Director – Automation

Key Responsibilities 1. Strategic Leadership & AI CoE Development Define and execute the vision, strategy, business plans, and objectives for the AI Center of Excellence (CoE), ensuring alignment with organizational goals and business priorities. Develop and implement a comprehensive automation and innovation roadmap to drive enterprise wide process optimization and operational excellence. Identify emerging technologies, industry trends, and innovative approaches to enhance automation capabilities and deliver measurable business value. Establish automation governance, standards, frameworks, and best practices to ensure scalability, quality, security, and consistency across initiatives. 2. Automation & Innovation Build, lead, and scale a high-performing Automation and Innovation team to design, develop, and implement automation solutions across business processes and project workflows. Identify, assess, and prioritize automation opportunities based on business impact, feasibility, complexity, and expected return on investment. Drive the successful implementation of automation across multiple processes and project tasks, with a focus on accelerating delivery, reducing manual effort, and improving operational efficiency. Evaluate and recommend the most suitable technologies and frameworks to address business challenges and deliver sustainable automation solutions. Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure automation effectiveness, productivity improvements, cost optimization, and business impact. Academian India Private Limited Academian, 12 Floor, DNK Square, Sakore Nagar, Viman Nagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411014 3. Business Process Optimization & Stakeholder Management Analyze existing business processes, workflows, and stakeholder requirements to identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and opportunities for automation and improvement. Collaborate with business leaders, project stakeholders, and cross-functional teams to understand business needs and translate them into actionable technical solutions. Recommend process improvements and technology-enabled solutions that align with business objectives and operational requirements. Lead stakeholder discussions, solution reviews, and implementation planning to ensure alignment, timely execution, and successful adoption of automation initiatives. 4. Technical Leadership & Emerging Technologies Provide technical direction and oversight across automation technologies, including AI/ML, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), autonomous scripting, Python, .NET, and Jenkins. Guide teams in selecting appropriate tools, technologies, and architectural approaches based on business requirements and technical feasibility. Promote the adoption of AI-driven automation, intelligent workflows, and innovative scripting solutions to address complex business challenges. Drive integration of automation solutions with existing enterprise systems, development workflows, and CI/CD pipelines wherever applicable. Ensure automation solutions are scalable, maintainable, reliable, and aligned with enterprise technology standards. 5. Team Leadership, Mentoring & Capability Building Recruit, develop, and mentor professionals across AI/ML, RPA, scripting, software engineering, and automation disciplines. Build a culture of innovation, continuous learning, collaboration, accountability, and technical excellence. Provide technical guidance and leadership to team members, enabling them to develop new capabilities and deliver high-quality automation solutions. Establish competency development plans, knowledge-sharing practices, and technical training initiatives to strengthen organizational automation capabilities. Foster collaboration across teams to encourage experimentation, reusable solutions, and continuous improvement. Required Skills & Qualifications Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related discipline. Extensive experience in enterprise automation, digital transformation, process optimization, and technology-driven innovation. Proven experience in establishing and scaling an Automation or AI Center of Excellence (CoE). Strong understanding of AI/ML, RPA, Python, .NET, autonomous scripting, and Jenkins. Demonstrated ability to build and lead multidisciplinary technical teams across automation and emerging technology domains. Experience translating complex business requirements into scalable technical solutions using appropriate tools and technologies.