Associate Vice President – Intelligent Engineering Practice

Description

Job Title: Associate Vice President – Intelligent Engineering Practice (Community of Practice Leader)

Location: Bangalore / Pune / India

Reports To: Chief Delivery Officer (CDO)

Collaborates With: Chief Product Officer (CPO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Global Delivery, Sales, Global Intelligent Engineering Consulting Head

About the Role

Ness Digital Engineering is seeking a visionary, entrepreneurial, and hands-on leader to spearhead our Global Intelligent Engineering Community of Practice (CoP). This pivotal role will drive the commercialization, evolution, and adoption of Intelligent Engineering services, blending AI, automation, and advanced engineering practices to transform productivity and delivery excellence across our global organization.

Operating at the intersection of technology, product IP, client strategy, and delivery execution, this leader will be responsible for shaping our engineering roadmap, embedding AI into every stage of the product development lifecycle (PDLC), scaling our proprietary productivity platform ATONIS, and positioning Ness as a thought leader in intelligent engineering.

Key Responsibilities

1. Capability Building & Practice Leadership

• Establish, mature, and scale the Intelligent Engineering Community of Practice (CoP), promoting cross-functional learning, collaboration, and engineering excellence.
• Translate enterprise engineering roadmaps into actionable initiatives while proactively introducing new technologies, frameworks, and practices.
• Develop capabilities, tools, and talent models to expand the Intelligent Engineering footprint globally.

• Build a culture of experimentation, innovation, and continuous improvement across engineering teams.

• AI-Driven Engineering Productivity

• Embed AI, automation, and analytics into day-to-day engineering activities (design, coding, testing, deployment, monitoring).

• Champion the adoption of AI-powered DevOps, continuous quality engineering, test automation, and cloud-native practices across engagements.
• Lead continuous improvement programs to drive measurable outcomes in speed, quality, and cost efficiency.

• Define and track KPIs, playbooks, and best practices for productivity, adoption, and business impact.

• Commercialization & Platform Strategy

• Co-own, package, and monetize ATONIS, our proprietary productivity and engineering intelligence platform.

• Define and execute service offerings and monetization models (licensing, managed services, productivity-led delivery).
• Position IP-based solutions as differentiators in client pursuits and delivery engagements.

• Continuously evolve the platform to stay ahead of AI and engineering productivity trends.

• Client & Market Leadership

• Act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders, shaping client engineering transformation agendas.

• Co-sell and evangelize Intelligent Engineering offerings with sales and consulting leaders.
• Lead proof-of-value demonstrations, technical deep-dives, and solution shaping in strategic deals.

• Represent Ness at industry forums, thought leadership events, and innovation roundtables.

• Culture, Coaching & Talent Development

• Mentor engineering leaders and practitioners, nurturing a growth mindset and future-focused culture.

• Create a sustainable ecosystem for knowledge sharing, reskilling, and capability advancement.
• Foster an environment where innovation, collaboration, and excellence are embedded into everyday engineering practices.

Qualifications & Experience

• 20+ years of experience in engineering, product development, or productivity/transformation leadership roles.
• Proven expertise in AI-enabled engineering across the PDLC, including DevOps, automation, quality engineering, and developer productivity.
• Track record of scaling IP-led services, platforms, or internal ventures.
• Strong client-facing experience, with ability to engage CxO-level stakeholders and influence strategic decisions.
• Deep understanding of software engineering metrics, delivery models, and process improvement methodologies.
• Experience in global delivery environments and managing cross-functional, distributed teams.
• Excellent communication, storytelling, and influencing skills to connect technical value with business outcomes.
• Prior exposure to product/platform strategy, innovation, or consulting is highly desirable.

Attributes

• Visionary yet hands-on; balances strategy with practical execution.
• Strong entrepreneurial mindset with a bias for action and ownership.
• Passionate about capability building, coaching, and continuous improvement.
• Curious, innovative, and forward-looking with a commitment to engineering excellence.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, outcome-driven environment.

Why Join Us?

• Lead the global transformation of engineering productivity using AI and automation.
• Shape and scale ATONIS, a high-impact productivity platform with significant commercialization potential.
• Partner with senior leadership and play a critical role in business growth, delivery innovation, and client impact.
• Be part of a globally respected digital services organization, driving the future of Intelligent Engineering.