Lead AI and Automation

Founded in 2000 by three former Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CF-18 fighter pilots who identified an opportunity to improve military readiness training, Top Aces has since established itself as the world leader in contracted adversary air (ADAIR) services and joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) training.

We pride ourselves on our unblemished safety record, having flown an industry leading 130,000+ hours of operational training without accident in support of customers worldwide, including Canada, the U.S., Germany, and multiple other NATO allies and international partner nations.

Our vision is to be the most trusted provider of innovative defense training solutions, continuously elevating standards in an industry where "Experience Matters." This commitment to innovation and technology ensures we remain adaptable, training allied militaries to succeed against evolving threats.

Top Aces’ dynamic team contributes to delivering on our purpose of training the next generation of combat leaders by living our values of Service, Integrity, Excellence, and Together every day!

Join our team!

Position Summary

The AI and Automation Leader establishes and leads Top Aces' enterprise capability for artificial intelligence, intelligent automation, and digitally enabled process improvement. Reporting to the Chief Information Officer, the Leader converts business priorities into secure, scalable solutions that improve aircraft readiness, maintenance execution, supply-chain performance, employee productivity, decision-making, compliance, and customer delivery.

The role combines strategy, governance, architecture, delivery, adoption, and value realization. It works across aviation operations, maintenance and engineering, supply chain, finance, safety, quality, human resources, commercial programs, cybersecurity, and corporate services. The Leader must balance innovation with aviation safety, record integrity, contractual commitments, export controls, privacy, cybersecurity, and the need-to-know boundaries of Canadian, U.S., and international defense programs.

Top Aces Business Context

Top Aces provides advanced operational training and aircraft sustainment services to Canada, the United States, NATO members, and allied nations. Its operating environment combines flight operations, MRO, engineering, supply chain, training, proprietary technology, and highly regulated customer programs. AI and automation must therefore be introduced through controlled, auditable processes that protect sensitive information and preserve accountable human decision-making.

The Leader will build a practical portfolio that begins with high-value, achievable opportunities and expands through reusable platforms, trusted data, and disciplined governance. Priorities may include Ramco-enabled MRO processes, accounts payable, procurement, technical-document workflows, inventory and demand planning, service management, knowledge search, and operational analytics.

Key Responsibilities

AI and Automation Strategy

• Partner with the CIO to develop and execute a multi-year AI and intelligent automation strategy aligned with Top Aces' business strategy, operating model, enterprise architecture, cybersecurity requirements, and investment priorities.
• Create and maintain an enterprise portfolio of AI, robotic process automation, workflow, process-mining, intelligent-document-processing, and agentic automation opportunities.
• Prioritize initiatives using consistent criteria for business value, operational risk, feasibility, data readiness, security, scalability, adoption effort, and total cost of ownership.
• Advise the CIO and executive leaders on technology trends, strategic opportunities, material risks, required capabilities, and investment tradeoffs.

Business Process Discovery and Portfolio Management

• Partner with functional and operational leaders to identify manual, repetitive, error-prone, or information-intensive processes and redesign them before automating them.
• Establish a transparent intake, assessment, prioritization, and stage-gate process from idea through proof of concept, production, support, and retirement.
• Define accountable business owners, baseline performance, target outcomes, control requirements, and adoption plans for every approved initiative.
• Focus the portfolio on measurable improvements to aircraft availability, maintenance throughput, material readiness, contract delivery, financial performance, compliance, employee experience, and customer service.

Solution Delivery and Lifecycle Management

• Lead the design, development, testing, deployment, monitoring, support, and continuous improvement of production AI and automation solutions.
• Determine when capabilities should be configured on strategic platforms, developed internally, or sourced from specialized partners.
• Establish development standards for reusable components, APIs, integrations, prompt and model management, testing, observability, exception handling, change control, documentation, and recovery.
• Require production solutions to have defined service ownership, support procedures, business continuity arrangements, and retirement criteria.
• Manage delivery roadmaps, budgets, vendors, licenses, service levels, risks, dependencies, and benefits realization.

Responsible AI Security and Compliance

• Establish and maintain Top Aces responsible AI policy, governance forums, risk classifications, approval authorities, control standards, and an inventory of AI systems and use cases.
• Ensure appropriate human oversight, transparency, traceability, data provenance, auditability, accuracy testing, access control, and segregation of duties.
• Work with Cybersecurity, Legal, Privacy, Export Compliance, Quality, Safety, and program security personnel to assess data leakage, hallucination, bias, intellectual-property, model, supplier, and operational risks.
• Protect personal, proprietary, export-controlled, classified, controlled unclassified, customer, mission, and technical information throughout the solution lifecycle.
• Support appropriate controls for the Canadian Controlled Goods Program, ITAR and EAR, CUI safeguards, CMMC, NIST SP 800-171, privacy requirements, contractual clauses, data residency, and FOCI-related technology control plans, where applicable.
• Define monitoring, incident response, access review, model reassessment, and exception-management requirements, and suspend solutions that exceed approved risk tolerances.

Architecture Data and Platforms

• Define enterprise architecture patterns for generative AI, machine learning, RPA, workflow automation, process mining, intelligent document processing, conversational assistants, and AI agents.
• Partner with data leadership to ensure solutions use governed, accurate, appropriately classified, and authorized data with documented lineage and retention requirements.
• Integrate AI and automation securely with Ramco MRO and ERP, finance, supply chain, collaboration, document management, data platforms, and IT service-management systems.
• Evaluate platforms and vendors for functional fit, security, data use and retention, model hosting, interoperability, portability, resilience, supportability, licensing, and long-term cost.
• Promote strategic platforms and reusable services to reduce technology fragmentation and uncontrolled departmental solutions.

Aviation MRO and Corporate Automation

• Partner with Maintenance, Engineering, Airworthiness, Quality, Operations, and Supply Chain to improve MRO workflows without compromising approved technical records or airworthiness accountabilities.
• Develop use cases such as maintenance-planning support, technical-record review, parts-demand forecasting, component-reliability analysis, inventory optimization, document classification, and exception detection.
• Improve Ramco usability and process efficiency through workflow, integration, data remediation, guided user experiences, and targeted automation while preserving the system of record.
• Automate suitable corporate processes such as invoice capture and matching, purchase requests, employee services, contract review, customer reporting, and IT service fulfillment.
• Ensure safety-critical, regulated, or consequential decisions retain the required qualified-person review and formal approval.

Adoption Change and AI Literacy

• Develop role-based AI literacy and responsible-use training for executives, managers, employees, developers, process owners, and solution approvers.
• Establish a network of business automation champions while maintaining central architecture, security, risk, and lifecycle controls.
• Lead change-management activities, including stakeholder engagement, communications, process documentation, training, adoption measurement, and feedback loops.
• Create approved pathways for experimentation and citizen development, with clear boundaries for data, platforms, environments, and production deployment.

Leadership and Stakeholder Partnership

• Build and lead a multidisciplinary capability spanning automation development, business analysis, AI engineering, solution architecture, product management, and change enablement.
• Partner with Canadian and U.S. IT, Product development, cybersecurity, data, and business leaders to align delivery while respecting legal-entity, security-domain, and access boundaries.
• Select and manage technology vendors, consulting partners, and managed-service providers through clear outcomes, security obligations, architecture standards, service levels, and commercial accountability.
• Communicate portfolio progress, business value, operational risks, control effectiveness, and investment needs to senior leadership in concise business terms.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, engineering, data science, business, or a related discipline. A graduate degree or relevant professional certification is an asset.
• At least eight years of progressive experience in digital transformation, intelligent automation, enterprise applications, data, analytics, or technology delivery, including at least three years leading AI or automation programs.
• Demonstrated success taking AI, automation, or advanced analytics solutions from discovery and proof of concept into secure, supported production services.
• Experience developing business cases, managing a portfolio and budget, leading cross-functional programs, and validating realized financial and operational benefits.
• Experience in aerospace, defence, aviation, MRO, manufacturing, or another safety-critical, regulated, and asset-intensive industry is strongly preferred.
• Experience operating across multiple countries, legal entities, or security domains, including Canada and the United States, is preferred.

Technical and Regulatory Knowledge

• Strong knowledge of generative AI, machine learning, AI agents, robotic process automation, workflow automation, process mining, APIs, integration, and intelligent document processing.
• Practical knowledge of responsible AI, model risk, privacy, information security, data governance, human oversight, testing, monitoring, and third-party risk management.
• Experience with Microsoft technologies such as Azure AI, Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Power Platform, Copilot Studio, and Power Automate is preferred.
• Experience with enterprise automation platforms such as UiPath, Automation Anywhere, or comparable technologies is an asset.
• Understanding of ERP and MRO processes and platforms. Direct experience with Ramco Aviation is a good asset; experience with comparable aviation or enterprise platforms is also relevant.
• Familiarity with the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, ISO IEC 42001, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, secure software-development practices, and applicable Canadian and U.S. defence-security obligations.
• Ability to obtain and maintain the security clearances, controlled-goods eligibility, and customer or program authorizations required for the position.
• Business judgment that connects technology investment to safety, mission readiness, contract delivery, customer commitments, workforce capacity, and financial performance.
• Ability to translate operational challenges into practical solutions and explain complex technology and risk considerations to non-technical audiences.
• Collaborative leadership and the ability to influence executives, operational leaders, technical specialists, and front-line users without relying solely on formal authority.
• Disciplined execution, with practical experience managing priorities, budgets, suppliers, dependencies, risks, and organizational change.
• Commitment to Top Aces' values of Service, Integrity, Excellence, and Together.
• Professional fluency in English is required. French and additional languages used across Top Aces operations are assets.

Measures of Success

Annual objectives will be established with the CIO and business leaders. Measures should demonstrate safe adoption, strong governance, reliable delivery, and verified improvements in operational and corporate performance.

Security Clearance Requirements/ CGP / ITAR:

Position requires Level II clearance with the Canadian Government and the ability to gain access to the Canadian Controlled Goods Program

By joining Top Aces, you will find:

• A work environment in which service, integrity, excellence and teamwork are highly valued;
• Opportunities for development and growth;
• Multidisciplinary and multicultural collaboration at a local and global level;

Come share your passion with us! Here, you'll be encouraged, empowered, and challenged to be your best self.

At Top Aces, all employees are welcome regardless of race, nationality, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability or age. The masculine form may be used in this job description solely for ease of reading but refers to men, women and gender diversity.