Strategic Project Lead – Software Engineering

Back to Careers Strategic Project Lead – Software Engineering Job ID: MT058 Posted On Oct 09, 2026 Department Project Management Work Mode Remote Experience 10 - 15 Years Job Description

*Job Description: Strategic Project Lead – Software Engineering*

Position Details

Job Title: Strategic Project Lead – Software Engineering

Experience Required: 10+ years of overall experience, including at least 8 years of relevant experience

Engagement Type: Short-Term Contract (3 Months)

Location: Remote

Eligible Countries: USA, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey, and Vietnam

Working Hours: 6:30 PM – 2:30 AM IST

Availability: Minimum 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, with at least 4 hours of overlap with Pacific Standard Time (PST)

Joining: Immediate

*LinkedIn Profile: Mandatory; candidates must include their LinkedIn profile URL in their resume.*

*Role Overview*

We are looking for an experienced Strategic Project Lead – Software Engineering to manage and scale complex software engineering programs supporting AI research and production systems.

The ideal candidate will combine strong technical understanding, program management expertise, analytical thinking, and operational leadership to ensure the successful delivery of high-quality technical work at scale.

The role involves translating complex research requirements into structured workflows, managing distributed engineering teams, improving productivity and quality, and ensuring delivery within defined timelines and budgets.

Candidates must be comfortable reviewing code, understanding test suites, analyzing quality metrics, and identifying opportunities to improve technical workflows and operational performance.

*Key Responsibilities*

1. Program and Project Management

Own end-to-end program delivery, including scope, timelines, quality, throughput, contributor performance, and costs.

Translate complex research requirements into actionable project plans and execution strategies.

Monitor project progress, identify risks, and implement corrective actions to ensure successful delivery.

Establish scalable workflows to support evolving software engineering and AI research requirements.

2. Technical Operations and Workflow Optimization

Design and manage workflows for coding datasets, repository-level tasks, agentic trajectories, reinforcement learning environments, benchmarks, and rubric-based evaluations.

Identify operational bottlenecks and optimize workflows through improved instructions, task sequencing, review processes, incentives, and capacity planning.

Evaluate technical processes and challenge requirements or evaluation criteria that may not produce the intended outcomes.

Develop reusable playbooks, quality controls, evaluation assets, and contributor management systems.

3. Team Leadership and Contributor Management

Manage and coordinate distributed software engineering teams and contributor networks.

Partner with talent teams to source, assess, onboard, train, and ramp up software engineering contributors.

Build and manage team-lead and reviewer structures for large-scale programs involving 100–1,000+ contributors.

Monitor contributor productivity, performance, and quality while ensuring delivery targets are met.

Mentor team members and share operational best practices across programs.

4. Quality Assurance and Performance Analytics

Establish quality-control processes to ensure the accuracy, consistency, and reliability of technical deliverables.

Analyze datasets, test results, and quality metrics to identify recurring errors and underlying issues.

Define meaningful performance indicators to measure quality, throughput, productivity, and operational efficiency.

Use Python, SQL, or similar tools to automate quality sampling, defect analysis, throughput reporting, and operational reviews.

5. Client and Stakeholder Management

Serve as the primary point of contact for AI research laboratories and other stakeholders.

Communicate project progress, delivery risks, quality trends, and recovery plans.

Manage stakeholder expectations and build strong, long-term client relationships.

Translate research objectives into practical task specifications and ensure alignment between technical requirements and operational execution.

*Required Skills and Qualifications*

10+ years of overall professional experience, including at least 8 years of relevant experience in program management, software engineering, technical project management, consulting, operations, or related fields.

Proven experience leading complex, multi-stakeholder programs and managing end-to-end delivery.

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify bottlenecks, define performance metrics, and improve production outcomes.

Experience managing distributed teams, contributor networks, marketplaces, or large-scale technical operations.

Strong customer-facing communication, stakeholder management, and risk management skills.

Ability to read and review code, understand test suites, and independently assess technical deliverables.

Working knowledge of at least one programming language, such as Python, TypeScript, Java, or Go.

Experience using Python, SQL, or similar tools for operational analytics, quality monitoring, and reporting.

Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment with changing technical and research requirements.

Strong organizational skills and a results-oriented approach to program execution.

*Preferred Experience*

Experience supporting AI research, machine learning, or software engineering data programs.

Familiarity with coding datasets, agentic workflows, reinforcement learning environments, benchmarks, and rubric-based evaluations.

Experience managing large-scale technical teams, including team leads, reviewers, and distributed contributors.

Experience developing quality assurance frameworks, evaluation systems, and scalable operational processes.

Previous experience working with AI laboratories, research organizations, or technology-driven companies.

*Working Schedule and Availability*

Working Hours: 6:30 PM – 2:30 AM IST.

Minimum Commitment: 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.

Time-Zone Overlap: At least 4 hours of overlap with PST.

Joining: Immediate availability is required.

Contract Duration: 3 months.

Employment Type: Short-term contract.

Candidate Evaluation Process

*Candidates will go through the following assessment stages:*

*AI Interview:* Initial evaluation of the candidate's experience, skills, and suitability for the role.

*Delivery Interview:* Further assessment of program leadership, technical understanding, operational execution, analytical ability, and stakeholder management. Job Overview

Location Remote – India Job Type Contract Key Skills Strategic Project Management, Program Management, Software Engineering, AI/ML Operations, Technical Project Delivery, Distributed Team Management, Workflow Optimization, Python, SQL, Code Review, Test Suite Analysis, Quality Assurance, Performance Analytics, KPI Management, Risk Management, Stakeholder Management, Client Management, Contributor Management, Capacity Planning, Process Improvement, Data Quality, AI Research Programs, Agentic Workflows, Reinforcement Learning (RL), Benchmarking, Rubric-Based Evaluation, Resource Planning, Delivery Management