Technical Manager, Data and AI

Job description

The Technical Manager for our Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) projects provides hands-on technical leadership in the design, development, and deployment of data platforms, analytics solutions, and applied AI capabilities. In addition to solution delivery, the role is responsible for aligning multiple Data and AI initiative tracks and building technical direction to ensure architectural coherence, reusability, and long-term sustainability across the organisation’s AI landscape. Reporting to the Head of Technology, this role sets technical direction and guardrails for Data and AI initiatives while being actively involved in day-to-day practical implementation and problem-solving. Although this is an individual contributor position, the selected candidate is expected to work closely with various Technology team members especially the Robotics team to support the integration of AI, data, and automation capabilities, enabling robotics initiatives to be effectively connected with the broader data and AI platform ecosystem Technical Direction and Alignment Align multiple Data and AI initiative tracks to ensure consistency in architecture, tooling, and engineering practices. Propose and refine technical direction for Data and AI capabilities based on organisational needs, platform maturity, and emerging technologies. Identify overlaps, gaps, and technical risks across initiatives and recommend corrective actions. Technical Architecture and Solution Design Lead the technical design of data platforms, analytics pipelines, and AI solutions. Define reference architectures, design patterns, and integration standards for Data and AI solutions. Make hands-on technical decisions across the Data and AI stack, from data ingestion to model deployment. Solution Development and Delivery Actively contribute to the development and deployment of Data and AI solutions. Guide teams in building production-ready data pipelines, analytics layers, and AI models. Support solution hardening, performance tuning, and operational readiness. Technical Governance and Standards Establish and maintain technical standards, architectural principles, and governance practices for Data and AI solutions. Review solution designs and implementations to ensure compliance with defined guardrails. Ensure solution quality, reusability, and consistency across initiatives. Data, AI and Model Governance Define and apply governance practices covering data quality, lineage, access control, and lifecycle management. Support responsible AI practices, including model transparency, monitoring, and risk mitigation. Ensure alignment with data protection, cybersecurity, and organisational policies. Platform, Machine Learning and Engineering Practices Promote best practices for Data and Machine Learning Ops, including versioning, testing, monitoring, and automation. Support operational governance for deployed data pipelines and AI models. Work with IT and operations teams to ensure reliability and maintainability. Collaboration and Technical Leadership Work closely with solution owners, engineers, and domain experts to translate requirements into technically aligned solutions. Provide technical mentorship and act as a point of technical authority for Data and AI decisions. Communicate technical direction clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Required Qualifications & Experience Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or related discipline. 3-5 years of hands-on experience in data engineering, analytics, or AI solution development. Proven experience providing technical leadership across multiple concurrent initiatives. Practical exposure to data governance, security, and compliance requirements. Desired Skills & Competencies Data and AI architecture and solution design Technical strategy and alignment Data governance and responsible AI MLOps and DataOps frameworks Cross-team technical leadership At Surbana Jurong, we put talent, hard work, teamwork and a fun workplace together to approach problems and solve them creatively and collaboratively. Join us in making a positive impact on the world!