Principal AI Lead

Ciklum is looking for a Principal AI Lead to join our team full-time in India.

We are a custom product engineering company that supports both multinational
organizations and scaling startups to solve their most complex business
challenges. With a global team of over 4,000 highly skilled developers,
consultants, analysts and product owners, we engineer technology that redefines
industries and shapes the way people live.

About the role:

As a Principal AI Lead, become a part of a cross-functional development team
engineering experiences of tomorrow.

Responsibilities:

* Define and evolve Ciklum’s AI Engineering strategy, frameworks and best
practices across clients and internal initiatives
* Serve as the primary technical advisor to executive stakeholders (CTOs, CIOs,
VPs of Engineering) on AI strategy and system architecture
* Drive the vision and roadmap for enterprise AI adoption, guiding teams on
architecture, governance, and value realization
* Lead the design, development and deployment of advanced AI systems across
Data Science and AI Engineering domains
* Architect and implement scalable AI pipelines and LLM-driven applications,
including retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), orchestration and multi-agent
systems
* Act as the overall AI architecture authority across multiple engagements,
ensuring design excellence, scalability and alignment with client enterprise
standards
* Contribute hands-on to development activities, from experimentation and
prototyping to production-grade implementation
* Collaborate with cross-functional engineering, data and product teams to
align technical solutions with client and business objectives
* Apply MLOps and LLMOps best practices for CI/CD, observability, evaluation
and continuous improvement of AI models and pipelines
* Integrate AI services with enterprise platforms (e.g., Confluence, Jira,
GitHub, CRM, ERP) and ensure seamless interoperability
* Drive innovation through internal frameworks and accelerators
* Ensure all AI solutions comply with security, data privacy and responsible-AI
standards
* Champion innovation in AI through the creation of reusable frameworks,
accelerators, and reference architectures
* Evangelize AI best practices internally and externally through publications,
talks, and open-source contributions
* Guide client and internal teams in adopting emerging AI paradigms such as
agentic systems, RAG frameworks and autonomous orchestration
* Lead and mentor senior AI engineers, fostering a culture of excellence,
experimentation and continuous learning across teams and practices (e.g.,
contributing to Ciklum’s AI Academy)
* Represent Ciklum’s AI capability in public forums, conferences, and strategic
client discussions
* Collaborate with marketing and partnerships teams to strengthen Ciklum’s
brand as an AI thought leader

Commercial / Presales:

* Drive technical leadership in presales engagements, shaping AI strategies and
architectures that align with client business objectives
* Collaborate directly with C-suite and senior client executives to define AI
roadmaps, value propositions, and investment priorities
* Produce high-quality technical content for proposals, RFPs, whitepapers, and
thought- leadership materials
* Partner with delivery and commercial teams to identify new growth
opportunities and establish Ciklum as a trusted AI partner

Leadership & Practice Development:

* Provide strategic and technical leadership to AI engineering teams across
multiple projects and geographies
* Shape hiring strategy and talent development plans to scale AI capabilities
within Ciklum
* Mentor, coach and review work of Expert-level engineers, ensuring consistent
delivery quality and architectural rigor
* Contribute to the definition and rollout of AI practice-wide standards,
playbooks, and reusable components

Requirements:

We know that sometimes, you can’t tick every box. We would still love to hear
from you if you think you’re a good fit!

* 10+ years of professional experience in software or data engineering,
including at least 4–5 years in AI/ML solution architecture or AI leadership
roles
* Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional AI programs or large-scale
AI solution deliveries
* BSc, MSc, or PhD in Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering or a related
quantitative field
* Deep understanding of probability, statistics and the mathematical
foundations of machine learning and optimization
* Proven experience architecting and scaling enterprise-grade AI systems,
including LLM- driven and multimodal solutions, across production
environments
* Experience defining AI system blueprints, reference architectures, and
integration patterns across multiple domains and client ecosystems
* Exposure to agentic system design, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and
prompt engineering techniques
* Strong proficiency in Python and common AI/ML development frameworks (e.g.,
PyTorch, TensorFlow, LangChain, Hugging Face or equivalent)
* Solid understanding of modern AI engineering practices, including model
lifecycle management, observability, evaluation, versioning and continuous
improvement
* Familiarity with AI solution delivery methodologies (e.g., CRISP-ML(Q), TDSP
or modern agile ML lifecycles)
* Ability to visualize, interpret, and communicate model outputs and insights
effectively using modern tools and dashboards

Specific technical requirements:

* Proven experience in architecting and implementing end-to-end AI/ML solutions
— from data ingestion and model training to deployment, monitoring and
optimization
* Strong software engineering skills for AI system development, including data
processing, API integration, and model serving (Python, SQL and optionally
Java/Scala or similar)
* Hands-on experience with cloud-native AI platforms and services (AWS
SageMaker, Azure ML, GCP Vertex AI or NVIDIA AI stack)
* Proficiency in designing scalable ML/LLM pipelines and applying MLOps/LLMOps
best practices (CI/CD, orchestration, monitoring, versioning, and deployment
automation)
* Experience with diverse data modalities (structured, text, image, audio,
video) and multimodal model integration
* Familiarity with handling complex data scenarios such as class imbalance,
time-series forecasting and anomaly detection
* Understanding of security, data governance and compliance considerations in
AI system design

Domain experience:

* Ability to advise senior stakeholders on AI opportunity assessment, ROI
modeling and transformation strategies
* Experience designing AI governance frameworks and compliance strategies in
highly regulated industries
* Broad exposure to enterprise-scale AI solution design across industries such
as BFSI, Healthcare, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Energy, Telecom or Technology
sectors
* Proven ability to translate business and operational requirements into robust
AI system architectures that deliver measurable impact
* Familiarity with challenges of deploying AI in regulated environments and
ensuring compliance with data privacy and protection frameworks (e.g., GDPR,
CCPA, PCI DSS)
* Experience managing sensitive or high-value data (PII, PHI), implementing
strong security, governance and access control mechanisms
* Understanding of enterprise data ecosystems and integration patterns (CRM,
ERP, knowledge management or workflow systems)

Business-related requirements:

* Strong executive communication and storytelling ability, capable of
influencing technical and business audiences alike
* Proven record of representing organizations in external speaking engagements,
conferences, or public panels
* Demonstrated experience driving innovation initiatives and contributing to
organizational AI strategy
* Proven experience delivering production-grade AI solutions that achieve
measurable business and operational outcomes
* Strong ownership of the full AI engineering lifecycle — from problem framing
and architecture design to deployment, optimization, and continuous
improvement
* Ability to align technical decisions with business priorities, ensuring
scalability, reliability, and measurable value from AI initiatives
* Excellent collaboration and communication skills to work effectively with
cross-functional stakeholders, delivery teams, and clients
* High degree of autonomy, accountability, and attention to detail in managing
complex, multi-component AI systems

Desirable:

* Track record of AI thought leadership through publications, blogs, podcasts
or open- source contributions
* Recognized presence in professional or academic AI communities (e.g.,
conferences, research collaborations)
* Experience building and scaling internal AI centers of excellence or practice
communities
* Strong background in software or solution architecture, ideally with previous
experience as a Software or Data Architect
* Proven ability to design scalable, distributed, and fault-tolerant AI
architectures, integrating APIs, microservices, and event-driven components
* Experience with MLOps and LLMOps practices, including pipeline automation,
containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and continuous deployment of AI models
* Deep learning expertise using TensorFlow, PyTorch, or JAX, including
fine-tuning and optimization of large models
* Hands-on experience with Large Language Models (LLMs), Generative AI
applications, and agentic or RAG-based systems
* Advanced SQL and familiarity with modern data platforms (Databricks,
Snowflake, or equivalent)
* Experience with Big Data and streaming frameworks (Apache Spark, Kafka,
Flink, etc.)
* Understanding of NoSQL and graph databases (e.g., Cassandra, Neo4j) and their
role in AI knowledge management
* Experience with cloud-native architectures and certified expertise in AWS,
Azure, or GCP AI/ML services
* Exposure to research or innovation projects, with publications or open-source
contributions considered an advantage

What`s in it for you?

* Strong community: Work alongside top professionals in a friendly, open-door
environment
* Growth focus: Take on large-scale projects with a global impact and expand
your expertise
* Tailored learning: Boost your skills with internal events (meetups,
conferences, workshops), Udemy access, language courses, and company-paid
certifications
* Endless opportunities: Explore diverse domains through internal mobility,
finding the best fit to gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge
technologies
* Care: We’ve got you covered with company-paid medical insurance, mental
health support, and financial & legal consultations

About us:

At Ciklum, we are always exploring innovations, empowering each other to achieve
more, and engineering solutions that matter. With us, you’ll work with
cutting-edge technologies, contribute to impactful projects, and be part of a
One Team culture that values collaboration and progress.
India is a strategic innovation hub for Ciklum, with growing teams in Chennai
and Pune leading advancements in EdgeTech, AR/VR, IoT, and beyond. Join us to
collaborate on game-changing solutions and take your career to the next level.

Want to learn more about us? Follow us on Instagram
[https://www.instagram.com/ciklum/], Facebook
[https://www.facebook.com/ciklumindia], LinkedIn
[https://www.linkedin.com/company/ciklumindia/].

Explore, empower, engineer with Ciklum!

Interested already? We would love to get to know you! Submit your application.
We can’t wait to see you at Ciklum.

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