Director, AI Platform & Intelligent Systems - East Coast

Avaya•Morristown, MN

About The Position

Avaya is seeking a seasoned product leader to build the next generation of its AI-powered customer engagement platform. This role focuses on evolving software from static features into intelligent systems that can reason, act, and continuously improve. It is not a traditional product management role but rather for a pragmatic builder and leader with a strong foundation in platform and API design, now applying these principles to AI-driven systems. The position requires sound judgment, the ability to navigate ambiguity, and the discipline to balance speed with quality while operating at scale. The role is centered on the core AI platform and intelligent system capabilities that power Avaya's solutions, working in close partnership with teams responsible for productization, GTM, platform reliability, and compliance. The individual will have clear ownership of how AI systems are designed, built, and operated within the platform.

Requirements

15+ years of product management experience with significant ownership and leadership responsibility
Strong background in platform, APIs, and developer-centric products (e.g., CPaaS, SaaS)
Proven ability to build and scale a platform from zero-to-one through maturity
Deep technical fluency, especially in API design, system architecture, and platform tradeoffs
Experience evolving a platform toward AI-enabled capabilities, even if not AI-native from day one
Demonstrated track record of sound judgment and decision-making under ambiguity
Experience owning core platform capabilities that enable multiple downstream use cases, not just end-user features or GTM packaging
Executive presence with the ability to influence across engineering, GTM, and leadership
High ownership mindset with a bias for action—grounded in outcomes
Hands-on exposure to building or shipping AI-powered or automation-driven capabilities, OR strong experience building an API-first platform now extended into AI use cases
Understanding of LLMs, orchestration, retrieval, and evaluation concepts
Ability to translate AI capabilities into reliable, scalable product experiences
Clear grasp of real-world tradeoffs including latency, cost, reliability, and user experience
Bachelor degree or equivalent experience
10+ Years of Experience

Nice To Haves

Master of Business Administration is preferred
You think in systems, not features
You balance speed with judgment—you know when to move fast and when to be deliberate
You bring clarity and structure to ambiguity
You are confident but not dogmatic—able to challenge and collaborate effectively
You elevate teams through leadership, not just individual output

Responsibilities

Own strategy and execution for core platform capabilities across APIs, voice, messaging, orchestration, and automation
Drive the evolution from feature delivery to intelligent system design (inputs, reasoning, orchestration, outputs)
Partner deeply with engineering to prototype, validate, and scale both API-first and AI-powered capabilities
Apply AI-assisted development workflows to accelerate execution without compromising quality
Translate complex, ambiguous problems into clear product direction, architectures, and execution plans
Engage directly with enterprise customers and GTM teams to validate use cases and outcomes
Present at customer EBC meetings, providing clarity on platform roadmap vision
Make decisions grounded in customer impact, system performance, and business outcomes
Define and build the core AI platform layer that enables downstream AI use cases and product experiences
Partner with product peers to ensure platform capabilities translate into customer-facing solutions and provide reliability, compliance, and serviceability to ensure enterprise readiness
Operate as a mini-GM, influencing roadmap, prioritization, and long-term platform direction
Provide leadership across teams, bringing clarity and structure while maintaining momentum