Chief Data & AI Officer

Lieu : Vélizy-Villacoublay, France

Construisons ensemble un avenir de confiance

Thales est un leader mondial des hautes technologies spécialisé dans trois secteurs d’activité : Défense & Sécurité, Aéronautique & Spatial, et Cyber & Digital. Il développe des produits et solutions qui contribuent à un monde plus sûr, plus respectueux de l’environnement et plus inclusif. Le Groupe investit près de 4,5 milliards d’euros par an en Recherche & Développement, notamment dans des domaines clés de l’innovation tels que l’IA, la cybersécurité, le quantique, les technologies du cloud et la 6G. Thales compte près de 85 000 collaborateurs dans 65 pays. ​

Nos engagements, vos avantages

• Une réussite portée par notre excellence technologique, votre expérience et notre ambition partagée

• Un package de rémunération attractif

• Un développement des compétences en continu : parcours de formation, académies et communautés internes

• Un environnement inclusif, bienveillant et respectant l’équilibre des collaborateurs

• Un engagement sociétal et environnemental reconnu

Votre quotidien

Rejoignez-nous sur le campus Vélizy qui héberge une grande diversité d’activités Thales, aéro, défense, civile,... A l'ouest de Paris, ce site offre un environnement de travail équipé des dernières innovations technologiques et propose des services permettant de concilier vie professionnelle et personnelle.

Within Thales AMS (Airspace Mobility Solutions), you will lead the worldwide Data & AI transformation programme, covering products, engineering and business functions.

Based in Vélizy and reporting to the VP AMS Operations, you will define and execute a cohesive Data & AI roadmap, strengthen data governance and accelerate the deployment of AI solutions across AMS. You will work closely with international teams and stakeholders to drive innovation, operational efficiency and the adoption of data-driven practices.

In this role, you will:

• Lead Data & AI governance across AMS, including the deployment of processes and tools, data assessments, Data Galaxy catalogue consistency and the establishment of reliable Data Foundations.
• Oversee data engineering initiatives, covering data ingestion, transformation, storage, quality, availability and performance optimisation to support scalable AI solutions and LLM development.
• Coordinate the development and lifecycle management of a global AI agent marketplace, promoting reusable AI solutions and supporting the AI ambassador network.
• Drive the modernisation of business processes through AI, lean engineering and agentic approaches, while strengthening knowledge management and supporting the deployment of AI-based solutions.
• Lead and develop multidisciplinary teams of AI engineers, data engineers and specialists, fostering collaboration, innovation, continuous improvement and a data-driven culture.
• Shape long-term Data & AI priorities alongside functional leaders, Product Owners, architects and Product Managers, while acting as a trusted advisor and technology-watch contributor to the LAS Global Business Unit.

The role involves collaboration with international stakeholders and partners, approximately 30% domestic and international travel, and occasional work outside standard business hours due to global operational requirements.

Your Profile

Are you an experienced Data & AI leader with the technical expertise and strategic vision to drive large-scale transformation across an international organisation?

You hold a Bachelor's degree in Engineering with at least 15 years of professional experience, including more than 5 years in data engineering management, agile teams, software, AI/ML or cybersecurity.

You bring:

• Strong technical expertise in at least three of the following areas: AI/ML engineering, data engineering, cybersecurity and modern lean engineering.
• Proven experience delivering complex Data & AI programmes, supporting enterprise-wide digital transformation and deploying AI products into production.
• Solid knowledge of cloud platforms and modern data engineering practices, supported by formal education or relevant certifications in cloud and data technologies.
• Demonstrated people leadership, with the ability to attract, develop and retain talent, manage multidisciplinary teams and successfully lead organisational change.

You demonstrate excellent communication, stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills, together with the ability to influence strategic decisions and align teams around shared objectives.

A Master's degree in Engineering or MBA, as well as experience in agile data engineering, cloud-based SaaS solutions, microservices, APIs, event-driven architectures or distributed teams, would be additional assets.

Experience in the Aerospace, Defence or Transportation industries, particularly in Air Traffic Management (ATM), would also be appreciated.

Strategic thinking, leadership, adaptability and a strong commitment to innovation, continuous improvement and operational excellence are qualities that define you.

Then this position is for you!

Thales, entreprise Handi-Engagée, reconnait tous les talents. La diversité est notre meilleur atout. Postulez et rejoignez nous !

About Thales

In a world that is increasingly fast moving, unpredictable – and full of opportunities, trust is essential for societies to flourish. Trust in our institutions. Trust in our systems. Trust in technology. Trust in each other.

And the people we all rely on to make the world go round, they rely on Thales. They come to us with big ambitions: to make life better, to keep us safer.

From the bottom of the oceans to the depths of space and cyberspace, we help our customers navigate uncertainty with confidence and new frontiers with optimism. Thinking smarter and acting faster - mastering ever greater complexity and every decisive moment along the way.

We collaborate to architect and deliver high technology solutions that are both imaginative and resilient, human-centered and sustainable. So that together we can harness the extraordinary power of technology to build a future we can all trust.