Director, AI Platform & Intelligent Systems - East Coast

About Avaya

Avaya is an enterprise software leader that helps the world’s largest organizations and government agencies forge unbreakable connections.

The Avaya Infinity™ platform unifies fragmented customer experiences, connecting the channels, insights, technologies, and workflows that together create enduring customer and employee relationships.

We believe success is built through strong connections – with each other, with our work, and with our mission. At Avaya, you'll find a community that values your contributions and supports your growth every step of the way.

Learn more at https://www.avaya.com

About the Role

We are building the next generation of AI-powered customer engagement platform—where software evolves from static features into intelligent systems that can reason, act, and continuously improve.

We are looking for a seasoned product leader who understands this shift and has evolved how they operate because of it.

This is not a traditional product management role.  We are not looking for backlog managers or PRD-driven operators.

We are hiring a pragmatic builder and leader—someone with a strong foundation in platform and API design, who is now applying those principles to AI-driven systems. This role requires sound judgment, the ability to navigate ambiguity, and the discipline to balance speed with quality while operating at scale.

This role is focused on the core AI platform and intelligent system capabilities that power our solutions. It works in close partnership with teams responsible for productization and GTM, as well as platform reliability and compliance, with clear ownership of how AI systems are designed, built, and operated within the platform.

What You’ll Do

• 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

What We’re Looking For

• 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

AI & Intelligent Systems Expectations

• 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

What Sets You Apart

• 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

Why This Role

• Direct partnership with executive leadership on product and platform strategy
• Opportunity to shape how AI transforms a large-scale enterprise platform
• Real ownership and accountability—not just roadmap contribution
• A leadership role with meaningful scope and influence

Who This Is Not For

• PMs who primarily operate through process, documentation, or coordination
• Candidates without strong platform and API experience
• Individuals who rely on theory without demonstrated execution
• Those who move fast without sound judgment or struggle to operate at scale

The pay range for this opportunity is from $203,000 to $275,000 + bonus potential + benefits.  This range represents the anticipated low and high end of the salary for this position. Actual salaries will vary and are based on factors such as a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies.

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Experience

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Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship now or in the future.

Avaya is an Equal Opportunity employer and a U.S. Federal Contractor. Our commitment to equality is a core value of Avaya. All qualified applicants and employees receive equal treatment without consideration for race, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran or any other protected characteristic. In general, positions at Avaya require the ability to communicate and use office technology effectively. Physical requirements may vary by assigned work location. This job brief/description is subject to change. Nothing in this job description restricts Avaya right to alter the duties and responsibilities of this position at any time for any reason.