Associate Director, AI and Machine Learning

• Innovative technology and industry leadership

• Opportunities to launch on a new business unit

About Our Client

Major communications technology group in Asia They are an innovation‑driven market leader with strong regional partnerships and advanced capabilities in 5G, cloud, cybersecurity, and digital transformation.

Job Description

Hands‑on AI Delivery

• Lead the end‑to‑end design, developm...ent, and deployment of AI/ML solutions across multiple business domains.

• Convert complex business challenges into clear, high‑impact AI use cases with measurable outcomes.

• Own the full AI/ML lifecycle-from problem definition and data strategy to modelling, deployment, and ongoing monitoring.

• Apply a wide range of methods including ML, data science, optimisation, and GenAI where they deliver meaningful value.

• Upgrade and modernise existing AI systems to improve performance, scalability, and long‑term maintainability.

• Make practical technical decisions that balance rapid delivery with quality and sustainability.

• Lead selected GenAI and LLM‑driven initiatives such as RAG, agentic workflows, and AI‑augmented decisioning.

• Work closely with platform and governance teams to ensure GenAI solutions are secure, responsible, and production‑ready.

• Continuously scan emerging AI trends and assess their relevance to the organisation.

People Leadership

• Lead and coach a team of 6-10 seasoned data scientists.

• Provide strong technical guidance, mentorship, and constructive challenge.

• Build a team culture grounded in engineering excellence, business impact, and continuous learning.

• Support hiring, talent development, and performance growth.

Stakeholder & Partner Engagement

• Collaborate with business stakeholders to shape AI roadmaps and prioritise high‑value opportunities.

• Work with key partners across the AI ecosystem, including major cloud, model, and hardware providers.

• Represent the organisation at industry events and partner engagements to strengthen external visibility and thought leadership.

The Successful Applicant

• Degree (Bachelor's or postgraduate) in a technical or quantitative discipline.

• Min 8 years of applied AI/ML or data science experience with strong delivery outcomes.

• Demonstrated success leading AI projects from concept to production in complex environments.

• Proven experience coaching or managing technical teams.

• Experience in large organisations-especially telco, tech, finance, or consulting-is beneficial.

• Strong foundation in ML, statistics, experimentation, and causal methods.

• Hands-on experience with LLMs and Generative AI, including fine‑tuning, safety evaluation, and prompt design.

• Skilled in SQL, Python, Spark, Hadoop/Hive, Databricks, and modern data visualisation tools.

• Knowledgeable in software engineering fundamentals, modular coding, testing, and version control (Git-based tools).

• Familiar with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP) and ML workflow tools (MLflow, Airflow).

• Comfortable reviewing and contributing to code, models, and architecture.

• Able to operate as a player-coach, balancing leadership with deep technical involvement.

• Highly self-directed, impact-driven, and capable of navigating ambiguity.

• Excellent communication and data storytelling skills.

• Experienced in mentoring junior team members and fostering continuous learning and knowledge sharing.

What's on Offer

Opportunities to launch on a new business unit

Innovative technology and industry leadership Show full description