Associate Director - Software

Firstsource; Hyderabad; Hybrid; INR 9,000,000 - 15,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Firstsource seeks an Associate Director for AI Delivery to bridge client relationships with world-class AI and cloud engineering. You will lead end-to-end delivery from ideation to production, owning P&L and engaging with C-suite stakeholders while staying hands-on with emerging AI tooling.

You will guide architecture and delivery across Azure/AWS/GCP, drive MLOps practices, and build high-performance teams across geographies, ensuring responsible AI governance and scalable, business-focused

Qualifications

• 15+ years in software / AI engineering; 6+ years at senior leadership or Associate Director level.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field.
• Demonstrated track record of building and shipping end-to-end applications across the full SDLC.
• Proven cloud architecture and deployment across at least one hyperscaler.

Responsibilities

• Translate client needs into structured, costed technical roadmaps for end-to-end solutions.
• Architect end-to-end systems from ideation to production with cloud-native designs.
• Lead 10–20 engineers and architects across geographies; enforce delivery governance.

Skills

AI delivery leadership

Cloud architecture

Python

Generative AI

PoC design

MLOps

P&L ownership

Stakeholder management

Agile governance

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/SE

Tools

GitHub Copilot

Claude Code

Amazon Q

LangChain

CrewAI

Job description

Job Description – Associate Director, AI Delivery

Job Title Associate Director – AI
Department Technology / Client Solutions
Location Hybrid (Flexible)
Employment Type Full-Time, Permanent
Experience Required 15+ Years (6+ in Leadership / AD Level)
Key Focus Solutioning & Delivery

We are seeking a commercially astute and technically exceptional Associate Director to bridge client relationships and world-class AI & Cloud engineering delivery. You will be the primary interface between strategic clients and our engineering teams – winning new mandates, co-designing solutions, and owning end-to-end delivery from ideation to production. With 15+ years of experience, you bring deep Python and Generative AI expertise, proven cloud architecture skills, and the gravitas to influence at the C-suite level while staying hands‑on with modern agentic development tooling.

Key Responsibilities

• Solution Architecture & Solutioning
  1. Translate ambiguous client needs into structured, costed, and deliverable technical roadmaps.
  2. Architect end-to-end solutions: from ideation and PoC through to scalable production systems.
  3. Drive cloud-native design on Azure, AWS, GCP or hybrid platforms.
  4. Define reference architectures embedding Generative AI, LLMs, and agentic workflows.
• Engineering Leadership & Delivery
  1. Lead multi-disciplinary teams of 10–20 engineers, leads, and architects across geographies.
  2. Establish and enforce delivery governance: agile rituals, quality gates, and risk management.
  3. Champion CI/CD, DevSecOps, and MLOps practices across all client programmes.
  4. Own program P&L, resource planning, and executive‑level status reporting.
  5. Drive adoption of AI coding agents (GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Amazon Q) to accelerate delivery.
• Generative AI & Intelligent Automation
  1. Embed Generative AI capabilities (LLMs, RAG pipelines, multi‑agent systems) into enterprise products.
  2. Design and deploy AI agent workflows using tools such as GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, and similar platforms.
  3. Evaluate and adopt emerging agentic frameworks (LangChain, Agent Core, CrewAI, etc.) to accelerate delivery.
  4. Champion responsible AI practices including governance, safety, and model observability.
• People & Stakeholder Management
  1. Build, mentor, and grow a high‑performance team of engineers and technical managers.
  2. Manage a complex stakeholder matrix: internal leadership, client sponsors, and delivery partners.
  3. Influence without authority across business units and geographies.
  4. Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Qualifications & Experience
  1. 15+ years in software / AI engineering; 6+ years at senior leadership or Associate Director level.
  2. Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field.
  3. Demonstrated track record of building and shipping end-to-end applications across the full SDLC.
  4. Full lifecycle ownership: ideation → architecture → engineering → production → optimisation.
  5. Proven cloud architecture and deployment across at least one hyperscaler.
  6. Demonstrable track record of winning and delivering large-scale client engagements.
  7. Strong commercial acumen: P&L ownership, proposal writing, SOW and contract management.