AI Service Manager

Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. UCSC will not sponsor work visas for this position.

This position is hybrid, with opportunities to negotiate a fully remote telecommute agreement.

HOW TO APPLY

For full consideration, applicants should attach their resume and cover letter when applying for a job opening. For guidance related to the application process or if you are experiencing difficulties when applying, please review the on our website.

INITIAL REVIEW DATE (IRD)

UC Santa Cruz jobs are posted until filled. All application materials submitted by 11:59 pm on the IRD will be routed to the hiring team for consideration. NOTE: Applicants who miss the IRD are still encouraged to apply; their materials will still be forwarded for consideration if requested by the hiring team. Application materials cannot be accepted outside of the jobs portal. Applications cannot be edited on an applicant's behalf. For more information about the IRD and the applicant review process, .

The IRD for this job is: 01-08-2026

ABOUT UC SANTA CRUZ

UC Santa Cruz is a public university like no other in California, combining the experience of a small, liberal arts college with the depth and rigor of a major research university. It's known as an unconventional place where innovation and experimentation is part of the campus's DNA. That playful, bold spirit still thrives today, all on a campus renowned as among the most beautiful in the world.

DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW

Information Technology Services (ITS) is the center for IT services and support at UC Santa Cruz. We are a team of over 200 diverse, enthusiastic people with a mission to deliver exceptional, modern, accessible, and secure technology services and support to nearly 25,000 students, faculty, and staff. We are constantly striving to meet the evolving needs of our campus while fostering a culture that embraces the rich variety of perspectives and experiences within our community.

We are looking for people who are curious, hard-working, resourceful, kind, and committed to inclusion. We strive to continually improve service quality, experience, and value for UC Santa Cruz students and employees, and are in search of people who can help our team continue to meet that goal. ITS is committed to strengthening our internal values of equity, work-life balance, and fostering a supportive culture. Prioritizing career paths is important to us and we devote resources to skill and professional development for our staff. We encourage you to apply, even if you do not believe you meet every qualification for the position but possess transferable skills and experience.

University of California offers competitive benefits including Medical, Dental & Vision Care Insurance Plans, University of California (UC) retirement, Paid Family Leave, and Paid Holidays plus accrued vacation and sick leave. Visit the UC benefits page for more information at UC Compensation and Benefits.

More information can be found at

JOB SUMMARY

The AI Service Manager will lead the service management, coordination, and enablement of UC Santa Cruz's Generative AI (GenAI) platforms, ensuring the platforms evolve in alignment with campus needs and strategic priorities. This role serves as the primary point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, overseeing scope, schedule, and delivery. The role will drive collaboration across technical and non-technical teams, lead stakeholder engagement, support solution design, and facilitate the identification and documentation of requirements and AI use cases to advance efficiency, innovation and impact for teaching, learning, research, and administration.

APPOINTMENT INFORMATION

Budgeted Salary: $132,300 - $155,000/year. Salary commensurate with skills, qualifications and experience.
Under California law, the University of California, Santa Cruz is required to post a reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role. The salary shown above is the budgeted amount the University reasonably expects to pay and the salary extended should not exceed this posted amount.

Benefits Level Eligibility: Full benefits

Schedule Information:

• Full-time, Fixed
• Percentage of Time: 100%, 40 Hours per Week
• Days of the Week: Mon-Fri
• Shift Includes: Day

Employee Classification: Career appointment

Job End Date: None

Work Location: Scotts Valley

Union Representation: Non-Represented

Job Code Classification: 000658 (BUS SYS ANL 5) - Grade 26

Travel: Up to 25% of the time

JOB DUTIES

25% - Strategic Leadership & Oversight

• Provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for UCSC's GenAI platforms, ensuring high-impact, equitable service delivery, and compliance with campus policy and guidance.
• Develop, define and implement performance metrics to track platform adoption, effectiveness, and alignment with campus objectives and identify actionable opportunities for continual service improvement.
• Collaborate with ITS leadership, campus AI governance bodies, and project sponsors to manage platform scope, priorities, and timelines, ensuring alignment with both strategic and tactical goals.
• Manage vendor relationships, including coordinating contract reviews, researching and proposing new vendors and technologies for GenAI and its offerings, and engaging vendors in support for incidents that cannot be resolved by the service team.

20% - AI Enablement and Adoption

• Partner with academic, research, and administrative stakeholders to identify opportunities where Generative AI can enhance efficiency, decision-making, and innovation.
• Translate business and academic challenges into actionable AI use cases and collaborate on solution design.
• Facilitate AI literacy and adoption across campus through training, workshops, and collaborative learning communities.
• Monitor adoption metrics, gather feedback, and analyze the realized value and impact of AI services.
• Partner with academic leadership on the approach to discipline specific student AI literacy, infrastructure, and investment.
• Champion ethical, responsible, and effective use of AI technologies in alignment with campus and UC policies.

20% - Service Management

• Respond to and resolve incidents and inquiries for the service and its offerings in alignment with the service level agreement. Escalate incidents as appropriate to subject matter experts in other service areas.
• Fulfill pre-defined service requests. Identify and define new service requests.
• Manage changes; identify, analyze, and resolve problems; and identify and respond to major incidents in collaboration with the Service Desk.
• Knowledge and Training Management Draft, publish, and manage knowledge articles and knowledge feedback, ensuring articles are accurate, useful, and effective for client self-service and the Service Desk.
• Provide direct training, knowledge and feedback to the Service Desk to ensure early resolution of incidents and inquiries for clients.
• Coach and train service team members in incident, service request, major incident, problem, change, and knowledge management.

15% - Stakeholder Engagement & Communication

• Serve as the central point of coordination for platform stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, vendors, and governance bodies.
• Lead stakeholder engagement efforts including needs assessment, requirements gathering, use case development, and ongoing feedback loops.
• Build and facilitate communities of practice to cultivate shared learning and more sophisticated uses of GenAI platforms.
• Oversee ITS communications, training, and change management activities to ensure successful platform rollouts and service sustainability.
• Collaborate with partner organizations (such as Academic Affairs and Staff HR) on communications and training to support adoption and utilization of GenAI platforms.
• Interact with peer managers across the organization.

15% - Technical Requirements & Solutions Design

• Translate business and academic needs into technical requirements, and support solution design in partnership with technical leads and subject matter experts.
• Manage platform scope, priorities, and timelines in coordination with ITS leadership and project sponsors.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to design and develop platform solutions that meet user expectations, ensuring compliance with university policies on data privacy, security, and accessibility.
• Ensure compliance with UC and campus guidance and policies regarding data privacy, information security, and accessibility.

5% - Team Collaboration

• Provide leadership and coordination for the AI Service function, fostering collaboration across ITS and campus partners to ensure effective service delivery and advancement of divisional goals.
• Establish clear goals, expectations, and performance standards for project work, ensuring accountability and alignment with organizational priorities.
• Support the professional growth of colleagues and project team members by modeling best practices, providing feedback, and identifying development opportunities.
• This role may assume formal supervisory responsibilities as the AI Service function expands.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex GenAI technology services or projects in an enterprise, higher education or research environment.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical concepts into practical, accessible applications for non-technical users.
• Advanced knowledge of business analysis methodologies and experience leading cross-functional planning and delivery efforts.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to navigate and influence in a decentralized environment.
• Proven ability to lead stakeholder engagement, gather and analyze business requirements, and deliver high-quality service outcomes through continuous assessment and service improvements.
• Ability to recruit and retain excellent staff, provide constructive feedback, effectively evaluate performance, and motivate others.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment in developing creative solutions to service, coordination, and policy challenges.
• Demonstrated experience with strategic planning, service design, or IT governance in higher education.
• Proven capacity to measure and communicate the impact of technology initiatives through data and outcomes. Skilled in defining, designing, and delivering services that align with the organizational goals and client needs.
• Extensive knowledge of ITIL frameworks and service management principles.
• Experience with ITSM tools, such as ServiceNow.
• Familiarity with artificial intelligence, machine learning, or data-intensive applications.
• Client-focused with a passion for service excellence.
• Extensive experience with ensuring compliance with policies and regulations including information security, FERPA, and ADA.
• Ability to create and maintain accurate and effective knowledge documentation.
• Experience in providing training to technical and non-technical staff.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively and effectively technical and non-technical audiences, building strong relationships with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders
• Ability to develop and maintain effective vendor partners