Principal Manager Machine Learning

Experience: 14+ years

About Us

Zycus, recognized globally by leading analyst firms in procurement technology, empowers enterprises to unlock deep value through its comprehensive Source-to-Pay (S2P) solutions. At the core of our offerings lies the Merlin Agentic Platform, orchestrating intelligent AI agents to deliver simplified, efficient, and compliant procurement processes.

Merlin Intake Agent Streamlines procurement requests, improves adoption, and reduces non-compliant spend.

Merlin Autonomous Negotiation Agent Handles tail-spend negotiations autonomously to deliver additional savings.

Merlin Contract Agent Automates contract drafting, ensures compliance, and actively monitors risk.

Merlin AP Agent Enhances invoice processing with unmatched speed and accuracy.

We are a Cloud-first, AI-driven SaaS product company trusted by Fortune 500 and global enterprises.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Zycus is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where talent thrives, irrespective of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic. All hiring decisions are merit-based and aligned with role requirements.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Principal Manager Machine Learning to act as a technical thought leader and drive advanced AI/ML innovation across Zycus products. This role demands deep expertise in building AI-driven solutions (not just using off-the-shelf frameworks), with proven experience in end-to-end ML solution design, large-scale systems, and NLP/deep learning applications.

If you have built enterprise-grade AI solutions (similar to IBM Watson or equivalent platforms), this is an opportunity to shape the next wave of intelligent procurement solutions.

Key Responsibilities :

Technical Leadership :

- Define the ML/AI strategy, standards, and best practices across products.

- Partner with leadership to align analytics initiatives with business priorities.

- Act as a subject-matter expert on cutting-edge AI/ML methodologies.

Innovation & Problem Solving :

- Invent, prototype, and deliver novel AI-driven solutions for procurement, automation, and decision-making.

- Evaluate and integrate emerging deep learning, NLP, and optimization techniques into real-world applications.

Team Mentorship & Collaboration :

- Lead, coach, and mentor data scientists and ML engineers.

- Provide technical guidance on model design, evaluation, and deployment.

- Ensure delivery of high-quality, production-ready ML models.

Cross-Functional Collaboration :

- Work with product, engineering, and business teams to embed ML solutions into scalable SaaS products.

- Collaborate with auditors, compliance, and stakeholders to ensure solutions meet data governance and ethical AI standards.

Required Skills & Expertise :

AI/ML Expertise :

- Proven expertise in machine learning, NLP, and deep learning algorithms.

- Hands-on experience in classification (SVM, Random Forest, Neural Networks), regression, graph theory, heuristic optimization (GA, swarm theory), and deep learning (CNN, RNN, LSTM, Transformers).

- Knowledge of classical optimization methods (gradient descent, Newton-Raphson).

Programming & Tools :

- Strong programming skills in Python/R (must-have), with proficiency in Java, C++, or scripting languages (Perl/PySpark).

- Experience with statistical modeling using R, Matlab, or equivalent tools.

- Hands-on experience with distributed systems & big data ecosystems (Hadoop, Spark, cloud ML frameworks).

Applied Experience :

- Strong expertise in algorithm design, data mining, statistical inference, and information retrieval.

- Experience in building large-scale AI systems with real-world adoption.

- Exposure to econometrics, optimization, game theory, or computational linguistics is a plus.

Leadership Skills :

- Experience mentoring and leading teams of data scientists/ML engineers.

- Strong communication and data storytelling skills to influence leadership.

Qualifications :

Total Experience: 14+ years in Data Science, AI/ML, or related domains.

Advanced degree (PhD/Masters) in Computer Science, AI/ML, Data Science, Statistics, Operations Research, or related quantitative field preferred.

Proven track record of end-to-end ML solution delivery in enterprise product companies.

Why Join Zycus?

- Cloud-First SaaS Company Build AI/ML-powered procurement products using cutting-edge technologies.

- Market Leader Recognized as a Leader by Gartner in Procurement Software Suites.

- Role Mobility Opportunities to explore different roles/functions within the organization.

- Global Exposure Collaborate with top enterprises and clients worldwide.

- Impact-Driven Work Contribute directly to building AI-first enterprise products that transform procurement.