action to execute.
• Organizational Awareness: Uses knowledge of systems, processes, and culture inside TireHub to identify high-value automation and AI opportunities and understand the cross-functional impact of proposed solutions.
• Collaborates: Builds strong partnerships and works collaboratively with business stakeholders, IT, and vendor partners to design and deliver automation and AI solutions that meet real business needs.
• Agility and Adaptability: Thrives in a fast-moving AI landscape; actively monitors and experiments with emerging Microsoft AI and automation capabilities to keep TireHub's program at the leading edge.
• Problem-Solving: Advanced critical thinking skills to diagnose and resolve complex technical issues across automation workflows, AI agent behavior, integration failures, and system performance.
• Communication: Excellent communication skills to interact with team members, stakeholders, and external partners. Excels at translating AI and automation concepts into clear business value for non-technical audiences.

Education/Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field is preferred.
• Master's degree is a plus.
• 7+ years of experience in automation engineering, solution architecture, or a related technical role.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience with Microsoft Power Platform (Power Automate, Power Apps, Power Pages).
• 2+ years of experience designing and deploying AI-powered solutions, including conversational AI, AI agents, or LLM-based applications.
• Demonstrated experience with Microsoft Copilot Studio, including agent design, topic authoring, channel deployment, and integration with enterprise data sources.
• Experience with Microsoft Foundry (Azure AI Foundry) including model deployment, prompt engineering, RAG pipelines, and responsible AI practices.
• 2+ years of direct people management or technical lead experience, including managing onshore and/or offshore team members.
• Experience with Azure integration services including Logic Apps, Service Bus, Azure Functions, and Application Insights.
• Proficiency in API integration patterns (REST, GraphQL, OAuth/token-based authentication).
• Proficiency in SQL and at least one programming language (Python, C#, Scala).
• Demonstrated project management skills and ability to lead cross-functional initiatives in an Agile environment.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Expert-level proficiency in Microsoft Power Platform (Power Automate, Power Apps, Dataverse) - including complex flow design, model-driven and canvas app development, security role configuration, and ALM practices.
• Deep, hands-on expertise in Microsoft Copilot Studio: designing multi-topic conversational agents, integrating with enterprise data via connectors and plugins, deploying across channels, and implementing AI-assisted automation flows.
• Proven capability with Microsoft Foundry (Azure AI Foundry): configuring model endpoints, designing grounding and RAG architectures, prompt engineering, evaluating model outputs, and applying responsible AI controls.
• Strong integration architecture skills - ability to design and implement solutions that connect Power Platform, Copilot Studio, and Foundry with Dynamics 365, SharePoint, Azure services, and third-party systems via REST APIs and Dataverse.
• Experience building observable, production-grade solutions with comprehensive error handling, logging (Application Insights or equivalent), and alerting.
• Ability to lead, coach, and hold accountable a small team of engineers; experience managing distributed/offshore team members preferred.
• Skilled at partnering with business stakeholders to understand process needs and translate them into technical automation and AI requirements.
• Advanced analytical and critical thinking skills, with the ability to troubleshoot and resolve issues across automation workflows, AI agent behavior, and system integrations.
• Ability to balance hands-on individual contribution with team leadership responsibilities in a fast-paced, agile environment.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively manage multiple workstreams and prioritize across a complex delivery portfolio.
• Embraces intellectual curiosity and demonstrates a history of continuous self-improvement, particularly in fast-evolving AI domains.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• A valid Driver's license with a minimum of 2 years of driving experience required (3 years preferred; does not include time on learner's permits).

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and its integration patterns with Power Platform and Copilot Studio.
• Familiarity with data platforms (Microsoft Fabric, Dataverse, Azure SQL) as sources for AI grounding and automation triggers - not as primary deliverables, but as integration points.
• Experience building autonomous or semi-autonomous multi-agent systems using Copilot Studio agent orchestration or Azure AI agent frameworks.
• Hands-on experience with prompt engineering techniques, few-shot learning, chain-of-thought patterns, and LLM evaluation frameworks.
• Strong preference for candidates holding relevant Microsoft certifications: PL-600 (Power Platform Architect), PL-400 (Power Platform Developer), AI-102 (Azure AI Engineer), or AZ-204 (Azure Developer).

Working Conditions:

• This is a fast-paced and dynamic operating environment.
• Majority of time is spent sitting, constantly viewing monitors in a comfortable position with frequent opportunity to move around. There may be occasions to move or lift light articles.
• Must be able to work flexible hours to accommodate routinely critical system changes and emergency events.
• Must be able to travel up to 10%.

TireHub will consider the employment of all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws. TireHub maintains a drug-free workplace in accordance with state and federal law.