Senior AI Solution Architect at Staples Inc.

United States

<p><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Staples is building the future of Marketplace through practical, AI-enabled solutions that help teams work smarter, move faster, and create measurable business impact. The Marketplace organization sits at the intersection of product, commercial strategy, operations, and technology—solving complex challenges that directly support growth, efficiency, and customer experience.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">As the Senior AI Solution Architect, you will be a business-embedded technical leader responsible for identifying, shaping, and rapidly delivering AI-enabled solutions to high-value operational and commercial challenges. This is a hands-on builder role—not a traditional roadmap-bound engineering role and not a sales or demo function. You will work directly with Marketplace leaders, product managers, commercial teams, Technology, and Data/AI partners to uncover real-world inefficiencies, translate ambiguous problems into structured technical approaches, and develop working solution pathways that can be validated, scaled, and operationalized.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">This role is preferred to work out of our Framingham, MA HQ facility but we are open to 100% remote work with travel as needed.&nbsp;</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>What you’ll be doing:</strong></span></p><ul style="list-style-type: disc;"><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Embed within Marketplace operations, product, and commercial teams to understand end-to-end workflows, undocumented processes, edge cases, and operational nuances.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Identify, define, and prioritize AI and automation opportunities based on business impact, scalability, and feasibility.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Translate ambiguous business problems into structured technical approaches, solution hypotheses, and build plans.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Develop and deploy rapid prototypes or proof of concepts using internal platforms, enterprise data, and modern AI/ML and large language model tooling.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Validate solutions using real-world data and workflows to demonstrate measurable business value.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Partner with Technology and Data/AI teams to transition validated prototypes into scalable, production-ready solutions.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Serve as a critical bridge between business stakeholders and technical teams, ensuring clarity of requirements and continuity of context.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Drive adoption of deployed solutions by staying engaged through rollout, iteration, and performance measurement.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Establish and track success metrics tied to business outcomes such as efficiency gains, cost reduction, revenue impact, and user adoption.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Contribute reusable learnings, frameworks, and enhancements to enterprise platforms based on field insights.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Lead or coordinate multiple concurrent, high-impact initiatives with cross-functional stakeholders.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Mentor less experienced team members and contribute to capability building within the forward-deployed function.</span></li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>What you bring to the table:</strong></span></p><ul style="list-style-type: disc;"><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Strong problem-framing and critical-thinking skills, especially in ambiguous environments where the path forward is not predefined.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">A builder mindset with the curiosity and ownership to move from problem discovery to working solution quickly.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Ability to connect technical solutions to clear business outcomes and communicate impact in practical terms.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Effective stakeholder engagement across technical and non-technical audiences.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Adaptability and comfort operating in rapidly evolving technology and business environments.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Collaborative approach with the ability to influence without direct authority.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Clear, concise communication skills across all organizational levels, including senior leadership.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Business acumen and judgment to balance value, feasibility, scalability, and adoption.</span></li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>What’s needed- Basic Qualifications:</strong></span></p><ul style="list-style-type: disc;"><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, a related technical field, or equivalent work experience.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">10+ years of overall experience in software engineering or technical solution development.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Experience building and deploying AI, machine learning, automation, or data-driven solutions in a business or enterprise environment.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Experience writing code and delivering working prototypes using modern programming languages such as Python, Java, or similar.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Experience translating business requirements into technical solutions in partnership with business stakeholders.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Experience delivering solutions from concept through prototype validation.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Experience integrating or working with structured and unstructured data sources.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Experience managing multiple complex projects or initiatives simultaneously.</span></li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>What’s needed- Preferred Qualifications:&nbsp;</strong></span></p><ul style="list-style-type: disc;"><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Master’s degree or advanced technical training.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Experience in eCommerce, marketplaces, retail, or adjacent industries.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Experience implementing AI or automation solutions within large, matrixed enterprise environments.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Familiarity with enterprise data platforms, cloud environments, and modern AI/LLM tooling ecosystems.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Experience working at the intersection of business units and centralized technology or data organizations.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Experience contributing to or enhancing reusable platforms, frameworks, or internal tools.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Prior experience in a forward-deployed engineering, solutions engineering, or similar business-embedded technical role.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Experience quantifying and communicating the business impact of technical solutions.</span></li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><strong>We Offer:</strong></span></p><ul style="list-style-type: disc; padding-left: 48px;"><li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Inclusive culture with associate-led Business Resource Groups</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">22 days of PTO and Holiday Schedule (7 observed paid holidays + 1 floating holiday)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Online and Retail Discounts, Company Match 401(k), Physical and Mental Health Wellness programs, and more!</span></li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The salary range represents the expected compensation for this role at the time of posting. The specific base pay may be influenced by a variety of factors to include the candidate's experience, skill set, education, geography, business considerations, and internal equity. In addition to base pay, this role may be eligible for bonuses, or other forms of variable compensation.</span></p> <br>Staples is an Equal Opportunity Employer.&nbsp; All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.