Director, Data & AI Technical Consulting & Architecture Lead
EPAM is looking for a Director, Data & AI Technical Consulting & Architecture Lead to join our team in Amsterdam, Netherlands in a hybrid working mode.
You will act as a senior technology leader who thrives at the intersection of executive advisory, architecture leadership, and production-ready AI. This role combines relationship building within a strategic client account with practice-level leadership across Western Europe — shaping next-generation Data, Analytics, and (Gen)AI offerings and driving complex pre-sales from strategy through implementation.
You will be a trusted advisor to C-suite and senior technology stakeholders, identify and qualify high-value opportunities, and provide hands-on technical consulting leadership where it matters — building lightweight PoVs/PoCs and challenging architecture decisions. This is not a full-time engineering role, but you must be strong enough to prototype, de-risk solutions, and guide teams toward robust target-state architectures.
The role involves working in a hybrid working mode with weekly client site presence in Zaandam.
Responsibilities
- Serve as a trusted C-suite level advisor, defining enterprise data, analytics, and AI strategies, roadmaps, and investment cases tied to measurable business outcomes
- Build and maintain deep relationships with data, architecture, engineering, and AI leaders within the account, creating credibility through strong technical judgment
- Rapidly understand the client’s technology landscape (platforms, governance, security, operating model) and translate constraints into pragmatic transformation sequencing
- Identify, shape, and own a portfolio of Data & AI opportunities — turning early ideas into qualified pursuits with clear value, scope, risks, and next steps
- Architect end-to-end solutions across cloud-scale data platforms, integration, security, governance, MLOps/LLMOps, and application ecosystems, balancing time-to-value with sustainability
- Lead hands-on PoVs/PoCs, demos, and technical prototypes (e.g., lakehouse patterns, RAG/agentic workflows, evaluation/observability) to validate feasibility and accelerate decisions
- Drive complex pre-sales: lead discovery, respond to RFPs/RFIs, produce high-impact architecture narratives, and deliver executive pitches for large-scale engagements
- Shape, scope, and price consulting engagements; define delivery models and team structures (onshore/nearshore/offshore) and ensure strong technical governance
- Mobilize specialist teams and ensure continuity from initial concept through PoC to implementation and adoption, aligning expectations and delivery outcomes
- Champion Responsible AI and security-by-design, advising on ethical deployment, bias mitigation, auditability, and regulatory readiness (including EU AI Act considerations), while contributing to broader go-to-market offerings and thought leadership
Requirements
- Proven experience in a Director/Principal/CTO-level role within consulting/technology services, leading enterprise-scale Data & AI transformations and architecture decisions
- Exceptional stakeholder management and executive communication skills, able to influence CIO/CTO/CDO and senior engineering leadership with clarity and credibility
- Strong track record in business development and pre-sales — qualifying opportunities, shaping deals, and securing funding for complex, high-value programs
- Hands-on expertise with Databricks and lakehouse patterns, including Spark, SQL, Delta Lake, and Unity Catalog (governance, access control, lineage concepts)
- Practical, production-minded knowledge of AI/GenAI patterns, including RAG and agentic workflows, plus MLflow and core MLOps/LLMOps lifecycle practices
- Deep understanding of data architecture and engineering best practices: ingestion/integration, batch/streaming, data modeling, data products, and reliability/observability
- Strong grounding in cloud platforms (Azure/AWS/GCP) and enterprise security principles (IAM, network controls, encryption, secrets, auditability)
- Ability to independently build or lead a working prototype to de-risk architecture, performance, cost, and security assumptions (not a full-time builder, but hands-on when needed)
- Commercial and strategic mindset: able to translate technical options into business cases (ROI/TCO), delivery approaches, and executive-ready decision material
- Nice to have: retail/consumer goods/supply chain/eCommerce/loyalty domain exposure; Azure/Microsoft data platform experience; Databricks certifications; fluency in Dutch (or another European language)
