Senior Consulting Lead; Manufacturing​/Construction

Position: Senior Consulting Lead (Manufacturing / Construction)
Network Science is a global AI innovation platform powering enterprise AI transformation through a metric-backward approach. With 150+ AI projects delivered and a curated ecosystem of 70+ deep-tech startups, we help enterprises move from AI ambition to measurable business outcomes. We have created grounds up AI solutions for our esteemed global clients along with our Enterprise AI productivity suite.

Summary
We are looking for a Senior Principal who combines the rigor and client-first discipline with a metric and workflow-minded approach of value delivery. This role will lead end-to-end AI-enabled transformation programs for clients in manufacturing or construction from rapid ideation and hypothesis-driven business case building, through delivery management, adoption, measured change and realized ROI.

Why this role matters
The requires the candidate to turn AI opportunity into measurable business outcomes. You’ll own stakeholder alignment, value definition, prioritization, program governance, adoption strategy and measurement and reporting ROI. The role will have to action our internal frameworks for delivery of the consulting assignment along with ensuring product development is happening at the requisite quality.

Core responsibilities

• Client leadership & expectation management
o Serve as the primary client executive for large transformation programs; build trust at CXO / divisional    leader levels.
o Align stakeholders on outcomes, timelines, risks and measurement approach.

• Value-first problem framing
o  Run hypothesis-driven discovery workshops to identify highest-value AI opportunities linked to client KPIs.
o  Translate business outcomes into measurable success criteria and a prioritized roadmap.

• Program ownership of Ideation to Adoption
o Own the program lifecycle:
Road mapping, Development and Deployment, Adoption, Measurement.
o Coordinate cross-functional delivery teams (product managers, data scientists, AI engineers, change managers).
o Remove blockers and ensure delivery quality, timelines and budget discipline.

• Semi-technical orchestration
o Define solution architecture requirements, data needs with realistic ability to deliver value in the near term and far-future for the client. Partner with architects/engineering on designs and tradeoffs to ensure clarity of ideas.
o Review technical deliverables for business relevance to ensure technical choices serve the ROI case.

• Change management & adoption
o Identify metric to understand adoption and value creation before development starts.
o Design adoption plans (training, process redesign, incentives), pilot measurement plans, and operating-model/ workflow changes to embed AI into work.

• Value capture & ROI measurement
o Ensure data capture to measure adoption and value creation is in place before hand.
o  Build and run the ROI measurement framework with client finance and operations: baseline measurement, attribution, uplift quantification, NPV/payback analysis and ongoing KPI dashboards.
o Own the post-implementation measurement cadence and ensure outcomes are reported and validated.
Thought leadership & capability building
o Create reusable playbooks, metrics templates and operating model artefacts for industry use.
o Mentor client delivery leads and grows internal consulting capability specific to manufacturing / construction problems.

• Risk & ethics stewardship
o Ensure responsible AI practices: data governance, model explainability where required, and regulatory/compliance considerations relevant to the industry.

Required experience & profile

• 9+ years of professional experience including:
o 6+ years in client-facing operational and transformation roles or equivalent operator roles in manufacturing or construction.
o Preferably, track record of leading large, cross-functional programs ($1M budgets preferred) from discovery to adoption.

• Domain depth in either manufacturing (plant operations, supply chain, quality, OEE, predictive maintenance) or construction (project controls, schedule & cost management, supply/logistics, safety, BIM/digital twin).

• Reasonable understanding of AI/ML/ Gen AI capabilities and constraints.

• Ability to build…