AI COE Lead

National University of Singapore

Singapore

On-site

SGD 180,000 - 240,000

Full time

7 days ago

Be an early applicant

A complete application in a minute

Tailored resume and cover letter, ready to send.

Get past ATS filters

Benefits offered by this job

Family Care Leave

Childcare Leave

Wellbeing days

Sick days

Annual leave 21+ days

Medical coverage

Job summary

National University of Singapore (NUS) is seeking an AI COE Lead to shape and manage the IT AI project portfolio, guiding business-led initiatives from ideation to governed solutions. You will lead multidisciplinary squads, drive automation, and partner with business and IT stakeholders to deliver value and adoption across the university.

You will collaborate with the AI Know Product Team and AI Acceleration Team to align delivery with platform capabilities, while maintaining cost awareness and

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience in a relevant field.
10+ years in technology, digital transformation or related leadership roles.
Proven experience managing a portfolio or programme of technology projects.
Experience leading AI-enabled solutions from discovery to deployment.
Strong understanding of generative AI and AI agent approaches.
Technical depth to assess solution designs and integration needs.
Experience leading multidisciplinary teams cross-functionally.
Experience building relationships with senior stakeholders and driving adoption.

Responsibilities

Shape and manage NUS IT's AI portfolio and value delivery.
Lead end-to-end AI solution delivery from design to deployment and ensure governance.
Drive AI innovation through prototyping and experimentation with business stakeholders.
Ensure architecture governance and reusable platform components across AI solutions.

Skills

AI leadership

Portfolio management

Cross-functional collaboration

Stakeholder engagement

AI governance

Architecture understanding

Risk management

Change management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Job description

Company description

The National University of Singapore is the national research university of Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest higher education institution in Singapore

Job description

What You Do

As the University steps up its focus on AI adoption, demand is growing for solutions across faculties, business units and NUS IT. Advances in AI are also making some solutions viable that would previously have been too complex to develop. NUS IT is helping the University turn its AI ambition into action, and the AI COE will play a central role in delivering solutions that create lasting value.

As the AI COE Lead, you shape and manage NUS IT's portfolio of AI projects, guide business-led initiatives from promising ideas to governed solutions, and drive AI automation within NUS IT to streamline processes, improve service quality and reduce reliance on vendor licences and services.

Reporting directly to the Head of Enterprise Services, you lead multidisciplinary squads of AI Solution Specialists, Forward Deployed Engineers and other experts, bringing together direct and matrixed team members from across functional and engineering towers. You build strong partnerships with both business and IT stakeholders to understand their needs, guide solutions from experimentation through deployment, and support adoption and change.

Within the Enterprise Services Tower, you work closely with the AI-Know Product Team and AI Acceleration Team to connect delivery with shared platform capabilities and institutional enablement.

Key responsibilities

1. AI Portfolio & Value Management

Maintain a unified view of AI initiatives supported by NUS IT and coordinate demand assessment, prioritisation and delivery capacity with functional teams.
Identify opportunities for reuse, as well as duplication and dependencies, to guide decisions on which initiatives to pursue, scale, defer or stop.
Establish portfolio reporting and value measurement, tracking costs, progress and realised outcomes with functional teams and business owners.

2. AI Solution Delivery

Lead multidisciplinary delivery squads comprising AI Solution Specialists, Forward Deployed Engineers and other specialists, aligning direct and matrixed team members across functional and engineering towers.
Oversee end-to-end solution delivery from design and implementation through integration and successful deployment, managing delivery plans, dependencies, risks and resources.
Lead stakeholder engagement and change management with business owners and affected teams, supporting adoption and readiness for deployment.
Establish the target operating model for each solution, including ownership, support arrangements and the capabilities needed for ongoing operation.
Lead AI automation initiatives across NUS IT, particularly in IT infrastructure, to reduce reliance on vendor licences and services while maintaining required service levels.

3. AI Innovation

Assess promising AI opportunities surfaced through workshops and communities of practice run by the AI Acceleration Team, and by functional teams on behalf of their business stakeholders.
Lead structured prototyping and experimentation to test AI capabilities against the proposed use cases and assess the overall viability of potential solutions.
Use the findings to recommend whether opportunities should stop, be refined or progress to solution delivery.

4. AI Solution Architecture & Governance

Work with the Enterprise Architecture Team to apply reference architectures, implementation patterns and reusable components across AI solutions.
Guide solution teams in selecting institutionally approved platforms and technologies, balancing business needs, integration requirements and costs.
Ensure solutions comply with Enterprise Architecture's AI implementation guidelines and meet technical design and Solution Review Board requirements. You also ensure AI risks are assessed and managed in line with institutional risk management requirements.
Identify recurring capability needs and feed them into the AI-Know Product Team's roadmap to promote reuse, or to the AI Acceleration Team to address knowledge gaps through enhanced training content.

Who You Are

Motivated by developing and delivering solutions that help stakeholders succeed.

Take pride in understanding the problem behind a request and shaping practical responses that improve how people work.

You are meticulous and attentive to detail, while keeping sight of the intended outcome. You are comfortable using numbers and analytics to assess opportunities, compare options and understand whether solutions are delivering value.

Keep abreast of leading commercial AI products and their capabilities, looking for ways to apply them to real needs. You learn from delivery and feedback in the field, and actively surface opportunities to improve our AI platform and enablement offerings.

Enjoy building strong working relationships with both IT and business stakeholders. You advocate constructively for better ways of working and help people understand and adopt change.

Experience & Leadership Expertise

Must Have

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
10+ years of experience in technology, digital transformation or a related field, including leadership of complex, cross-functional initiatives.
Proven experience managing a portfolio or programme of technology projects.
Experience leading AI-enabled solutions from discovery and prototyping through implementation, integration and deployment.
Strong understanding of generative AI and AI agent approaches, including their capabilities, limitations and delivery considerations.
Sufficient technical depth to assess solution designs, platform choices, integration needs and operational requirements, and to work effectively with architects and engineering teams.
Experience leading multidisciplinary teams with both direct and matrixed contributors across business and technology functions.
Experience building relationships with senior business and IT stakeholders, and working with business owners and functional teams to support solution delivery, adoption and change.
Experience applying technology governance, architecture standards and risk management requirements within project delivery.

Nice to Have

Experience establishing or scaling an AI Centre of Excellence, applied AI practice or similar delivery capability.
Experience using AI or automation to improve IT service operations, particularly in infrastructure, service quality or vendor cost reduction.
Experience assessing commercial AI products and platforms, including evaluating their capabilities and suitability for business needs.
Experience redesigning business processes with AI and measuring adoption, service improvements and realised benefits.
Experience working in higher education, the public sector or a similarly complex institutional environment.

About NUS IT

NUS IT is the digital backbone of the National University of Singapore, powering the University's vision to be a "Borderless University, powered by Infinite Technology." Guided by the department's strategic pillars, NUS IT provides reliable, high-performance, and secure IT solutions and services underpinned by robust IT governance.

A place where innovation is part of our DNA, and staff are digitally enabled with emerging technologies, NUS IT enables the University to transcend geographical boundaries and deliver world-class education, research, and enterprise technology solutions. At the core of its mission, NUS IT harnesses Agentic AI to empower the University's community and drive operational excellence.

Be part of a team shaping the next generation of AI products and experiences, with a clear focus on making AI intuitive, useful and accessible to our community.

Stay connected with us!
NUS IT Website: https://nusit.nus.edu.sg/
Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/nus_it/?hl=en

Why Join NUS IT

Step into a vibrant, innovative workplace at NUS IT, where teamwork, fun, and personal growth truly matter. Our "work hard, play hard" culture means you'll thrive in a dynamic team, form genuine friendships, and enjoy lively days - whether on the job or at sports like badminton, running or soccer. We even have a "Fun Club" that plans recreation and fun activities - run by some of us in NUS IT, for NUS IT!

We celebrate success together and empower your development with a clear career path and plenty of learning opportunities. Learn, lead, and reach your potential surrounded by inspiring and helpful colleagues!

Benefit from outstanding perks