FR - Engineering Architect
Role details
Job location
Tech stack
Job description
The role is transversal by design: authority comes from expertise, vision, and execution leadership, not from direct hierarchical control. Reporting to Client Partner and Managers at Valtech for our luxury and international client you will:
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Lead Valtech's end-to-end AI transformation and operational excellence for the client account.
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Own the definition, orchestration, and execution of AI initiatives, ensuring they move from POC to industrialized, production-grade capabilities delivering tangible value.
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In close coordination with the AI Transformation Program Manager, ensure AI-driven transformation is consistently embedded across the four core pillars of delivery:
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Agile Operating Model
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Engineering
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Quality & Testing
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Production & Support
Beyond AI, actively drive innovation and continuous improvement of delivery and support operations, leveraging AI, automation, process optimization, and new operating practices., AI Transformation Leadership
- Define and own the global AI transformation roadmap across eRetail and omnichannel delivery.
- Ensure AI initiatives are aligned with the client's business priorities and Valtech's delivery and operational objectives.
- Drive AI adoption beyond experimentation, with clear industrialization paths, ownership models, and value tracking.
- Position AI as a structural enabler of delivery performance, quality, and operational efficiency.
Coordination with AI Transformation Program Management
- Work in close partnership with the AI Transformation Program Manager, ensuring alignment between strategic roadmap, execution planning, and delivery reality.
- Contribute delivery and operational expertise to program-level prioritization, sequencing, and risk management.
- Ensure consistency between program governance and on-the-ground execution across teams.
- Act as the operational counterpart to the program manager, securing adoption, scalability, and sustainability of AI initiatives.
Governance & Stakeholder Management
- Act as Valtech's AI and operational excellence reference toward the client.
- Represent AI and delivery innovation initiatives in SteerCos, transformation committees, and executive forums.
- Provide clear, structured reporting on progress, value delivered, risks, and dependencies.
- Escalate blockers early and propose concrete, execution-ready mitigation plans.
Transversal Team & Community Leadership
- Animate and federate a transverse community of AI and innovation champions embedded across engineering, QA, support, and product teams.
- Lead and coordinate distributed AI Ops, scripting, automation, and tooling resources, notably in India.
- Ensure consistency of practices, standards, tooling, and documentation across all domains.
- Reinforce a shared ownership model: innovation and AI are collective responsibilities, not isolated initiatives.
AI Integration Across the 4 Pillars:
Engineering
- Promote AI-native architectures, developer productivity tools, and MLOps best practices.
- Support AI-assisted development, code quality, refactoring, and technical acceleration.
Agile Operating Model
- Adapt delivery rituals, governance, and planning to support AI-driven and data-intensive initiatives.
- Improve predictability and flow while managing experimental constraints.
Quality & Testing
- Define strategies for AI testing, validation, explainability, and monitoring.
- Embed AI and automation into test strategies, regression prevention, and defect analysis.
Production & Support
- Implement AIOps capabilities for proactive monitoring, incident prediction, and MTTR reduction.
- Strengthen production stability, observability, and operational resilience.
Operational Excellence, Innovation & Industrialization
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives across delivery and support operations, beyond AI-only use cases.
- Identify and promote innovations in automation, tooling, processes, and operating models.
- Ensure initiatives meet enterprise-grade standards: security, scalability, observability, compliance.
- Drive measurable improvements on delivery and support KPIs (cycle time, quality, incidents, automation rate, cost efficiency).
- Ensure smooth transition from build to run, with full ownership by support teams.
- Avoid "shadow initiatives" by enforcing clear governance, documentation, and ownership.
Organization & Role Positioning
The Head of AI Transformation & Operational Excellence is a transversal leader.
- Coordinate closely with the AI Transformation Program Manager and delivery leaders.
- Authority is based on strategic vision, delivery credibility, and execution rigor.
- Orchestrate, influence, and federate teams embedded in their respective domains.
- Success is measured by adoption, industrialization, operational impact, and value delivered, not by the number of POCs.
Requirements
Do you have experience in Risk management?, Must have hardskills
- Proven track record in leading complex, data-driven or AI-enabled transformation programs.
- Demonstrated ability to move initiatives from POC to industrialized, production-grade solutions.
- Experience leading distributed delivery teams (onshore/offshore).
- Strong understanding of e-commerce, retail, or omnichannel ecosystems.
- Ability to operate at both strategic and operational levels.
- Fully bilingual French / English is mandatory.
Must have softskills
- Strong transformation leader with a clear, forward-looking vision.
- Clear, direct, and structured communicator; able to simplify complexity.
- Pragmatic, execution-focused, and value-driven.
- High autonomy, ownership, and ability to influence without formal authority.
- Comfortable operating in complex, high-pressure, multi-stakeholder environments.
Benefits & conditions
Beyond a competitive compensation package, we offer:
- Flexibility, with remote and hybrid work options (country-dependent)
- Career advancement, with international mobility and professional development programs
- Learning and development, with access to cutting-edge tools, training and industry experts