Head of AI & Automation (internal)

About the role

This is a director-level position leading company-wide AI and automation adoption at n8n, a $2.5B workflow orchestration platform. You'll drive strategic transformation programs, establish governance frameworks, and scale a team from 2 to 15+ people while turning n8n into an exemplar of how SaaS companies work with AI.

What you'll do

• Design and run company-wide AI and automation programs including hackathons and enablement initiatives
• Build adoption frameworks with clear success metrics covering participation, satisfaction, and business impact
• Act as internal consultant to leadership teams, identifying high-leverage opportunities and guiding implementation
• Define and track impact metrics including cycle time reduction, quality improvements, and productivity gains
• Establish ROI frameworks and ensure pilots transition into scalable, production-grade workflows
• Define and implement guardrails for responsible AI usage, overseeing data handling and vendor risk assessment
• Lead structured AI market watch to track trends, peer practices, and emerging tools
• Create reusable internal assets, playbooks, and reference implementations
• Lead and scale the Automation team from 2 to 15+ people, managing hiring strategy and org design

What you'll need

• Proven team leadership experience scaling teams and managing managers and individual contributors
• Technical fluency in AI concepts with ability to evaluate tools, risks, and architectural implications
• Hands-on experience with workflow automation platforms, ideally n8n or similar tools
• Understanding of security, privacy, data handling, and vendor risk in AI environments
• Track record measuring success through business outcomes and ROI frameworks
• Experience with executive stakeholder management and driving alignment at leadership level
• Proven ability to drive behavioral and operational change at scale within organizations

Nice to have

• B2B SaaS experience in high-growth environments at similar stage
• Engineering background with comfort in architecture and technical design discussions
• Experience creating clear, engaging internal and external content
• Background running hackathons, enablement tracks, or internal innovation programs