Director - Data & AI

We are looking for Director - Data & AI Practice – Guindy, Chennai. This is a fulltime permanent position.

We are looking for a Director - Data & AI Practice who is equal parts technologist, storyteller, and business strategist. This is a senior individual-contributor and leadership role where you will own the end-to-end lifecycle of large, complex Data & AI engagements: from the very first RFP response and presales conversation, through solution architecture and proof-of-concept, to delivery oversight and client success.

You will be the face of our Data & AI capability to CXO audiences, while remaining deeply technical and credible with engineering teams.

This role is ideal for someone who has grown through hands-on data engineering, built platforms at scale, and now wants to shape strategy, win clients, and build a world-class practice — not just deliver projects.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Solution Architecture & Technical Leadership
Design and own end-to-end data platform architectures: lakehouse, medallion (Bronze/Silver/Gold), event-driven, streaming, and batch patterns on Azure, AWS, and GCP.
Architect scalable data pipelines, ETL/ELT frameworks, and semantic layers integrating diverse sources — APIs, operational databases, SaaS applications, IoT, and files.
Lead the design and execution of Proofs of Concept (PoCs) and technical pilots in client environments, owning outcomes from scoping to demo.
Define data governance frameworks:
Unity Catalog, data lineage, access control, PII classification, and regulatory compliance (GDPR, DPDP, SOC
2).
Guide cloud-native architecture decisions across Azure Databricks, ADLS, ADF, Synapse Analytics, AWS Glue, Redshift, and GCP Big Query.
Drive AI-ready data architecture: feature stores, model-serving pipelines, vector databases, RAG patterns, and LLM integration layers.
Establish and enforce CI/CD best practices, Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), and Data Ops standards across client engagements.

Client Partnership & Delivery Oversight
Act as trusted advisor to client CXOs, CDOs, and Chief Data Analytics Officers — bridge technical depth and business strategy fluently.
Oversee delivery quality across active accounts; provide architecture guardrails, code review standards, and escalation support to delivery teams.
Conduct architecture reviews, design authority sessions, and milestone gate reviews for large transformation programmes.
Identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities within existing accounts and partner with account managers to grow revenue.

Practice Development & Thought Leadership
Build and curate a library of accelerators, reference architectures, and industry-specific data models that reduce time-to-value for clients.
Develop and articulate an AI-ready data roadmap framework — enabling clients to progress from raw data to ML, GenAI, and LLM production systems.
Mentor and grow a team of data architects and engineers; establish career development pathways and a culture of technical excellence.
Represent the company at industry events, webinars, and conferences; publish thought leadership on data and AI strategy.
Stay ahead of industry trends — evaluate new tools, platforms, and research and recommend adoption strategies.

WHAT WE LOOK FOR

12–15 years of progressive experience in data engineering, data architecture, and analytics — with at least 4 years in a consulting or presales-facing role.
Demonstrable track record of winning and delivering large-scale Data & AI engagements (RFPs, PoCs, and enterprise transformation programmes).

Experience with AI/ML platforms: MLflow, Azure ML, Sage Maker, Vertex AI, or equivalent; familiarity with GenAI orchestration (Lang Chain, Llama Index, semantic kernel).
Deep hands-on expertise in at least two major cloud data platforms:
Azure (Databricks, ADLS, ADF, Synapse, Fabric) | AWS (Glue, S3, Redshift, EMR) | GCP (Big Query, Dataflow, Vertex AI).
Expert-level knowledge of Apache Spark (PySpark), SQL, Delta Lake, and Iceberg; capable of writing and reviewing production-grade pipeline code.
Experience presenting to and influencing C-level executives (CEO, CDO, CTO, CFO) — translating technical depth into business language.
Bachelor's or Master's…