Director, AI-Native Delivery Management

EPAM Systems Inc; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance (

Health Savings Account

Flexible Spending Accounts (Healthcare

Short‑Term and Long‑Term Disability

Life and AD&D Insurance

Employee Assistance Program

LinkedIn Learning access

Matched 401(k)

Paid Time Off

Legal Plan and Identity Theft Protec

Accident Insurance

Employee Discounts

Pet Insurance

Employee Stock Purchase Program

Job summary

EPAM Systems, Inc. seeks a Director of AI‑Native Delivery Management to own delivery and commercial outcomes for a portfolio of fixed‑fee and managed‑output AI‑native engagements in Chicago. The role includes direct hands‑on delivery on complex engagements and mentoring Senior AI‑Native Delivery Managers across projects.

You will shape deliverables, SLAs, and patterns, while influencing hiring and training materials for the practice. Strong stakeholder and commercial skills are essential.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in delivery management with fixed‑fee or output‑based engagements
• Ability to run multiple concurrent engagements while operating on at least one
• Working knowledge of agentic/AI‑assisted delivery tooling and AI delivery models
• Hands‑on technical depth, capable of contributing to engagement deliverables
• Experience mentoring or coaching other delivery managers and contributing to onboarding material
• Strong stakeholder management and communication with C‑level sponsors across engagements
• Commercial acumen: owning margin performance across multiple engagements
• Ownership of the solution and ability to shape it on engagements operated personally

Responsibilities

• Own the definition, delivery, and commercial outcome for a portfolio of AI‑native engagements (2‑4+).
• Operate directly as AI‑Native DM on complex engagements while overseeing others.
• Define deliverables, acceptance criteria, and SLA metrics for each engagement before team assembly.
• Mentor Senior AI‑Native Delivery Managers on engagements and delivery discipline.
• Contribute learnings to the practice's delivery playbook, patterns, and onboarding material.
• Input into hiring criteria and interview loops for AI‑Native DM and FDE roles.
• Escalate and resolve delivery risks, backstopping Senior DMs without displacing them.
• Manage portfolio margin, SLA renegotiation cadence, and change-order discipline across engagements.
• Own C‑level client relationships as the accountable escalation point above Senior DMs.

Skills

Delivery management

Portfolio management

AI delivery tooling

Hands-on technical depth

Mentoring

C‑level stakeholder management

Commercial acumen

Solution ownership

Tools

Agentic SDLC

AI software factory

Job description

The Director, AI-Native Delivery Management spans individual engagement ownership and practice-level contribution. The Director personally owns delivery and commercial outcomes for a portfolio of fixed-fee and managed-output AI-native engagements — including, where warranted, operating directly on the most complex ones — while also mentoring Senior AI-Native Delivery Managers on the engagements they run and contributing to the practice's shared playbook, hiring criteria, and training material.

Req# 1093152170

Responsibilities

• Own the definition and delivery of the solution, plus the commercial outcome, for a portfolio of 2-4+ concurrent fixed-fee and/or managed-output AI-native engagements

• Operate directly as the AI-Native DM on the portfolio's most complex or highest-risk engagements, while overseeing Senior AI-Native DMs running the others

• Define deliverables and acceptance criteria, or the output SLA and its measurement cadence, for each engagement in the portfolio before a team is assembled

• Mentor and coach Senior AI-Native Delivery Managers on the engagements they run — particularly on managed-output discipline, where the job is holding an SLA over time rather than delivering a fixed scope once

• Contribute engagement learnings — scope/output and SLA definition patterns, FDE staffing patterns, escalation triggers — into the practice's shared delivery playbook

• Provide input into AI-Native DM and FDE hiring criteria and interview loops, drawing on what's actually working across the portfolio

• Escalate and resolve delivery risk within the portfolio, backstopping Senior DMs without displacing them from their engagements

• Manage the commercial health of the portfolio: margin attainment against sold targets, SLA renegotiation cadence on managed-output engagements, and change-order discipline on fixed-fee engagements

• Own C-level client stakeholder relationships across the portfolio — client sponsors, EPAM BU and account leadership — as the accountable escalation point above the Senior DMs

Requirements

• 10+ years in delivery management, including direct, hands‑on ownership of fixed‑fee and/or output‑based (SLA) engagements, not only T&M

• Demonstrated ability to run multiple concurrent engagements while still personally operating on at least one

• Working knowledge of agentic/AI‑assisted delivery tooling and experience implementing an agentic SDLC / AI software factory delivery model

• Real hands‑on technical depth, same bar as the Senior AI‑Native DM role — able to contribute directly to deliverables on the engagement being personally operated, not just review them; pod size leaves no room for a pure‑overhead PM at any level of this practice

• Experience mentoring or coaching other delivery managers, ideally including contributing to onboarding material or delivery playbooks

• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills at the C‑level across multiple concurrent engagements — comfortable as the senior escalation point with client sponsors and internal leadership

• Commercial acumen: experience owning margin performance across more than one engagement at a time

• Ownership of the solution and the ability to shape it on the engagement(s) being personally operated — same standard as the Senior AI‑Native DM, at portfolio scale

Nice to have

• A frontier‑lab certification (e.g. Anthropic, OpenAI, Google DeepMind)

• Experience running or scoping AI activation/enablement programs

• Most likely profile is a professional‑services delivery background, but an engineering leader who has personally led an internal transformation to an agentic SDLC is also a strong fit

We offer

• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance (Subsidized)

• Health Savings Account

• Flexible Spending Accounts (Healthcare, Dependent Care, Commuter)

• Short‑Term and Long‑Term Disability (Company Provided)

• Life and AD&D Insurance (Company Provided)

• Employee Assistance Program

• Unlimited access to LinkedIn learning solutions

• Matched 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan

• Paid Time Off

• Legal Plan and Identity Theft Protection

• Accident Insurance

• Employee Discounts

• Pet Insurance

• Employee Stock Purchase Program

EPAM Systems, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We recognize the value of diversity and inclusion in creating success for our customers, business partners, shareholders, employees and communities. We are committed to recruiting, hiring, developing and promoting employees without discrimination. As a global employer, this commitment includes complying with all laws in the countries in which we operate. Nevertheless, we believe equal employment practices should not be limited to what the law requires. Equal opportunity and inclusion are essential to motivate, empower and recognize the best in everyone.

At EPAM, employment actions are based on individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, pregnancy status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital or familial status, national origin, ancestry, genetics, age, disability status, veteran status, citizenship status when otherwise legally able to work, or any other characteristic protected by law.