Lead Builder - Artificial Intelligence (AI) Studio

About this role

Job Posting: Since 1953, Ferguson has been a source of quality supplies for a variety of industries. Together We Build Better infrastructure, better homes and better businesses. We exist to make our customers’ complex projects simple, successful, and sustainable. We proactively solve problems, adapt and grow to continuously serve our customers, communities and each other. Ferguson, a Fortune 500 company, is proud to provide best-in-class products, service and capabilities across the following industries: Commercial/Mechanical, Facilities Supply, Fire and Fabrication, HVAC, Industrial, Residential Trade, Residential Building and Remodel, Waterworks and Residential Digital Commerce. Ferguson has approximately 36,000 associates across 1,700 locations. Ferguson is a community of proud associates who operate with the shared purpose of building something meaningful. You will build a career that you are proud of, at a company you can believe in.

Lead Builder, AI Studio (Low Code/No Code) Department: AI Center of Excellence (AI CoE) Reports To: Senior Manager, AI Center of Excellence

We are seeking a systems-minded, collaborative, and hands-on Lead Builder, AI Studio (Low Code/No Code) to join our AI Center of Excellence. This role is a direct report to the Senior Manager of the AI CoE.

This is not a traditional software engineering or coding role. Instead, we're looking for a systems thinker, problem solver, and builder who enjoys turning business challenges into practical AI solutions. In this role, you'll design, configure, and scale intelligent agents, custom copilots, and automated workflows using enterprise low-code/no-code platforms, including Microsoft Copilot Studio and Gemini Enterprise.

Working closely with business partners, you'll uncover opportunities, translate sophisticated or evolving requirements into structured solutions, and design AI experiences that drive measurable outcomes. Success in this role requires a systems-thinking mentality, understanding how agents, people, data, and processes work together across the broader business ecosystem. You'll also play a key role in advancing our Governance-by-Design approach, ensuring security, compliance, data boundaries, and human oversight are built into solutions from the start. As a Lead Builder, you'll help establish standards, reusable templates, and best practices while mentoring fellow builders and helping scale AI capabilities responsibly across the enterprise.

Our Build Methodology The AI Studio operates under a structured Agentic Governance-by-Design methodology. In this approach: • Governance is built into the agent’s architecture from the very beginning rather than reviewed only after it is built. • Knowledge sources, connected systems, and instructions are designed to establish strict operational, data, compliance, and legal boundaries. • The Lead Builder is expected to adopt, follow, and champion this methodology and help adapt and evolve the playbook as AI technologies and enterprise standards shift.

Location: This role is approved to be either Remote within the United States or Hybrid for associates in Newport News, VA, in accordance with company policy. 

Key Responsibilities: Agentic Building & Platform Delivery • Low-Code/No-Code Configuration: Design, build, and deploy production-ready AI agents, workflows, and multi-turn conversational experiences using Microsoft Copilot Studio, Gemini Enterprise and other agent/workflow development tools. • Reusable Components: Partner with core engineering and IT teams to employ and integrate enterprise-standard APIs, databases, and reusable custom connectors. • Rapid Prototyping & Iteration: Build rapid, high-quality proof-of-concepts, using a governance-first configuration model. • Production Hardening & Observability : Extend solutions beyond prototyping by embedding observability, monitoring, and performance optimization to ensure scalable, reliable, and enterprise-ready deployments.

2. Business Systems Analysis (BSA) & Systems Thinking • Workflow Translation : Collaborate directly with business teams to deconstruct manual processes and map out structured, logical agent behaviors. • Systems Architecture: Analyze how an agent fits into the broader department workflow, identifying data flows, systems dependencies, and integration touchpoints. • Guardrail Definition: Explicitly define what data an agent is allowed to access, which actions require a human-in-the-loop, and when the agent must advance to a human operator.

3. Delivering Governance-by-Design • Architect Governance: Configure agents so that their prompt structures, knowledge directories, and operational guardrails function as an active "operating model" for safety, privacy, and compliance. • Advanced Diagnostics & Lifecycle Management: Rigorously test built agents using realistic, vague, boundary-crossing, and missing-data prompts. Diagnose failures systematically by updating the root control layers rather than stacking superficial prompt instructions. • Compliance Alignment: Work closely with Legal, InfoSec, Privacy, and Risk teams early in the design phase to align each agent’s boundaries with corporate risk policies.

4. Leadership, Coaching & Enablement • Lead Other Builders: Serve as the lead builder and point of contact for federated, self-serve, or citizen builders across different business units. • Enablement & Best Practices: Translate the CoE's governance methodology into actionable playbooks, templates, and lightweight self-serve checklists for lower-risk, citizen-developed agents. • Continuous Mentorship: Coach and guide other builders on prompt configuration, system design, and platform features.

Required Qualifications: • Systems Thinking & Business Analysis: 4+ years of experience in Business Systems Analysis (BSA), process improvement, systems thinking, or a closely related role. Must have a consistent track record of mapping sophisticated workflows and translating business needs into struct

Similar jobs

• Senior AI Builder — Earnin · Mountain View, US
• Senior AI Builder — Replit · Remote
• Senior AI Product Builder — Shipbobinc · Remote
• Lead AI Strategist — Distyl · San Francisco
• Senior AI Product Manager (Builder) — Brandlight · Remote
• Lead AI Engineer — KeyBank · Remote
• Lead AI Engineer — Pragmatike · Remote
• Lead AI Engineer — Prologis · Denver, Colorado | San Francisco, California | Chicago, Illinois