Director, AI and Data Analytics, Internal Audit

Flex; Chennai District; On-site; INR 6,000,000 - 9,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Flex is expanding its Internal Audit with an AI-native, data-driven function in Chennai, India. We seek a Director, AI and Data Analytics, Internal Audit, to lead strategy, build AI/ML solutions, and guide a small high-performing team across regions.

The role requires deep AI/ML fluency, data engineering and BI tooling expertise, and strong executive communication to influence stakeholders globally.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, data science, statistics, engineering, finance or operations.
• 10+ years in data science, AI/ML or advanced analytics with 5+ years in people leadership.
• Proven track record leading AI/ML projects from concept to production.
• Experience in data engineering and BI tools and modern data science stacks.

Responsibilities

• Own the AI adoption roadmap across Internal Audit to improve coverage and risk detection.
• Lead design, build, and deployment of AI/ML solutions for audit objectives.
• Establish governance, validation, explainability, and bias monitoring for AI models.
• Head data science initiatives for annual audit planning and dashboards.
• Develop a self-serve data analytics platform for broader usage.
• Ensure scalable data pipelines, models, and reporting infrastructure.
• Translate complex analytics into clear insights for non-technical stakeholders.
• Inspire and manage a 4–5 person team with 2 managers and ICs.

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/DS/Statistics/Engineering/Finance/Operations

Tools

Power BI

Tableau

MicroStrategy

Snowflake

Job description

Flex is the diversified manufacturing partner of choice that helps market-leading brands design, build and deliver innovative products that improve the world.

A career at Flex offers the opportunity to make a difference and invest in your growth in a respectful, inclusive, and collaborative environment.

Job Summary

To support our extraordinary teams who build great products and contribute to our growth, we're looking to add a Director, AI and Data Analytics, Internal Audit in Chennai, India.

ARMS is undergoing a strategic transformation into an AI-native, data- and intelligence-driven function. We are looking for a Director to lead this transformation by spearheading the department's AI implementation strategy and overseeing all data science, reporting, and dashboarding efforts. This is a hands‑on leadership role for someone who can set technical direction, build and mentor a high‑performing team, and partner closely with audit leadership across regions to embed AI and analytics into everyday audit practice.

The ideal candidate combines strong technical fluency in AI/ML and data engineering with the leadership maturity to manage a mixed team of managers and technical specialists, and the communication skills and executive presence to influence senior stakeholders in a global organization.

What a typical day looks like:

AI Strategy & Implementation

• Own and drive the roadmap for AI adoption across Internal Audit, identifying use cases where AI can improve audit coverage, efficiency, and risk detection.
• Lead the design, build, and deployment of AI/ML solutions (e.g., anomaly detection, natural language processing for control testing, Agentic AI implementation and optimization, generative AI for audit documentation) to meet Audit objectives and Fraud Analytics plan.
• Evaluate and pilot emerging AI tools and vendor platforms; make build‑vs‑buy recommendations, coordinate with various internal teams and vendor to onboard solutions.
• Establish governance, risk, and quality standards for AI models used within audit (model validation, explainability, bias monitoring, usage standardization).

Data Science, Reporting & Dashboarding

• Lead all data science initiatives supporting annual audit planning for the department, individual audit planning, execution, and reporting.
• Own the strategy and roadmap for enterprise audit dashboards and reporting tools used by audit leadership and the broader team.
• Develop and deploy a Data-Analytics Self-service platform to 'shift-right' and democratize the technology usage within the team.
• Ensure data pipelines, models, and reporting infrastructure are scalable, well‑documented, and maintainable.
• Translate complex analytical findings into clear, actionable insights for non-technical stakeholders.

Team Leadership

• Inspire, lead and develop a highly motivated and high performing team of 4-5 resources, including 2 managers and technical individual contributors (software developers, AI engineers, data scientists/analysts).
• Set team priorities, allocate resources across competing initiatives, and manage delivery quality and timelines.
• Coach managers on individual development and growth, team development, technical direction, and stakeholder management.
• Build a strong engineering/data science culture within an audit function - balancing innovation speed with the rigor and controls expected in audit.

Stakeholder Management & Cross-Functional Partnership

• Serve as the primary point of contact for AI, data science, and reporting initiatives with Senior Directors across regional audit teams.
• Work with stakeholders and audit teams from Asia, India, EMEA and North/South America.
• Encourage usage of shared tools, data sources, and methodologies.
• Present strategy, progress, and results to senior audit leadership and other executive stakeholders.

AI Fluency & Enablement

• Design and lead an AI fluency/upskilling program for the broader Internal Audit team, ensuring auditors across all levels understand how to use and interpret AI-driven tools responsibly.
• Develop training materials, workshops, and office hours to build a data- and AI-literate audit culture.
• Act as an internal evangelist and change agent for the department's broader data and intelligence transformation.

The experience we're looking to add to our team:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Data Science, Statistics, Engineering, Finance or Operations.
• 10+ years of experience in data science, AI/ML, or advanced analytics, including 5+ years in a people leadership role managing technical teams.
• Demonstrated experience leading AI/ML projects from concept to production.
• Track record in data engineering, reporting/BI tools (e.g., Power BI, MSTR, Tableau, SnowFlake), and modern data science stacks (Python, SQL, ML frameworks).
• Experience managing a team with mixed skill sets (management + individual technical cont