Manager, Applied AI Architect

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Manager, Applied AI Architect based in India.

This leadership role focuses on guiding a team of senior technical professionals responsible for helping complex enterprise customers turn advanced AI capabilities into measurable business outcomes.
You’ll shape technical strategy across the customer lifecycle, from discovery and solution evaluation through production deployment, adoption, and expansion.
The role combines people leadership, enterprise architecture, executive engagement, and hands-on technical coaching.
You’ll work across AI models, agentic applications, data, APIs, cloud platforms, security, privacy, governance, evaluation, and deployment.
Success requires balancing regional strategy and resource allocation with direct involvement in high-impact customer engagements.
You’ll collaborate closely with Sales, Product, Engineering, Research, Security, Legal, Privacy, Deployment, and external partners.
The environment emphasizes technical excellence, responsible AI adoption, customer value, continuous learning, and strong cross-functional ownership.

• Hire, coach, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of Applied AI Architects, fostering technical excellence, accountability, continuous learning, and strong customer stewardship.

• Define and continuously improve the team's operating model and technical strategy in alignment with organizational priorities and strategic customer needs.

• Partner with Sales leadership and Account Directors to prioritize strategic accounts, allocate technical resources, and establish focused technical strategies for major engagements.

• Ensure architects own technical account plans, milestones, adoption priorities, account health, production readiness, and expansion opportunities across their portfolios.

• Lead complex customer journeys from executive vision and business objectives through use-case qualification, solution evaluation, governance, deployment, and measurable production impact.

• Coach the team on enterprise AI architectures covering models, applications, data, integrations, identity, security, privacy, governance, evaluation, reliability, and deployment.

• Build trusted relationships with C-suite, board-level, technology, data, security, engineering, and AI leaders, acting as an executive technical sponsor for critical engagements.

• Mobilize internal and external specialists across deployment, implementation, enablement, Product, Engineering, Research, Security, Legal, Privacy, and partner ecosystems to resolve blockers and coordinate delivery.

• Establish a comprehensive view of portfolio health, tracking qualified use cases, technical milestones, production readiness, adoption, usage, risks, customer impact, and technical contributions to growth.

• Translate customer and field insights into actionable feedback for product, engineering, research, and go-to-market teams.

• Develop reusable architecture guidance, customer practices, and technical approaches that can improve consistency and effectiveness across engagements.

• Promote responsible AI deployment while maintaining clear ownership, thoughtful prioritization, effective specialist handoffs, and ambitious customer outcomes.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in customer-facing technical roles such as solutions architecture, solutions engineering, technical account leadership, AI deployment, or technical consulting, including experience with large and complex enterprises.

• 4+ years of people-management experience, including hiring, coaching, and developing high-performing customer-facing technical teams.

• Deep technical knowledge of modern AI systems, foundation models, agentic applications, software and cloud architecture, APIs, data integration, identity, security, privacy, evaluation, and enterprise deployment.

• Demonstrated experience guiding enterprise customers from technical discovery and evaluation through production adoption, sustained usage, and measurable business outcomes.

• Strong architectural judgment, with the ability to determine when to provide hands-on technical leadership, coach team members, engage specialists, or establish clear ownership and handoffs.

• Excellent executive communication and presentation skills, with the ability to engage effectively with senior technology, security, business, and engineering stakeholders.

• Experience managing complex portfolios and making effective technical resource-allocation decisions while balancing regional strategy with critical customer needs.

• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills and experience partnering with Sales, Product, Engineering, Research, Deployment, Customer Engagement, Security, Legal, Privacy, and external partners.

• Strong customer-oriented approach focused on sustainable value, responsible production adoption, technical quality, and long-term relationships.

• Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, fast-moving environments while maintaining clear priorities and accountability.

• Humility, curiosity, collaboration, and a commitment to responsible and beneficial applications of AI.

Benefits

• Remote work environment with the role based in Bangalore, India.

• Opportunity to lead a team working on advanced AI applications and enterprise deployments.

• High-impact leadership scope spanning technical strategy, customer engagement, architecture, and people development.

• Exposure to complex enterprise AI use cases and emerging AI technologies.

• Collaboration with multidisciplinary teams across engineering, research, product, deployment, security, legal, privacy, and go-to-market functions.

• Opportunities to influence technical practices, reusable architecture guidance, and customer adoption strategies.

• People-management and leadership development through hiring, coaching, mentoring, and organizational growth.

• Opportunity to work directly with senior enterprise technology and business stakeholders.

• Inclusive and collaborative environment with an emphasis on continuous learning, responsible AI, and diverse perspectives.

• Reasonable workplace accommodations are available for qualified individuals with disabilities, subject to applicable requirements.