Associate Technical Director, AI & Innovation Initiatives

Deltek; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A technology-driven solutions provider in the United States seeks a seasoned technical leader to oversee critical engineering and AI initiatives. In this hands-on leadership role, you will build and mentor a high-performing team while directly contributing to technology solutions. Ideal candidates will have extensive software development experience and a proven track record in AI and automation. This position is designed for those who thrive in fast-paced environments and are ready to drive measurable customer outcomes through technology.

Qualifications

• 10–15 years of software development experience.
• Deep expertise in backend systems or APIs.
• Ability to work with data querying and modeling.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and delivery of technical and AI initiatives.
• Manage a team of engineers supporting Customer Success functions.
• Define the technical roadmap and drive AI adoption.

Skills

Hands-on coding proficiency

Cloud-native architectures

Data engineering pipelines

AI/ML-powered solutions

Software security best practices

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

AWS

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Deltek's Customer Success organization is seeking a seasoned technical leader to own and drive its most critical engineering and AI initiatives. This is a hands‑on leadership role not a purely managerial one. You will be expected to roll up your sleeves, contribute technically, and simultaneously build and guide a high‑performing team. If you thrive at the intersection of cutting‑edge technology and customer outcomes, this role is built for you.

Technical Responsibilities

• Lead the end‑to‑end design, development, and delivery of key technical and AI initiatives within the Customer Success function.
• Define the technical roadmap for CS tooling, automation, and AI‑powered capabilities that improve customer health, retention, and time‑to‑value.
• Architect and oversee integrations between Deltek's product suite, CRM/CS platforms (e.g., Salesforce, Gainsight), and internal data systems.
• Drive adoption of AI and automation to scale Customer Success operations including intelligent escalation routing, churn prediction models, and AI‑assisted support workflows.
• Conduct rigorous code and design reviews, establishing and enforcing engineering standards across the team.
• Evaluate and introduce new tools, frameworks, and technologies that improve team velocity and solution quality.
• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, Data Science, and IT teams to ensure alignment and avoid redundancy.

Leadership Responsibilities

• Build, mentor, and manage a team of engineers and technical specialists supporting the Customer Success organization.
• Define team goals, establish clear performance expectations, and create development pathways for individual contributors.
• Own the technical program management of AI and CS platform initiatives including planning, resourcing, dependency tracking, and executive reporting.
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, continuous learning, and customer‑first thinking within the team.
• Serve as the primary technical voice and thought leader for Customer Success, representing the function in cross‑organizational planning and architecture reviews.
• Partner with Customer Success leadership to identify opportunities where technology and AI can drive measurable improvements in customer outcomes and operational efficiency.
• Champion engineering best practices, including agile delivery, documentation standards, and incident management processes.

Qualifications

Technical Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a closely related technical discipline is required.
• Experience: 10–15 years of progressive software development experience, with a strong foundation in building, shipping, and maintaining production‑grade systems.
• Hands‑on coding: Active, demonstrable coding proficiency is a must. You are comfortable writing, reviewing, and debugging code and do not rely solely on your team to execute technical work.
• Software Engineering Depth: Deep expertise in one or more of the following: backend systems, cloud‑native architectures, APIs & integrations, or data engineering pipelines.
• AI & Machine Learning: Practical experience designing and delivering AI/ML‑powered solutions including Agent development, LLM integration, intelligent automation, predictive analytics, or AI‑driven tooling. Familiarity with frameworks such as LangChain, OpenAI APIs, or similar platforms is a strong plus.
• Cloud & Infrastructure: Proficiency with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, OSC or GCP), containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), and CI/CD pipelines.
• Data & Analytics: Ability to work fluently with data querying, modeling, and interpreting results to inform both technical decisions and customer success strategies.
• Systems Thinking: Strong ability to evaluate existing architectures, identify gaps, and propose scalable, maintainable solutions particularly in the context of customer‑facing systems and tooling.
• Security & Compliance Awareness: Working knowledge of software security best practices and data privacy considerations relevant to enterprise SaaS environments.

Leadership Qualifications

• Management Experience: 3–5+ years of experience managing software engineers or technical teams, with a track record of developing talent and delivering results.
• Stepping Up: Currently operating as a Technical Manager or Senior Manager, with demonstrated readiness and ambition to grow into an Associate Director or Director‑level role.
• Strategic Mindset: Able to translate broad business and customer success goals into a coherent technical strategy with clear milestones and measurable outcomes.
• Cross‑Functional Influence: Comfortable engaging with senior stakeholders, including VP‑level Customer Success leaders, product owners, and engineering executives, to align priorities and secure resources.
• Communication: Exceptional ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to non‑technical audiences, and to articulate business value in technical terms to engineering teams.
• Accountability: Operates with a strong sense of ownership, proactively identifies risks, escalates appropriately, and drives issues to resolution without being prompted.