AI Product Owner- Generative AI & Agents
Graybar
Software Engineering, Product, Data Science
Remote
Make a difference.
Purpose
Own the product vision, backlog, and delivery of Graybar's portfolio of generative-AI agents — the custom agents that automate manual, mundane, and repetitive work across our order-to-cash and procure-to-pay processes, and the enterprise-wide programs that put Microsoft Copilot and Copilot Studio into the hands of Graybar's sales, customer service, and administrative employees.
As the AI Product Owner, you are the bridge between Graybar's process owners in O2C and P2P, the internal engineering team and Microsoft AI partners building custom agents in Microsoft Azure AI Foundry, the ~40 "makers" across the company building productivity agents in Microsoft Copilot Studio, and the ~60 Copilot power users evangelizing generative AI within their functions. You ensure that we build the highest-value agents first, that citizen-developer agents ship safely, and that Graybar's broader workforce realizes the productivity upside of generative AI.
Product Context
This role anchors a three-stream portfolio:
Custom agents (primary, ~50% of role). Medium-to-high complexity agents built in Microsoft Azure AI Foundry by a mixed delivery team — Graybar's internal AI engineering team plus Microsoft solution-architecture and engineering partners. Initial focus areas include order-to-cash (order entry, exception handling, customer correspondence, returns/credits) and procure-to-pay (purchase requisition, supplier inquiry, invoice exception, AP coding, expense). These are the agents most likely to remove FTE-equivalent hours from manual processes and require deep workflow analysis, system integrations (SAP S/4 HANA Graybar Connect, e-commerce, ServiceNow), and human-in-the-loop design.
Makers Community of Practice (~25% of role). ~40 citizen developers across Graybar building medium-to-low complexity productivity agents in Microsoft Copilot Studio. You set the reusable patterns, templates, design guardrails, and security/data-access standards that let makers ship freely within safe boundaries — and you act as the governance gate when an agent touches sensitive data, customer-facing surfaces, or financial workflows.
Power Users Community of Practice (~25% of role). ~60 designated power users for Microsoft 365 Copilot across sales, customer service, and administration. You build and run the program that turns this community into Graybar's generative-AI flywheel — training, case-study library, office hours, recognition — so that productivity gains compound across functions rather than staying isolated.
In this role you will:
Own and prioritize the custom-agent product backlog in Azure DevOps – write user stories, define acceptance criteria, and sequence work across O2C and P2P agent opportunities based on hours-saved, error-reduction, and adoption potential.
Lead deep discovery with O2C and P2P process owners, shared-services leaders, and frontline users – map current-state workflows, quantify manual effort, and identify the agent opportunities with the highest business value relative to build complexity.
Lead sprint planning, backlog refinement, and sprint reviews with the mixed internal + Microsoft delivery team; accept completed work and make scope decisions within sprints.
Define acceptance criteria for agentic AI features that account for model accuracy, confidence thresholds, tool/action selection, and the iterative nature of agent behavior – understanding that agent outputs are probabilistic and that "good enough to ship" requires thoughtful guardrails.
Design and optimize human-in-the-loop workflows – determining where human review is required, where it can be streamlined, and how to build user trust in agent-generated outputs and actions.
Manage the Microsoft partnership for custom agents – coordinate with Microsoft solution architects and engineers on Azure AI Foundry capabilities, roadmap dependencies, and reference architectures; inform build-vs-buy-vs-extend decisions.
Define and govern the Maker program for Microsoft Copilot Studio: publish reusable templates and design patterns, set security and data-access guardrails, define the criteria that trigger a governance review, and approve agents that cross those risk lines before they ship to production.
Run the Makers Community of Practice – office hours, monthly demo days, a shared pattern library, case-study capture, and recognition for top makers; grow the community's capability over time.
Run the Power Users Community of Practice for Microsoft 365 Copilot – curriculum, function-specific use-case libraries (sales, customer service, administration), enablement events, and a feedback loop into Microsoft on capability gaps.
Partner with HR and Learning & Development to co-build the training curricula for both communities of practice – Copilot Studio fundamentals, design patterns, and governance for makers; role-specific Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption and prompt-craft training for power users. Embed curricula into Graybar's existing learning paths so generative-AI skill-building scales beyond the CoPs.
Participate in AI governance activities – ensure responsible-AI principles, data-privacy requirements, and Graybar's AI policies are reflected in both custom agents and citizen-developer outputs.
Drive scaling and adoption – plan rollouts across districts, functions, and personas; measure adoption metrics; manage change across diverse user populations.
Collaborate with the AI engineering team and Microsoft partners to define data requirements, evaluate model and agent performance, and prioritize improvements based on business impact.
Define and track product KPIs: FTE-equivalent hours saved across O2C and P2P, custom agents shipped to production, Copilot Studio agents in active use, maker-community growth and engagement, Copilot license adoption and active usage among power users, and downstream business outcomes (cycle-time reduction, error-rate reduction, customer-experience signals).
Manage stakeholder communication – regularly update O2C and P2P process owners, shared-services leadership, function leaders in sales/customer service/administration, and executive sponsors on portfolio progress, agent roadmap, and community-of-practice outcomes.
What you bring to the table:
Minimum
5+ years of experience in product ownership, business analysis, or product management.
Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments with responsibility for backlog management and sprint ceremonies.
Demonstrated ability to translate complex business processes into technical requirements and user stories.
Experience managing products through pilot-to-scale transitions or multi-phase rollouts.
Four-year degree in Business, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).
Preferred
Experience with generative-AI or agentic-AI products – RAG, tool-using agents, prompt orchestration, confidence-aware workflows.
Familiarity with the Microsoft AI ecosystem: Azure AI Foundry, Copilot Studio, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Azure OpenAI.
Experience standing up or leading a Community of Practice, Center of Excellence, or citizen-developer program (Power Platform, low-code/no-code, RPA, or similar).
Experience defining governance frameworks for citizen development – approval gates, security/data guardrails, reusable pattern libraries.
Experience in order-to-cash (O2C) or procure-to-pay (P2P) business processes, shared services, AP/AR, or procurement operations.
Experience in electrical distribution, wholesale distribution, supply chain, or B2B operations.
Familiarity with Azure DevOps or similar Agile work management tools (Jira, Rally).
Familiarity with SAP S/4 HANA or other enterprise ERP environments.
Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO), or equivalent certification.
Knowledge, Skills, Abilities
Knowledge
Knowledge of Agile product development practices, including user story writing, backlog prioritization frameworks (WSJF, MoSCoW, RICE), and sprint planning.
Knowledge of generative-AI and agentic-AI concepts – LLMs, RAG, tool/function calling, prompt engineering, evaluations, confidence scoring, and the iterative nature of agent improvement.
Knowledge of O2C, P2P, or other end-to-end enterprise business processes.
Knowledge of governance and risk-management practices for citizen-developer platforms.
Knowledge of change-management practices for deploying technology across distributed operations and a diverse functional workforce.
Skills
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills – ability to decompose complex business workflows into discrete agent opportunities and prioritize them by value-to-effort.
Excellent communication skills – ability to facilitate requirements workshops, present to senior stakeholders, run a community of practice, and write clear documentation and design patterns.
Active listening and requirements elicitation skills – ability to probe beyond stated needs to uncover root problems automatable by agents.
Organizational and prioritization skills – managing competing demands across three streams (custom-agent backlog, makers CoP, power users CoP).
Community-building skills – ability to grow, sustain, and energize an internal community of practitioners.
Abilities
Ability to work effectively at the intersection of business operations, AI technology, and a Microsoft delivery partnership – comfortable in a shared-services meeting one morning, a Foundry architecture review in the afternoon, and a maker office-hours session the next day.
Ability to manage stakeholder expectations around generative AI – explaining why agent outputs are probabilistic, when human-in-the-loop matters, and what "good enough" means for production use.
Ability to make scope and prioritization decisions with incomplete information and adapt quickly as Microsoft platform capabilities evolve.
Ability to build strong working relationships across cross-functional teams, including remote engineering teams, Microsoft partners, function leaders, and a distributed community of makers and power users.
Ability to set and enforce guardrails on citizen development – saying "yes, ship it" most of the time and "not yet" when an agent crosses a risk line, with clear rationale.
Ability to thrive in a fast-moving environment where the product is evolving rapidly, the playbook for enterprise agent adoption is being written in real time, and Microsoft is releasing new platform capabilities monthly.
Working Conditions
Hybrid office environment (Clayton, MO; 3 days per week on-site). Periodic travel to Graybar district offices and shared-services locations to observe O2C and P2P workflows, run maker workshops, and conduct Copilot power-user events. Remote candidates will be considered for exceptional qualifications.
Compensation Details
The expected base salary for this position is starting at $118,000 annually depending on experience. This position is also bonus eligible – based on specific and relevant business metrics.
Why Graybar
Graybar is a Fortune 500, 100% employee-owned company with nearly 160 years of history and $11.6 billion in annual sales. As an employee-owner, you share directly in the company's success through our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and profit-sharing programs. You will be joining a newly formed AI team building products that are transforming how an entire industry sells – with real users, real revenue impact, and a clear path to scale.
The Value of Graybar:
At Graybar, we are known for our comprehensive benefits and our employee stock ownership plan! Most regular, full-time employees at Graybar may be eligible for a variety of benefits like:
Multiple plan options for Medical, Dental, Vision, and Prescription Drug benefits.
Life Insurance coverage for you and options for your family.
Save on expenses with Flexible Spending Accounts.
Enjoy our Disability Benefits at no cost to you.
Share in our success with Profit Sharing Plans.
401(k) Savings Plan with company match to help secure your future.
Paid Vacation & Sick Days to spend time away from work or in case of an illness.
Rest and recharge during our Paid Holidays throughout the year.
Take advantage of our Paid Wellness Day to focus on preventive care and prioritize your health.
Volunteer with Community Time Off to give back to the community.
Predictable Work Schedules to plan your life: no weekends or nights for most roles.
Celebrate your and others' achievements with our Employee Recognition Program.
Reach your career goals with our Educational Reimbursement and Career Development Programs.
And More Perks that support your well-being and career growth.
Benefit eligibility may vary across locations and roles, so be sure to check in with your recruiter for more information.
Why should you join Graybar?
At Graybar, our employees are the heart and soul of our company. We believe that employees with diverse perspectives bring the ideas and innovative thinking we need to solve our biggest challenges and compete in an ever-changing world. Consistent with our values, we welcome people from all backgrounds, cultures and experiences into our company because we believe it’s the right thing to do and the right way to run our business.
We want each of our employees to know that they matter and to feel a sense of belonging, ownership and inclusion at Graybar. We believe that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect, and we work to build a collaborative environment where our employees have the opportunity to grow, learn and make a difference, both as individuals and as part of the team.
Apply now and find out what’s next for you.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Vet/Disabled
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