Delivery Management Leader – AI productivity solutions

EPAM Systems; Chennai District; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

EPAM Systems is seeking a Delivery Management Leader for AI productivity solutions to drive the successful delivery of large-scale AI programs across industries. You will lead cross-functional teams, align strategy with client objectives and ensure on-time, on-budget delivery.

The role requires a deep background in Java/.NET development, cloud platforms (AWS/Azure), and experience guiding multi-project portfolios, governance, risk management and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• 13 to 15 years of IT experience, with 8+ years in delivery leadership and 3+ years in AI/ML projects.
• Proven track record of delivering enterprise AI programs, including LLMs, RAG, Agentic AI and automation use cases.
• Deep understanding of cloud-native AI services on AWS or Azure.
• Expertise in large-scale enterprise programs across industries such as BFSI, Telecom, Healthcare, Retail or Life Sciences.
• Strong ability to influence and manage senior-level client stakeholders, including Directors, VPs and CXOs, while building trusted relationships.
• Pragmatic leadership approach to resolve escalations, handle conflicts within delivery teams and overcome program challenges effectively.
• Familiarity with modern engineering technologies and delivery methods, including cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), microservices and DevOps, data analytics platforms (Tableau, Power BI, BigQuery) and automation frameworks like RPA (UiPath, Blue Prism).
• Understanding of ITIL/ITSM frameworks and SLA-driven managed services delivery.
• Knowledge of Agile development methodologies (Scrum, SAFe) and traditional Waterfall-based delivery.
• Exceptional leadership, negotiation and decision-making skills for managing high-pressure situations and improving delivery performance.
• Ability to thrive in ambiguity and deliver results under challenging timelines.
• Strong analytical, communication and interpersonal abilities for fostering team and client collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the end-to-end delivery lifecycle for client engagements, including strategic planning, implementation, governance and post-implementation support
• Ensure delivery metrics such as scope, schedule adherence, quality, budget compliance and operational KPIs are consistently met across all engagements
• Manage multi-project portfolios and large cross-functional teams, fostering collaboration across engineering, quality assurance, business analysis, architecture and DevOps
• Own the program governance model, engaging stakeholders at all delivery levels and maintaining alignment on key deliverables, risks and financial health
• Take full accountability for client portfolio financials, including revenue recognition, profitability, margin improvement, budget forecasting and corrective action planning
• Identify and drive cost optimization and OPEX reduction through automation, resource optimization and enhanced delivery models
• Monitor resource utilization, productivity metrics and workforce optimization strategies to align resources with program outcomes
• Serve as the primary client liaison for senior-level relationships, translating business challenges into actionable delivery strategies and maintaining alignment with client objectives
• Conduct Steering Committee sessions and executive-level communications to provide delivery updates, propose innovations and manage escalations
• Build, lead and mentor large distributed teams, cultivating high performance and driving talent development through mentoring and coaching
• Mediate resource conflicts, resolve escalations and ensure delivery deadlines are met, planning for contingencies with robust mitigation actions
• Identify, assess and mitigate program risks to ensure delivery schedules and client KPIs are not impacted, ensuring continuity of services during high-pressure situations
• Identify up-sell and cross-sell opportunities, develop strategies for expanding the organization’s footprint and partner with sales and pre-sales teams on RFPs, SOWs and business proposals
• Drive continuous innovation for client projects through automation, process enhancements and adoption of emerging technologies, promoting best practices in cloud-native applications, data platforms, AI/ML and DevOps pipelines
• Lead end-to-end AI program delivery, including execution of Agentic AI and AI productivity solutions, management of delivery roadmaps, implementation of AI accelerators, and establishment of KPIs to track and improve delivery efficiency

Skills

Delivery leadership

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Strategic planning

Negotiation

Decision making

Communication

Ambiguity tolerance

Agile/SAFe

Analytical ability

Interpersonal skills

Tools

Tableau

Power BI

BigQuery

UiPath

Blue Prism

AWS

Azure

GCP

Job description

We are seeking a Delivery Management Leader for AI productivity solutions to drive the successful delivery of high-impact AI programs across diverse industries. This role requires a strong background in application development (Java/.Net), expertise in cloud platforms (AWS/Azure), and the ability to lead large cross-functional teams in delivering scalable, efficient AI solutions that accelerate time-to-market and business value.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the end-to-end delivery lifecycle for client engagements, including strategic planning, implementation, governance and post-implementation support
• Ensure delivery metrics such as scope, schedule adherence, quality, budget compliance and operational KPIs are consistently met across all engagements
• Manage multi-project portfolios and large cross-functional teams, fostering collaboration across engineering, quality assurance, business analysis, architecture and DevOps
• Own the program governance model, engaging stakeholders at all delivery levels and maintaining alignment on key deliverables, risks and financial health
• Take full accountability for client portfolio financials, including revenue recognition, profitability, margin improvement, budget forecasting and corrective action planning
• Identify and drive cost optimization and OPEX reduction through automation, resource optimization and enhanced delivery models
• Monitor resource utilization, productivity metrics and workforce optimization strategies to align resources with program outcomes
• Serve as the primary client liaison for senior-level relationships, translating business challenges into actionable delivery strategies and maintaining alignment with client objectives
• Conduct Steering Committee sessions and executive-level communications to provide delivery updates, propose innovations and manage escalations
• Build, lead and mentor large distributed teams, cultivating high performance and driving talent development through mentoring and coaching
• Mediate resource conflicts, resolve escalations and ensure delivery deadlines are met, planning for contingencies with robust mitigation actions
• Identify, assess and mitigate program risks to ensure delivery schedules and client KPIs are not impacted, ensuring continuity of services during high-pressure situations
• Identify up-sell and cross-sell opportunities, develop strategies for expanding the organization’s footprint and partner with sales and pre-sales teams on RFPs, SOWs and business proposals
• Drive continuous innovation for client projects through automation, process enhancements and adoption of emerging technologies, promoting best practices in cloud-native applications, data platforms, AI/ML and DevOps pipelines
• Lead end-to-end AI program delivery, including execution of Agentic AI and AI productivity solutions, management of delivery roadmaps, implementation of AI accelerators, and establishment of KPIs to track and improve delivery efficiency

Requirements

• 13 to 15 years of IT experience, with 8+ years in delivery leadership roles and 3+ years in AI/ML projects
• Proven track record of delivering enterprise AI programs, including LLMs, RAG, Agentic AI and automation use cases
• Deep understanding of cloud-native AI services on AWS or Azure
• Expertise in large-scale enterprise programs across industries such as BFSI, Telecom, Healthcare, Retail or Life Sciences
• Strong ability to influence and manage senior-level client stakeholders, including Directors, VPs and CXOs, while building trusted relationships
• Pragmatic leadership approach to resolve escalations, handle conflicts within delivery teams and overcome program challenges effectively
• Familiarity with modern engineering technologies and delivery methods, including cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), microservices and DevOps, data analytics platforms (Tableau, Power BI, BigQuery) and automation frameworks like RPA (UiPath, Blue Prism)
• Understanding of ITIL/ITSM frameworks and SLA-driven managed services delivery
• Knowledge of Agile development methodologies (Scrum, SAFe) and traditional Waterfall-based delivery
• Exceptional leadership, negotiation and decision-making skills for managing high-pressure situations and improving delivery performance
• Ability to thrive in ambiguity and deliver results under challenging timelines
• Strong analytical, communication and interpersonal abilities for fostering team and client collaboration