Senior Director, Data & AI

What success looks like in this role:

• Define the global Data & AI vision, strategy, and multi-year roadmap, aligned to company growth, profitability, and client-outcome goals.

• Set the technology direction across data platforms, engineering, integration, analytics, machine learning, generative AI, and agentic AI.

• Make data readiness the foundation for AI: guide clients and internal teams to modern, well-governed data estates before and alongside AI adoption.

• Track market trends, hyperscaler and partner roadmaps, regulation, and emerging technology, and turn them into clear investment priorities.

• Sponsor innovation through pilots, proofs of concept, and accelerators, and move proven ideas into production and repeatable practices.

• Own the delivery of Data & AI engagements, including data modernization, data engineering, analytics, machine learning, generative AI, and agentic AI solutions, from design through production.

• Set delivery standards for quality, security, cost, and timelines, and step in on high-risk or strategic engagements.

• Establish reusable methods, accelerators, reference architectures, and tooling so teams deliver faster and more consistently.

• Build and run the operating model for data and AI in production, including MLOps, monitoring, support, and continuous improvement.

• Work with Delivery, Engineering, and Forward Deployed teams to share resources, skills, and lessons learned across engagements.

• Set architecture principles for secure, scalable, and cost-efficient data and AI platforms across cloud and hybrid environments.

• Establish data governance practices covering data quality, lineage, privacy, security, and regulatory compliance.

• Define responsible-AI policies and testing standards, including bias, explainability, safety, and human oversight, and apply them before AI is used with clients.

• Work with Security, Legal, and Compliance on risk, intellectual property, and data-protection requirements for each market.

• Act as a senior advisor to client executives on data and AI strategy, and build long-term relationships that lead to repeat and expanded work.

• Support Sales and Presales on strategic pursuits, including solution shaping, orals, workshops, and delivery risk.

• Build and manage strategic relationships with hyperscalers, data and AI platform vendors, and alliance partners.

• Contribute to pricing, estimation, and commercial models for Data & AI work, working with Finance and Pricing.

• Represent the company at industry events, with analysts, and in the market as a Data & AI thought leader.

• Own revenue, margin, utilization, and budget targets for the Data & AI organization, and report performance to senior leadership.

• Plan capacity and hiring against demand, balancing employees, contractors, and partners.

• Manage delivery, financial, and security risk, with clear escalation paths.

• Set clear decision rights and ways of working with Sales, Delivery, Engineering, Architecture, Finance, Marketing, and shared functions.

• Build and lead a high-performing global team of data engineers, data scientists, AI engineers, architects, and consultants, including managers and senior technical leaders.

• Hire, develop, and retain top talent, with clear career paths, succession plans, and a culture of continuous learning.

• Set skills and certification goals across data platforms, machine learning, generative AI, and agentic AI.

• Coach leaders and teams on technical excellence, client engagement, and executive communication.

• Align organization structure, skills, and ways of working to support rapid innovation and growth.

You will be successful in this role if you have:

• 15+ years of experience in data, analytics, AI, or technology consulting, including 8+ years leading large, global technical teams.

• Deep technical knowledge across modern data platforms, data engineering, analytics, machine learning, generative AI, and agentic AI, with solutions taken from design into production.

• Hands-on understanding of cloud data platforms and AI services from the major hyperscalers (such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud), and of data governance, security, and responsible-AI practices.

• Track record of delivering large, complex Data & AI programs on time, on budget, and to quality standards.

• Experience owning financial targets such as revenue, margin, utilization, and budget.

• Strong client-facing skills, with experience advising senior executives and supporting pursuits for large enterprise or public-sector clients.

• Ability to work across Sales, Delivery, Engineering, Finance, Legal, and partner organizations and influence without direct authority.

• Executive-level communication skills, with the ability to explain complex topics simply.

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, data science, engineering, or a related field; master’s degree preferred. Recent data or AI certifications are preferred.

This role may require access to export-controlled commodities and technology.  Therefore, to conform to U.S. export control regulations, applicant should be eligible for any required authorizations from the U.S. Government.

Unisys is proud to be an equal opportunity employer that considers all qualified applicants without regard to age, caste, citizenship, color, disability, family medical history, family status, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, parental status, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, veteran status or any other category protected by law.

This commitment includes our efforts to provide for all those who seek to express interest in employment the opportunity to participate without barriers. If you are a US job seeker unable to review the job opportunities herein, or cannot otherwise complete your expression of interest, without additional assistance and would like to discuss a request for reasonable accommodation, please contact our Global Recruiting organization at [email protected] or alternatively Toll Free: 888-560-1782 (Prompt 4).  US job seekers can find more information about Unisys’  EEO commitment here.