AI Development Lead

Arcadis is the world's leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets.

We are more than 34,000 people, in over 30 countries, dedicated to improving quality of life. Everyone has an important role to play. With the power of many curious minds, together we can solve the world’s most complex challenges and deliver more impact together.

Role description:

The Global Lead is accountable for defining and governing the future-state technology architecture for Global Technology Services & Operations, translating business strategy and technology trends into secure, resilient and scalable IT platforms. The role ensures the IT estate is modern, interoperable and AI-ready, while managing risk, complexity and long-term sustainability.

Role accountabilities:

• Translate business and technology strategy into architectural principles, reference models and future-state roadmaps.

• Design enterprise-wide infrastructure and platform architecture spanning on-prem, hybrid, multi-cloud, data centres, AI/ML foundations, edge and emerging technologies.

• Ensure interoperability, scalability, maintainability, performance and resilience across the IT estate.

• Define and enforce non-negotiable architecture standards, controls and guardrails.

• Embed “secure by design” and resilience principles into all technology designs.

• Govern adherence to architecture through reviews, patterns and design assurance.

• Lead gap analyses between current and future states.

• Define migration and modernization plans aligned to business priorities.

• Assess infrastructure readiness for AI workloads and data-intensive platforms.

• Embed AI-driven infrastructure and automation approaches where appropriate.

• Partner with Enterprise Architecture, Solution and Domain Architects to ensure alignment across programs and platforms.

• Engage with business, security, SOC, risk, legal, vendors and DevOps teams to balance requirements, constraints and opportunities.

• Provide architectural direction, coaching and mentoring to uplift capability.

• Identify and assess architectural risk across platforms, integrations, data flows and infrastructure landscapes.

• Provide clear, evidence-based trade-off recommendations balancing speed, cost, risk, scalability and long-term sustainability.

• Prevent unnecessary complexity by enforcing architectural standards and reducing duplication across technology towers.

• Oversee delivery of a coherent, secure and resilient global technology architecture.

• Align of technology roadmaps to business outcomes and operational needs.

• Reduce of technical debt and unmanaged complexity across the IT estate.

• Accountable for the health, safety, and wellbeing (HSW) of their teams, and expected to demonstrate stewardship and care in all aspects of their role. This includes championing an ambitious, people-first culture within Technology by setting clear HSW expectations, leading by example, empowering and engaging employees, and communicating openly.

• Leaders should recognize safe behaviors and foster a caring, One Team ethos—where everyone feels empowered to take responsibility, speak up, and return home unharmed, both physically and psychologically.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Over 12+ years’ experience in enterprise architecture, platform strategy, or large-scale technology transformation within complex global organizations.

• Proven track record defining and implementing enterprise architecture strategy across multiple technology towers, including applications, data, infrastructure, and security.

• Strong expertise in integration design, master data architecture, and interoperability frameworks.

• Deep experience translating business and technology strategy into architectural principles, reference models, and future-state roadmaps.

• Strong understanding of enterprise-wide infrastructure and platform architecture spanning on-prem, hybrid, multi-cloud, data centers, AI/ML foundations, edge and emerging technologies.

• Demonstrated ability to define and enforce architecture standards, controls and guardrails, and govern adherence through reviews, patterns and design assurance.

• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to partner effectively with Enterprise Architecture, Solution and Domain Architects, Cybersecurity, Risk, Legal and Compliance, vendors, strategic partners, and Data, Platform and Product or DevOps teams.

• Strong analytical judgment and trade-off management capability, balancing speed, cost, risk, scalability, and long-term sustainability.

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to provide architectural direction, coaching and mentoring and to explain complex architecture decisions clearly to senior stakeholders.

• Leadership style that empowers Arcadians, promotes accountability and continuous improvement, and supports a healthy, inclusive and high engagement culture aligned to the Arcadis Leadership profile of being curious, driving success and igniting passion.

• Degree level education in computer science, information systems, software engineering, engineering or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

• Advanced degree preferred such as a Master’s in computer science, enterprise architecture, information systems or a related field, or equivalent senior-level experience in complex global organizations.

Why Arcadis?

We can only achieve our goals when everyone is empowered to be their best. We believe everyone's contribution matters. It’s why we are pioneering a skills-based approach, where you can harness your unique experience and expertise to carve your career path and maximize the impact we can make together.

You’ll do meaningful work, and no matter what role, you’ll be helping to deliver sustainable solutions for a more prosperous planet. Make your mark, on your career, your colleagues, your clients, your life and the world around you.

Together, we can create a lasting legacy.

Join Arcadis. Create a Legacy.

Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day, which is why we take equality and inclusion seriously and hold ourselves to account for our actions. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people.