VP, Enterprise Architecture & AI Innovation

Hayward Holdings Inc. (NYSE "HAYW") is one of the leading manufacturers of residential swimming pool equipment in the world, with a significant presence in the commercial pool market that is continuously growing. Hayward designs, manufactures, and markets a full line of residential and commercial pool and spa equipment including pumps, filters, heating, cleaners, salt chlorinators, automation, lighting, safety, flow control and energy solutions at our company owned facilities. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Hayward also has facilities in Tennessee, Arizona, and Rhode Island, Georgia, as well as Canada, Spain, France, Australia, and China. 

Position Summary:

The Vice President, Enterprise Architecture & AI Innovation is responsible for defining and executing the enterprise technology vision, architecture strategy, AI strategy and innovation roadmap that enable business growth, operational excellence, and digital transformation. This executive leader sets enterprise-wide technology direction and standards; leads the company's end-to-end AI agenda, including AI strategy, technology and platform direction, governance, responsible AI, risk and privacy, adoption, and value realization; and ensures technology investments align with business priorities and long-term strategic objectives.

The role partners closely with business leaders, application, cybersecurity, data and analytics teams, Legal, and Enterprise Risk Management to identify and scale high-value AI opportunities, establish the technology and governance foundations required for responsible AI adoption, and ensure AI and broader technology investments deliver measurable business value.

The Vice President leads technology modernization and optimization initiatives, and provides enterprise leadership for emerging technologies, ensuring innovation is scalable, secure, well-governed, and aligned with Hayward's business and technology strategy.

Responsibilities:

Enterprise Architecture Leadership

• Develop and maintain the enterprise architecture strategy, multi-year roadmap, standards, principles, and governance framework.
• Define target-state architecture across applications, data, integration, cloud, infrastructure, security, and emerging technologies.
• Lead architecture review boards and technology governance processes to ensure consistent, transparent decision-making.
• Ensure technology decisions support scalability, maintainability, security, interoperability, and business agility.
• Establish enterprise technology standards, reference architectures, reusable patterns, and lifecycle management practices.

AI Strategy & Digital Transformation

• Develop and execute the enterprise AI strategy and roadmap in alignment with business priorities.

• Identify and prioritize opportunities to leverage generative AI, machine learning, intelligent automation, and predictive analytics.

• Establish AI governance, literacy, risk management, ethical-use standards, and responsible AI practices.

• Partner with business leaders to translate AI opportunities into measurable outcomes.

• Monitor emerging technology trends and assess their relevance, feasibility, risk, and potential enterprise value.

Innovation Management

• Lead the enterprise innovation program and technology incubation initiatives.
• Evaluate new technologies, platforms, vendors, and strategic partnerships.
• Create disciplined processes for experimentation, prototyping, piloting, scaling, and measuring innovative solutions.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, responsible experimentation, and digital innovation.
• Technology Strategy & Planning
• Partner with the Chief Digital & Information Officer to develop and communicate the enterprise technology strategy.
• Align technology investments and capability roadmaps with enterprise objectives and business-unit priorities.
• Support annual technology planning, portfolio prioritization, architecture decisions, and investment recommendations.
• Develop multi-year roadmaps that balance innovation, modernization, technical debt reduction, risk, and operational stability.
• Provide executive-level thought leadership to senior leaders and business stakeholders.
  

Data & Digital Ecosystem Enablement

• Collaborate with data and analytics leaders to establish enterprise data architecture and governance practices.
• Ensure integration strategies support business process optimization, reliable data exchange, and appropriate data accessibility.
• Promote architecture designs that maximize interoperability, automation, analytics, and reuse.
• Drive cloud-first and platform-based architecture approaches where they are appropriate to business needs and risk requirements.

Team Leadership

• Build and lead a high-performing team of enterprise architects, solution architects, AI leaders, and innovation professionals.
• Attract, develop, engage, and retain strong technology talent.
• Mentor technology leaders and architecture professionals across the organization.
• Establish clear performance goals, operating rhythms, succession plans, and capability-development priorities.

Risk, Security & Compliance

• Partner with cybersecurity, legal, privacy, risk, and compliance leaders to ensure architecture designs meet applicable requirements.

• Embed security-by-design, privacy-by-design, resilience, and responsible AI principles into technology solutions.

• Ensure regulatory, records, data-protection, and governance considerations are incorporated into architecture decisions.

Qualifications:

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business, or a related field required.
• Master's degree in Technology, Business Administration, or a related discipline preferred.

Experience

• 15+ years of progressive technology experience, including significant enterprise leadership responsibility.
• 10+ years leading enterprise architecture, solution architecture, digital transformation, AI, or innovation organizations.
• Demonstrated experience developing enterprise technology strategies, standards, governance models, and multi-year roadmaps.
• Experience implementing AI, cloud, analytics, integration, automation, and digital transformation initiatives at scale.
• Proven ability to influence executive leaders, build cross-functional alignment, and lead enterprise-wide change.
• Experience managing senior technical talent, strategic partners, and complex technology portfolios.
• Preferred Certifications
• TOGAF or another recognized enterprise architecture credential.
• Enterprise architecture, cloud architecture, or solution architecture certification.
• Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, or Google Cloud architecture certification.
• AI, data, product management, Agile, or project management credentials.

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