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
Presales & RFP Leadership
- Own end-to-end RFP / RFI responses — from bid qualification and solution design to commercial structuring and presentation to client evaluators.
- Lead presales workshops, discovery sessions, and executive briefings with C-level and VP-level stakeholders at Fortune 500 and mid-market clients.
- Build bespoke solution narratives that translate complex data and AI architectures into business outcomes, ROI stories, and risk-mitigation strategies.
- Develop reusable proposal assets, battle cards, case studies, and demo environments that accelerate the sales cycle.
- Collaborate with sales, delivery, and practice teams to qualify opportunities, define win themes, and price solutions competitively.
- Maintain a thorough understanding of competitive landscape and position the company's offerings with clarity and confidence.
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 BigQuery.
- 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 DataOps 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
- 12–18 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).
- Deep hands-on expertise in at least two major cloud data platforms: Azure (Databricks, ADLS, ADF, Synapse, Fabric) | AWS (Glue, S3, Redshift, EMR) | GCP (BigQuery, 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 degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field.
- Databricks Certified Data Engineer Professional or equivalent Azure / AWS / GCP data certification.
- Experience with AI/ML platforms: MLflow, Azure ML, SageMaker, Vertex AI, or equivalent; familiarity with GenAI orchestration (LangChain, LlamaIndex, semantic kernel).
- Background in manufacturing, financial services, or retail data modernisation — experience with shop-floor data, digital twin architectures, or industrial IoT is a significant advantage.
- Exposure to DataOps / MLOps practices, CI/CD for data pipelines (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, dbt, Airflow).
- Experience building or contributing to a data/AI practice in a consulting, systems integrator, or product company.
- Published articles, patents, conference talks, or open-source contributions in the data / AI domain.
Life at Next:
At our core, we're driven by the mission of tailoring growth for our customers by enabling them to transform their aspirations into tangible outcomes. We're dedicated to empowering them to shape their futures and achieve ambitious goals. To fulfil this commitment, we foster a culture defined by agility, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to progress. Our organizational framework is both streamlined and vibrant, characterized by a hands-on leadership style that prioritizes results and fosters growth.
Perks of working with us:
- Clear objectives to ensure alignment with our mission, fostering your meaningful contribution.
- Abundant opportunities for engagement with customers, product managers, and leadership.
- You'll be guided by progressive paths while receiving insightful guidance from managers through ongoing feedforward sessions.
- Cultivate and leverage robust connections within diverse communities of interest. Choose your mentor to navigate your current endeavors and steer your future trajectory.
- Embrace continuous learning and upskilling opportunities through Nexversity.
- Enjoy the flexibility to explore various functions, develop new skills, and adapt to emerging technologies. Embrace a hybrid work model promoting work-life balance. Access comprehensive family health insurance coverage, prioritizing the well-being of your loved ones.
- Embark on accelerated career paths to actualize your professional aspirations.
Who we are
We enable high growth enterprises build hyper personalized solutions to transform their vision into reality. With a keen eye for detail, we apply creativity, embrace new technology and harness the power of data and AI to co-create solutions tailored made to meet unique needs for our customers.
Join our passionate team and tailor your growth with us!
