Senior Director, AI Systems Engineering

Maximus has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Director, AI Systems Engineering to join the Maximus AI Accelerator supporting the enterprise at large. We are looking for an accomplished hands‑on technical leader and team player to be a part of the AI Accelerator team. You will be responsible for architecting and optimizing scalable, secure AI systems and integrating AI models in production using ModelOps best practices, ensuring systems are resilient, compliant, and efficient. This role requires strong systems thinking, problem‑solving abilities, and the capacity to manage risk and change in complex environments. Success depends on cross‑functional collaboration, strategic communication, and adaptability in fast‑paced, evolving technology landscapes. This position will be focused on strategic company‑wide initiatives but will play a role in project delivery and capture solutioning (i.e., leaning in on existing or future projects and providing solutioning to capture new work) in addition to managing and expanding our AI Accelerator portfolio and capabilities. This is a remote position. Essential Duties and Responsibilities Responsible for leading the AI & Data Accelerators enterprise portfolio, managing engagements in terms of scope, deliverables, budget, and enterprise commitments. Develop end‑to‑end process improvement strategy and manage execution of strategy and operational direction. Responsible for managing a portfolio of work related to various AI solutions in support of the AI Strategy working with stakeholders across Maximus. Interact with internal stakeholders both within and outside of immediate team to achieve results and drive and execution vision and goals of the team. Develop detailed project schedules coordinating multiple parties to deliver projects on time or early and at or under budget. Responsible for professional development by providing coaching and identifying new opportunities for growth for direct reports. Monitor performance of team members according to established monitoring standards; conduct performance appraisals, make decisions on personnel actions including hiring, firing and disciplinary actions. Job‑Specific Essential Duties and Requirements Implement strategic goals established by leadership; lead, develop, collaborate, and advance the applied and responsible use of AI, ML and data science solutions throughout the enterprise; determine the right fit of tools, technologies, processes, and automation to enable effective and efficient solutions for each unique situation. Lead large, complex, and cross‑functional efforts across the enterprise to support the creation of solutions and real mission outcomes, emphasizing and teaching the ability to flex and demonstrate initiative when dealing with ambiguous and fast‑paced situations. Drive innovation and continuous improvement. Act as principal technical translator, subject matter expert, and role model for effectively articulating and translating technical needs, solutions, outputs, and impacts to all levels, regardless of technical proficiency, in a respectful, collaborative, and situationally appropriate manner. Maintain authoritative knowledge of the evolving AI technology landscape, evaluating emerging technologies and their applicability for use in production/operational environments. Lead the development and dissemination of enterprise knowledge assets through the creation, curation, and promotion of playbooks, best practices, lessons learned and firm intellectual capital. Mentor and coach technical staff across the organization, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous learning. Minimum Requirements Bachelor's degree in relevant field of study. 12+ years of relevant professional experience required. Job‑Specific Minimum Requirements Demonstrated understanding of Responsible AI practices to address ethical, legal, and societal implications of the use of AI in general and for specific mission problems/use cases. Proven experience evaluating and proposing AI/ML approaches and solutions associated with mission problem scenarios (to include use of vendor solutions/hardware, open source, and custom development) Expertise in Software Engineering, DevOps, and modern development technologies and methodologies Expertise in AWS, Azure, and/or GCP US Citizen, Clearable with a Public Trust Years of Required Work‑Related Experience 3+ years experience in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning operations. 12+ years experience with Software Engineering. 5+ years experience with Cloud Solutioning. 5+ years leading cross‑functional technology solutioning efforts. Preferred Skills and Qualifications Experience leading solution development teams: Ability to recruit, manage, and mentor technologists and AI/ML practitioners fostering a cultural of collaboration and learning. Agile environment team leadership experience (to include prioritization, backlog refinement, Agile planning, and ceremonies). Manage and teach the ability to contribute to and/or collaborate on analytics products using version control systems, including GitHub or Gitlab. Experience working as a Technical Director: Use of state‑of‑the‑art technology to solve operational problems in AI and Machine Learning. Strong knowledge of data structures, common computing. infrastructures/paradigms (stand alone and cloud), and software engineering principles. Ability to design custom solutions in the AI and Advanced Analytics sphere for customers. This includes the ability to scope customer needs, identify currently existing technologies, and develop custom software solutions to fill any gaps in available off the shelf solutions. Build reference implementations of operational AI & Advanced Analytics processing solutions. Use of a variety of programming languages, including but not limited to Python/Java and frontend frameworks for POC demos and dashboarding. Use and development of program automation, CI/CD, DevSecOps, and Agile. Experience with Deep learning model architecture development and philosophy. Cloud certifications (AWS, Azure, or GCP). Experience with data mesh architecture. SAFe Agile experience and certification. 12+ yrs of related experience in AI, advanced analytics, computer science, or software development. Maximus is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information and other legally protected characteristics. Minimum Salary $200,000 Maximum Salary $250,000 #J-18808-Ljbffr Maximus