Associate Manager - AI/NLP Engineering

About the Role & TeamIDC's Data Engineering team is seeking an Associate Manager, AI/NLP Engineering to lead hands-on delivery of AI-powered data engineering workflows and manage a small team of engineers. This role combines direct people management with deep, current experience operating in governed, agentic development environments and building large-scale natural language processing (NLP) pipelines that make unstructured content AI-ready.

You will manage day-to-day delivery, review and direct the work of junior team members, and act as the technical point of contact with specialist stakeholders assessing feasibility, challenging proposals, and negotiating realistic delivery expectations and trade-offs.This is a hands-on management role for someone who can ramp quickly on unfamiliar codebases, exercises sound technical judgment, and is comfortable pushing back rather than overpromising.What You’ll Do

• Manage and direct the day-to-day work of a small team of data engineers, reviewing output alongside personal delivery responsibilities.
• Operate extensively within Claude Code and other governed, AI-powered development workflows, applying guardrails such as safe-zone scoping and critically reviewing agent-generated plans.
• Build and operate natural language processing (NLP) pipelines at scale that ingest, parse, chunk, embed, and extract metadata/entities from millions of documents, and extract insights via Large Language Models (LLMs) or NLP models.
• Ramp quickly on unfamiliar codebases using documentation and skills files as the primary source of context.
• Apply strong applied Python, SQL, and Snowflake fundamentals to assess solution feasibility and challenge technical proposals.
• Manage stakeholder relationships and negotiations, securing specialist sign-off and communicating trade-offs or interim delivery options.
• Exercise sound technical judgment, escalating and pushing back on unrealistic scope or timelines rather than overpromising. 

What You Bring

• BA/BS in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Data Engineering, or a related field; or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience in natural language processing (NLP) experience with an AI focus, applied at scale has built or operated pipelines that ingest millions of documents, prepare them to be AI-ready (parsing, chunking, embedding, metadata/entity extraction), and extract insights via LLMs or NLP models from unstructured text.
• Hands-on Cloude Code experience a core requirement, has worked in a governed AI-powered workflow, understands guardrails such as safe-zone scoping, and can critically review agent-generated plans. Evidence of real usage is required.
• Strong applied Python, SQL, and Snowflake fundamentals enough to assess solution feasibility and challenge technical proposals.
• People management experience comfortable directing and reviewing the work of junior team members alongside their own responsibilities.
• Travel: minimal (up to 10%).
• Work model: Hybrid (Czech Republic).

Why This Role Stands Out At IDC, your work helps shape how the world understands technology and where it goes next. You collaborate with curious, high-caliber colleagues who value rigor, integrity, and shared success. As the premier global provider of trusted technology intelligence, IDC equips business and technology leaders with the evidence they need to make confident decisions. Our insights inform strategy, investment, and innovation across industries and regions.

Recognized by IIAR as Analyst Firm of the Year for five consecutive years, IDC sets the standard for credibility and impact. With more than 1,000 analysts worldwide and a truly global perspective, we combine deep expertise with practical relevance. Here, your ideas matter, your voice is heard, and your contributions provide the insights leaders rely on every day. It is meaningful work, backed by a culture that supports growth, collaboration, and long-term career development with a globally respected brand.

What We Offer

• A complete benefit package: 25 days of holidays, 4 sick days, meal allowance, lifestyle/leisure benefit allowance & annually reviewed company-wide closures - in 2026, on 19 August (Unplug Day) and 24 December – 1 January inclusive (Global Shutdown) and a volunteering day.
• Individualized Culture: An environment where you can explore new areas outside your specialty and stay engaged with work you enjoy.
• A position in a highly professional and globally respected market research and advisory firm, where initiative leading to results is rewarded.

Equal Opportunity Employer

IDC is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all qualified persons. Employment eligibility verification required. We participate in E-Verify. 

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