AI Transformation Lead - Freelance/Contractor - Freelance

Context

Our client is building an AI Factory to help teams across a leading international airline group and its operating companies deliver software more effectively. The ambition spans the software development lifecycle, from business intent and requirements through technical decisions, implementation, and verified releases. Achieving this requires changes to how teams work, make decisions, and collaborate, supported by shared technology and organisational knowledge.

This role is part of the AI Empowered Engineering initiative within the transformation program, based in Spain or UK, offered as a contractor position.

Missions

• Shape the initiative by helping define the ambition, scope, investment priorities, and delivery approach. Turn an evolving vision into a credible roadmap, clear choices, and decision papers for senior stakeholders.

• Build partnerships with operating companies (OpCos) by understanding local priorities, delivery constraints, and AI maturity. Establish relationships with business and technology leaders, secure sponsors, and agree responsibilities and outcomes with each participating organisation.

• Discover and prioritise opportunities by facilitating workshops, mapping delivery processes, and identifying bottlenecks. Assess use cases against business value, feasibility, readiness, and risk, then work with product and engineering colleagues to define pilot scope and success criteria.

• Develop the operating model by clarifying how Group, OpCos, and delivery teams share responsibilities, make decisions, and fund work. Help agree which capabilities and practices should be shared and where local adaptation is needed.

• Lead change and adoption by assessing impacts on roles, skills, and ways of working. Build practical adoption plans with local teams, including communications, training, champions, and feedback. Address concerns, secure ownership, and support sustained use after pilots.

• Coordinate delivery across teams by maintaining an integrated view of priorities, milestones, dependencies, and risks. Work with engineering, architecture, security, and governance colleagues to resolve blockers and bring decisions to the right owners.

• Build and test the value case by establishing baselines for delivery time, effort, quality, and cost. Track adoption and realised benefits, distinguish released capacity from cashable savings, and use evidence to recommend scaling, adapting, or stopping an approach.

• Communicate and spread learning by preparing concise executive updates, facilitating decisions, and sharing practical lessons between OpCos. Use AI tools yourself to support analysis and workflow experiments, validating outputs before they inform decisions.

Working Conditions

• Location: TBC

• Contract type: Freelance/Contractor

• Part of a strategic transformation program within a major international airline group