Position: Associate Director - AI and Digital Transformation
Start Date: 1st April 2026
About Us – Athena Infonomics
Celebrating over fifteen years of innovative and collaborative work, Athena Infonomics is an established best-in-class global solutions group offering integrated social science research, data, and technology services for social impact to provide user-centric, context-specific advisory and implementation support to decision makers. Our multidisciplinary and multi-cultural team of 75+ professionals across Asia, Africa, USA and UK bring extensive experience in designing and applying research methods to co-design and co-produce useful research that is inclusive and relevant. At Athena, we’ve always believed that real impact comes from building solutions that last. We go beyond traditional project-based engagements, immersing in sectors, understanding real challenges, and driving innovations that truly make a difference.
The international business community is taking notice of this unique approach: in 2021 alone, Athena Infonomics was recognized on The Financial Times, Nikkei Asia, and Statista’s High-Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2021 and 2022 ranking, and was selected as one of The Economic Times and Statista’s 2021, 2022 and 2023 India Growth Champions.
Role Overview
Athena Infonomics is seeking an Associate Director - AI and Digital Transformation to lead the identification, design, and implementation strategy of high-impact AI solutions across sectors.
This role sits at the intersection of technology strategy, product design, and real-world problem solving, translating operational challenges into practical AI-enabled solutions. The position focuses on AI opportunity discovery, use-case prioritization, product strategy, and implementation design, rather than hands-on model development.
Associate Director - AI and Digital Transformation will work closely with researchers, sector specialists, engineers, and institutional partners to ensure AI initiatives are technically feasible, economically viable, and operationally implementable.
The ideal candidate combines AI understanding, strategic thinking, product leadership, and stakeholder engagement, with the ability to translate complex AI concepts into actionable strategies. The role involves significant on-ground engagement with enterprises, sector stakeholders, and ecosystem actors, and will require extensive travel and field immersion, with the individual expected to spend approximately 50–80% of their time in the field.
Key Responsibilities
- Identify high-value opportunities where AI and machine learning can create measurable operational or strategic impact.
- Translate sectoral challenges and organizational needs into clearly defined AI problem statements.
- Conduct structured discovery through stakeholder engagement, workflow analysis, and operational diagnostics.
- Map business processes, operational workflows, and decision points to identify opportunities for AI-enabled solutions.
- Analyze operational bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and decision-making constraints where AI can create measurable value.
- Lead the identification and prioritization of AI use cases across sectors and operational contexts.
- Develop structured frameworks to evaluate AI opportunities based on impact potential, technical feasibility, scalability, and adoption readiness.
- Design AI-enabled product concepts and solution architectures aligned with real operational needs.
- Define clear value propositions for AI solutions including productivity gains, cost efficiencies, and performance improvements.
- Ensure AI initiatives remain practical, implementable, and aligned with real-world operational environments.
- Assess data availability, data quality, and instrumentation requirements required to enable AI solutions.
- Define high-level technical approaches including potential AI/ML methodologies, system architecture, and data pipelines.
- Identify dependencies, constraints, and technical requirements necessary for successful implementation.
- Develop operational roadmaps outlining implementation phases, resources, timelines, and success metrics.
- Design practical deployment models such as platform solutions, shared services, modular systems, or phased adoption strategies.
- Develop cost–benefit analyses and ROI models to demonstrate the economic value of AI solutions.
- Evaluate adoption costs, operational efficiencies, productivity gains, and long-term value creation.
- Translate technical value into language that resonates with decision-makers, business leaders, and institutional stakeholders.
- Support evidence-based decision-making by clearly articulating expected benefits, risks, and trade-offs.
- Design adoption pathways that align AI initiatives with organizational capabilities, operational realities, and digital maturity.
- Engage with AI technology providers, startups, and ecosystem partners to validate solution feasibility and identify implementation pathways.
- Identify opportunities to integrate AI initiatives with existing systems, digital infrastructure, and institutional programs.
- Facilitate collaboration between technology providers, sector stakeholders, and implementing organizations to accelerate AI adoption.
- Identify technical, operational, and organizational risks that may affect AI deployment and scale.
- Develop governance frameworks to ensure ethical, responsible, and transparent AI implementation.
- Assess risks related to data privacy, bias, explainability, workforce impact, and vendor dependence.
- Propose safeguards, monitoring systems, and governance mechanisms aligned with responsible AI principles and regulatory expectations.
- Provide strategic guidance on AI initiatives across the organization.
- Translate complex AI, data, and product concepts into clear strategic insights for non-technical stakeholders.
- Produce high-quality outputs including AI strategy documents, implementation roadmaps, research reports, and presentations.
- Contribute to workshops, consultations, and knowledge-sharing sessions with internal teams and external stakeholders.
- Work closely with researchers, engineers, domain experts, and design teams to co-develop AI-enabled solutions.
Qualifications
- Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, Management, Economics, or a related field.
- 8–12 years of experience in AI strategy, product management, digital transformation, or technology consulting.
- Demonstrated experience designing or implementing AI-enabled products, platforms, or digital transformation initiatives.
- Strong understanding of machine learning concepts, AI system architecture, and data ecosystems, without necessarily being a hands-on model developer.
- Proven ability to translate research insights or operational challenges into implementable AI solutions.
- Experience working across complex stakeholder environments, multiple sectors, or institutional contexts is highly desirable.
- Familiarity with responsible AI frameworks, AI governance, and data protection principles is a plus.
Additional Requirements
- This position requires successful completion of a reference check and employment verification.
- The successful candidate must not be subject to employment restrictions from a former employer (such as a non-compete) that would prevent the candidate from performing the job responsibilities as described.
- Only candidates who have India work authorization will be considered.
Why Join Athena Infonomics
At Athena Infonomics, you will work on complex challenges at the intersection of technology, policy, and real-world systems. We value curiosity, intellectual rigor, and collaborative problem solving, and we support our teams in developing solutions that drive meaningful change.
If you love solving problems, designing thoughtfully, and seeing your work come to life, we’d love to hear from you.
Athena Infonomics is an Equal Opportunities Employer
Athena Infonomics is an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status.
AI Proficiency and Responsible Use
Proficiency in the responsible and sophisticated use of AI is a mandatory requirement for all roles, across all levels and functions at Athena Infonomics
