Associate Director, AI Strategy and Solution Architecture

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. ECS combines mission understanding with technical firepower to deliver real-world outcomes, providing frontier technology solutions in data and AI, cybersecurity, and digital transformation.

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

Salary Range: $200,000-$210-000

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)

Engineering