Engineering Manager - AI specialist

Engineering Manager - AI Specialist (all genders)

The role

The role is transversal by design: authority comes from expertise, vision, and execution leadership, not from direct hierarchical control. Reporting to Client Partner and Managers at Valtech for our luxury and international client you will:

• Lead Valtech’s end-to-end AI transformation and operational excellence for the client account.
• Own the definition, orchestration, and execution of AI initiatives, ensuring they move from POC to industrialized, production‑grade capabilities delivering tangible value.
• In close coordination with the AI Transformation Program Manager, ensure AI‑driven transformation is consistently embedded across the four core pillars of delivery:
• Agile Operating Model
• Quality & Testing
• Production & Support
• Beyond AI, actively drive innovation and continuous improvement of delivery and support operations, leveraging AI, automation, process optimization, and new operating practices.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and own the global AI transformation roadmap across eRetail and omnichannel delivery.
• Ensure AI initiatives are aligned with the client’s business priorities and Valtech’s delivery and operational objectives.
• Drive AI adoption beyond experimentation, with clear industrialization paths, ownership models, and value tracking.
• Position AI as a structural enabler of delivery performance, quality, and operational efficiency.

Coordination with AI Transformation Program Management

• Work in close partnership with the AI Transformation Program Manager, ensuring alignment between strategic roadmap, execution planning, and delivery reality.
• Contribute delivery and operational expertise to program‑level prioritization, sequencing, and risk management.
• Ensure consistency between program governance and on‑the‑ground execution across teams.
• Act as the operational counterpart to the program manager, securing adoption, scalability, and sustainability of AI initiatives.

Governance & Stakeholder Management

• Act as Valtech’s AI and operational excellence reference toward the client.
• Represent AI and delivery innovation initiatives in SteerCos, transformation committees, and executive forums.
• Provide clear, structured reporting on progress, value delivered, risks, and dependencies.
• Escalate blockers early and propose concrete, execution‑ready mitigation plans.

Transversal Team & Community Leadership

• Animate and federate a transverse community of AI and innovation champions embedded across engineering, QA, support, and product teams.
• Lead and coordinate distributed AI Ops, scripting, automation, and tooling resources, notably in India.
• Ensure consistency of practices, standards, tooling, and documentation across all domains.
• Reinforce a shared ownership model: innovation and AI are collective responsibilities, not isolated initiatives.

AI Integration Across the 4 Pillars

• Promote AI‑native architectures, developer productivity tools, and best practices.
• Support AI‑assisted development, code quality, refactoring, and technical acceleration.

Agile Operating Model

• Adapt delivery rituals, governance, and planning to support AI‑driven and data‑intensive initiatives.
• Improve predictability and flow while managing experimental constraints.

Quality & Testing

• Define strategies for AI testing, validation, explainability, and monitoring.
• Embed AI and automation into test strategies, regression prevention, and defect analysis.

Production & Support

• Implement AIOps capabilities for proactive monitoring, incident prediction, and MTTR reduction.
• Strengthen production stability, observability, and operational resilience.

Operational Excellence, Innovation & Industrialization

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives across delivery and support operations, beyond AI‑only use cases.
• Identify and promote innovations in automation, tooling, processes, and operating models.
• Drive measurable improvements on delivery and support KPIs (cycle time, quality, incidents, automation rate, cost efficiency).
• Ensure smooth transition from build to run, with full ownership by support teams.
• Avoid “shadow initiatives” by enforcing clear governance, documentation, and ownership.

Must have hardskills

• Proven track record in leading complex, data‑driven or AI‑enabled transformation programs.
• Demonstrated ability to move initiatives from POC to industrialized, production‑grade solutions.
• Experience leading distributed delivery teams (onshore/offshore).
• Strong understanding of e‑commerce, retail, or omnichannel ecosystems.
• Ability to operate at both strategic and operational levels.
• Fully bilingual French / English is mandatory.

Must have softskills

• Strong transformation leader with a clear, forward‑looking vision.
• Clear, direct, and structured communicator; able to simplify complexity.
• Pragmatic, execution‑focused, and value‑driven.
• High autonomy, ownership, and ability to influence without formal authority.
• Comfortable operating in complex, high‑pressure, multi‑stakeholder environments.

The benefits

This is a permanent position based in Paris, France with 3 days at the client’s office.

Beyond a competitive compensation package, we offer:

• Flexibility, with remote and hybrid work options (country‑dependent)
• Career advancement, with international mobility and professional development programs
• Learning and development, with access to cutting‑edge tools, training and industry experts

Commitment to inclusion and accessibility

We are committed to inclusion and accessibility. If you need reasonable accommodations during the interview process, please indicate it in your application or let your Talent Partner know.

As per the AGG (General Equal Treatment Act) in Germany and equivalent in France

Jobs must be advertised in a gender-neutral manner. We use the statement (all genders) to make it clear that this position is open to all genders in these countries, even if the job title itself can be translated or interpreted as "masculine" in the French or German language.