Director of IT & AI Automation

Appen Limited; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Appen seeks a Director of IT & Automation to lead our IT function in a modern, AI-native company. You will drive strategy, operations and a high-performing team across IT support, enterprise technology and automation.

You will partner with senior leaders to align technology, risk, service and investment priorities, applying AI to improve efficiency and employee experience while maintaining governance and security standards.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in IT with significant leadership experience.
• Proven IT leadership including support and service delivery in fast-paced tech environments.
• Hands-on knowledge of Microsoft 365 and enterprise IT administration.
• Technical credibility across enterprise SaaS, cloud infrastructure, endpoints, identity and integrations.
• Able to diagnose problems, challenge technical decisions and understand how systems actually work.
• Experience with SOC 2, ISO 27001 and IT security governance.
• Commercial acumen across vendor management, negotiation and technology spend.
• Demonstrated track record turning AI and automation into working IT solutions with measurable impact.
• Executive presence and credibility with senior leaders, technical teams and vendors.
• Proactive, resourceful and comfortable operating with ambiguity.

Responsibilities

• IT Leadership & Operations: Set IT roadmaps, lead support, shape operating model.
• Enterprise Technology: Own core environment health, integrate MS 365, Salesforce, Workday, Atlassian, AWS, Databricks and Anthropic.
• Security & Governance: Own SOC 2 and ISO 27001 controls, audits and remediation.
• AI & Automation: Make AI/automation core tools to improve IT operations and experiences.
• Vendors & Commercial Management: Manage vendor portfolio, licensing, cost optimisation.
• Team Leadership: Build and develop a high-performing IT team and foster problem-solving culture.

Skills

IT leadership

IT service delivery

Microsoft 365

enterprise SaaS

cloud infrastructure

endpoints

identity & integrations

SOC 2

ISO 27001

vendor management

AI automation

executive presence

ambiguity handling

Tools

AWS

Salesforce

Workday

Atlassian

Databricks

Anthropic

Job description

Appen seeks a Director of IT & Automation to lead our IT function in a modern, AI-native company. You will drive strategy, operations and a high-performing team across IT support, enterprise technology and automation.

You will partner with senior leaders to align technology, risk, service and investment priorities, applying AI to improve efficiency and employee experience while maintaining governance and security standards.