Principal Data & AI Delivery Lead (Onsite in Riyadh)- Octopus by RTG

Principal Data & AI Delivery Lead (Onsite in Riyadh) - Octopus by RTG Overview A highly experienced senior leader with 10+ years in technology, specializing in data and AI. This role combines product management discipline with hands-on delivery leadership. The Principal Data & AI Delivery Lead will be accountable for assessing public sector digital initiatives, shaping execution strategy, aligning stakeholders, and leading cross-functional teams to deliver secure, testable, and measurable outcomes. Prior experience working with ministries or large public organizations is preferred but not required.

Core Responsibilities

Initiative Assessment : Analyze problem statements, current systems, policy constraints, data readiness, and feasibility. Define target outcomes, KPIs, and success criteria.

Product & Delivery Strategy : Translate policy goals into an executable product strategy, roadmap, and operating model. Prioritize scope using value, risk, and effort.

Solution Architecture Oversight : Direct high-level data and AI architecture, integration patterns, and MLOps approach in collaboration with Solution and Data Architects.

Execution Planning : Build delivery plans, resource models, and budgets. Sequence discovery, build, and pilot phases with clear exit criteria.

Governance & Compliance : Ensure privacy, security, data governance, and accessibility are embedded by design. Align with national standards and audit requirements.

Team Leadership : Lead Engineers, Data Scientists, Product Managers, Designers, and QA professionals. Set rituals, remove blockers, coach leads, and raise delivery quality.

Stakeholder Management : Drive alignment with senior officials and partner vendors. Run steering routines and communicate trade-offs and decisions clearly.

Testing & Piloting : Define test strategy, run controlled pilots, evaluate model and product performance, and plan scale-up.

Value Realisation : Track benefits, adoption, and operational readiness. Oversee handover to operations with runbooks and training.

Risk & Vendor Management : Identify risks early, maintain mitigation plans, and manage SOWs and acceptance criteria with third parties.

Requirements

10+ years in technology with strong expertise in data platforms and applied AI.

5+ years leading multi-disciplinary delivery teams in complex or regulated environments.

Proven record of converting strategy into shipped products or services with measurable impact.

Familiarity with public sector constraints (procurement, compliance, legacy integration) or similar experience in highly regulated industries.

End-to-end lifecycle ownership from discovery to pilot to scale.

Skills & Competencies

Product Leadership : Outcome definition, backlog strategy, hypothesis testing, and value tracking.

Technical Fluency : Data modelling, analytics engineering, ML lifecycle, API design, systems integration.

Delivery Excellence : Agile at scale, program planning, budgeting, and RAID management.

Communication : Executive storytelling, clear documentation, and negotiation.

People Leadership : Coaching, performance management, and culture building.

Problem-Solving : Structured analysis, prioritization, and decision-making under ambiguity.

Education & Credentials

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data, or related field.

Master's degree or MBA is a plus.

Certificates in cloud, data, or product management are advantageous

Seniority level Director

Employment type Full-time

Job function Other

Industries IT Services and IT Consulting

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