Director, AI OS - REMOTE

About the Role

Lenovo is building a new AI layer that lives natively on devices - closer to the OS than to any single app. As Director, AI OS, you will lead the team responsible for the system software and runtime layer that AI features run on across PCs and other devices.

This is a system-level engineering leadership role for someone who has built operating systems or core system software before (kernel, runtime, system services, device frameworks, or similar), and now wants to apply that experience to AI.

You will design and own the AI OS layer that provides:

• lifecycle, scheduling, and runtime for AI workloads

• access to device capabilities (audio, display, sensors, file system, network, NPU, GPU, etc.)

• a safe and performant "computer use" abstraction for agents

• the system substrate that exposes and integrates latent-space representations, planning and predictive engines

Key Responsibilities

1. Own the AI OS Architecture and Runtime

• Define and own the architecture of the AI OS layer on Lenovo devices, including runtime services, process/lifecycle management for AI workloads, and integration with existing OS subsystems.

• Design and evolve the AI OS runtime so that AI features can run efficiently, safely, and predictably on-device, across multiple device classes.

• Provide abstractions for "computer use" - how AI systems can safely interact with windows, applications, files, and other system resources.

• Work with Core Intelligence to ensure the OS runtime can host and expose latent-space representations, and integrate with planning and predictive engines that sit above it.

2. Provide Device & System Capabilities to AI

• Own the device API surface for AI: sensors, audio, display, input, power, storage, network, and NPU/GPU/CPU acceleration.

• Ensure that high-fidelity signals and state from the OS (usage context, app state, input/output streams) can be routed into Core Intelligence and the latent space in a controlled way.

• Work closely with hardware, firmware, and OS teams to ensure AI workloads can take full advantage of device capabilities without compromising stability or security.

3. Full-Stack OS Thinking for AI

• Bring deep system experience (kernel / drivers / system services / frameworks) to decisions about where AI logic lives - on-device vs cloud, OS layer vs app layer.

• Make tradeoffs between performance, power, privacy, and maintainability, and ensure those tradeoffs are visible and understood by other leaders.

• Work closely with SRE & Delivery Engineering on how AI OS is instrumented, observed, and upgraded over time (especially as latent-space and agent workloads evolve).

4. Build and Lead the AI OS Engineering Team

• Build and lead a team of engineers focused on AI OS runtime, computer use, device APIs, and full-stack OS integration.

• Mentor engineers in system design, reliability, and quality best practices for OS-level software.

• Collaborate closely with leaders of Platform Services, Core Intelligence, Experience Engineering, Cloud & Platform, and SRE & Delivery.

5. Partner Across the AI and Device Ecosystem

• Work with security and governance teams to ensure the AI OS layer meets or exceeds security requirements and integrates with identity and policy frameworks.

• Partner with OEM and platform teams (e.g., Windows, Android, silicon vendors) to align AI OS capabilities with underlying OS and hardware roadmaps.

• Provide technical input into roadmap decisions that depend on device/OS capabilities and the evolution toward QT OS and autonomous agents.

Basic Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience building operating systems or core system software, such as:

  • OS kernels or kernel subsystems

  • device drivers or hardware abstraction layers

  • system services, runtime frameworks, or shell/desktop environments

• 5+ years in an engineering leadership role (Director or equivalent) leading teams working on OS or low-level system software.

• Experience in at least one major OS stack (Windows, Linux, Android, or similar) at a deep level.

• Experience designing new runtime or platform abstractions, not just maintaining existing systems.

• Experience with AI workloads (e.g., on-device inference, vector-based models, latency-sensitive pipelines) and how they interact with system resources is a strong plus.

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across hardware, OS, platform, and application teams.

• Excellent communication and leadership skills; able to make and explain tradeoffs that balance user experience, system stability, and engineering complexity.

Why This Role Matters

AI capabilities are moving from the cloud into the operating system itself. The Director, AI OS will define how AI lives on Lenovo devices at a system level - how it runs, what it can access, and how it integrates with latent-space, planning, and predictive engines above it. This role is foundational to making Lenovo's AI experiences fast, safe, and deeply integrated with the device, not just another app.

The base salary budgeted range for this position is $220K - $320K. Individuals may also be considered for bonus and/or commission.

Lenovo's various benefits can be found on www.lenovobenefits.com.

In compliance with Colorado's EPEWA, the expected application deadline for this position is January 5, 2026. This applies to both external and internal candidates.