Associate Director, AI Strategy and Solution Architecture

Role Description

ECS Federal is seeking a results-driven Associate Director of Digital Transformation & Cloud Solutions to lead complex, high-impact IT modernization initiatives across federal civilian agencies. The ideal candidate will serve as a trusted advisor to senior government executives, translating strategic vision into executable outcomes while building and leading high-performing teams in regulated, mission-critical environments. This role will support business development and capture efforts while driving innovation and excellence through research and development on emerging technologies and best practices.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership & Client Engagement
  • Lead large federal portfolios, driving cloud adoption strategy and digital transformation across cabinet-level agencies, including Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
  • Serve as a trusted advisor to senior government stakeholders, including C-suite executives at federal agencies.
  • Develop and execute unsolicited proposals and whitepapers to position ECS Federal as a transformative partner for large-scale federal opportunities.
  • Provide thought leadership, subject matter expertise, and innovative solutions to support ECS Federal's business development and capture efforts.
  • Help ECS meet Federal agencies where they are to transform their customer experience efforts and create scalable, actionable strategies.
• Program & Delivery Management
  • Manage the end-to-end lifecycle of multiple data/AI projects from planning/ideation through to deployment/implementation.
  • Oversee post-sales delivery and technology implementation across multiple federal entities with varying cloud and IT maturity levels.
  • Assess technical feasibility of proposed use cases by clarifying and analyzing requirements with data architects, SMEs, data engineers, and federal stakeholders.
  • Lead end-to-end enterprise technology and process transformations impacting thousands of users and systems.
  • Coordinate efforts with ECS Centers of Excellence (COE) and other corporate Cyber, Data, and AI SMEs to support use case development, roadmap and maturity development, and data integration.
• Team Development & Organizational Excellence
  • Lead and develop cross-functional teams of 10-30+ technical and business resources (data architects, data engineers, developers, and functional staff) across on-site and distributed environments.
  • Drive talent acquisition, executing interviews, hiring, and onboarding of high-caliber professionals.
  • Maintain 100% training and certification compliance across teams.
  • Foster a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing among cybersecurity experts, researchers, and practitioners within ECS Federal to drive innovation and excellence.
• Innovation & Continuous Improvement
  • Conduct research and development on emerging technologies and best practices to stay ahead of the curve and identify new opportunities for ECS Federal.
  • Design and launch innovation initiatives to drive employee-driven ideation and executive-sponsored programs.
  • Apply AI-enabled analytics and data-informed decision-making to improve delivery consistency and accelerate customer outcomes.
  • Leverage expertise of ECS Federal employees to drive business success and growth.
  • Establish ECS Federal as a thought leader in the industry through participation in conferences, workshops, and other industry events.

Qualifications

• Must be a US Citizen.
• Must be able to obtain Public Trust Clearance.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in technology consulting, cloud solutions, or IT transformation.
• 7+ years managing IT/technology projects with experience managing technical and strategy teams in data science, data analytics, and data management.
• 5+ years leading large teams in federal or public sector environments.
• Demonstrated experience managing multi-million-dollar contracts.
• Proven track record delivering complex solutions for federal civilian agencies (DHS, DOT, or similar preferred).
• Experience with cloud adoption strategies (AWS, Azure, or similar platforms).
• Proficiency in various project management methodologies (Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, etc.).
• Excellent verbal and written communication, leadership, team management, and presentation skills.
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (Technology, Business, or related discipline).

Requirements

• Salary Range: $200,000-$210,000.

Benefits

• General Description of Benefits.