Senior Director, Engineering - Energy & Commodities (Machine Learning, AI & Data)

Publicis Sapient; Greater London; On-site; GBP 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Inclusive workplace

Learning & development

Competitive compensation

Flexible working

Health benefits

Paid leave

Wellness program

Job summary

Publicis Sapient is seeking a Senior Director of Engineering for Energy & Commodities with a strong focus on machine learning, data, and cloud engineering. You will lead small, highly skilled teams to turn ideas into production-ready solutions that deliver measurable business value.

You’ll partner with clients and senior stakeholders to shape opportunities, design approaches, and demonstrate how AI and modern engineering unlock value, while growing the business through scalable patterns and

Qualifications

• Strong software engineering foundation and hands-on design/build experience.
• Deep ML, data engineering and applied AI knowledge beyond GenAI.
• Cloud platforms AWS/Azure/GCP with multi-cloud exposure.
• Experience with real-time data streaming and distributed processing.
• Ability to work with clients and translate tech into business value.
• Ability to lead small, high-performing teams.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Energy & Commodities clients to shape opportunities.
• Turn ideas into production-ready ML/data solutions with small teams.
• Develop reusable patterns and IP to grow the business.
• Communicate with CxO stakeholders and engineers.

Skills

Software engineering foundation

ML & AI

Cloud engineering

Distributed systems

Client-facing communication

MLOps

Solution design

Tools

AWS

Azure

GCP

CRM systems

SAP

Trading technology

Job description

Senior Director, Engineering - Energy & Commodities (Machine Learning, AI & Data)

Energy & Commodities organisations are under increasing pressure to modernise complex technology landscapes, unlock greater value from data and AI, and create new digital capabilities across trading, supply chain and B2B operations. At Publicis Sapient we re looking for an exceptional hands‑on technologist who can help clients solve these challenges by turning early ideas into production ready solutions that deliver measurable business value.

As Senior Director, Engineering you will combine deep expertise in machine learning, data, cloud and distributed systems with the ability to shape new opportunities and build confidence with senior clients. This is not a traditional consulting role focused on presentations, governance or overseeing large delivery teams. Instead, you ll work with small, highly skilled teams to identify opportunities, build and prove solutions, and create the roadmap for broader transformation.

Your Impact

• Partner with Energy & Commodities clients to shape and win transformative technology opportunities. You ll work alongside senior business and technology stakeholders to understand complex challenges, define solution approaches and demonstrate how AI, data and modern engineering can unlock real business value
• Turn ideas into reality. You ll remain hands‑on, working with small engineering teams to rapidly design, build and launch production‑ready solutions that solve real client problems, creating the foundation for larger‑scale transformation programmes
• Help grow Publicis Sapient s Energy & Commodities business by identifying reusable patterns, contributing to new propositions and IP, and sharing lessons learned across client engagements to shape the next generation of technology solutions

Qualifications

What you’ll bring

• You are a builder at heart. You have a strong software engineering foundation and a track record of personally designing, building and scaling technology that solves difficult, real‑world problems. You remain comfortable getting close to the code, architecture and data rather than directing technical work from a distance.
• You bring genuine depth across machine learning, data engineering and applied AI, extending well beyond Generative AI. You understand core machine learning approaches such as classification and clustering and have experience building, deploying and operating models through effective MLOps practices
• You have deep cloud engineering experience across AWS, Azure or GCP, ideally with exposure to more than one platform. You know how to combine a broad range of native AI, machine learning and data services to build complete solutions, rather than relying on a single service or model
• You understand large‑scale and distributed systems, including areas such as real‑time data streaming, batch processing and distributed computing environments. You know what it takes to build secure, resilient technology that can move beyond a demonstration and support enterprise‑scale workloads.
• You thrive in ambiguity and enjoy working directly with clients to understand complex problems, shape the right approach and rapidly test ideas through working software. You are an exceptional communicator, equally comfortable advising CxO stakeholders on business outcomes as you are exploring technical detail with engineers.
• You are energised by contributing to business growth and comfortable being measured partly through the opportunities you help create and convert. You do not need to own an individual sales target, but you enjoy shaping solutions, building client confidence and helping turn promising ideas into successful engagements
• You lead from the front and enjoy working with small, highly capable teams. You are curious, pragmatic and able to learn enough about unfamiliar platforms such as CRM systems, SAP or trading technology to solve the client problem without needing to be a specialist in every product

Set Yourself Apart with

• Experience modernising complex enterprise platforms and B2B technology ecosystems, whether within Energy & Commodities or adjacent industries such as Retail, Consumer Goods, Supply Chain or Trading
• Experience applying AI, machine learning and advanced analytics to solve operational challenges, optimise decision‑making or create new customer and user experiences. This could include work across areas such as supply chain, trading, asset‑intensive industries, customer platforms or large‑scale commercial operations

Additional Information

• An inclusive workplace that promotes diversity and collaboration.
• Access to ongoing learning and development opportunities.
• Competitive compensation and benefits package.
• Flexibility to support work‑life balance.
• Comprehensive health benefits for you and your family.
• Generous paid leave and holidays.
• Wellness program and employee assistance.

As part of our dedication to an inclusive and diverse workforce, Publicis Sapient is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity without regard for race, color, national origin, ethnicity, gender, protected veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion. We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at [e-mail]

Company Description

Publicis Sapient is a digital transformation partner helping established organisations get to their future, digitally enabled state, both in the way they work and the way they serve their customers. We help unlock value through a start‑up mindset and modern methods, fusing strategy, consulting, and customer experience with agile engineering and problem‑solving creativity. United by our core values and our purpose of helping people thrive in the brave pursuit of next, our 20,000+ people in 53 offices around the world combine experience across technology, data sciences, consulting, and customer obsession to accelerate our clients’ businesses through designing the products and services their customers truly value.