Director - Brand and Supply Chain Engineering with AI Focus

Director, Band & Supply Chain Engineering (India)

Job Location: Bengaluru, India

 

Calling all originals: At Levi Strauss & Co., you can be yourself — and be part of something bigger. We’re a company of people who like to forge our own path and leave the world better than we found it. Who believe that what makes us different makes us stronger. So add your voice. Make an impact. Find your fit — and your future. 

Director, Brand and Supply Chain Engineering (India) is a leadership role in our Global Talent Hub responsible for leading engineering and accelerating the use of Artificial Intelligence in our software engineering processes across the Brand, Connect-to-Consumer (CtC), and Supply Chain squads. This role provides functional ownership of AI-driven engineering initiatives and practices, ensuring they deliver measurable value. The Director will report to the Sr. Director, Brand, Supply Chain & CtC Engineering and serve as the senior technology leader for our India engineering hub (acting as the “eyes and ears on the ground” for global engineering leadership). The mission is to drive an “AI-first” transformation in how our teams design, build, and deliver software, by introducing cutting-edge AI capabilities into coding, DevOps, testing, and operations, and by re-imagining our engineering practices to improve velocity, quality, and innovation.  This role will not directly manage a single product-engineering team in the traditional sense, but oversees AI innovation and adoption across multiple squads, guiding and influencing engineers and managers to embrace new tools and ways of working.

 

About the Job 

This role is expected to evolve as our AI maturity grows. In its first phase, a heavy focus will be on jump-starting AI usage and demonstrating quick wins (hence the PoCs and pilots). Over time, as capabilities become embedded, the role’s emphasis may shift to scaling solutions, upskilling the broader engineering organization in AI, and tackling more advanced AI projects.

• AI Strategy & Adoption: Develop and implement a strategic roadmap for AI adoption in engineering for the Brand, CtC, and Supply Chain domains. Identify high-impact opportunities where AI (including generative AI and machine learning) can improve coding productivity, code quality, SDLC speed, or testing depth. Develop KPIs for visibility on impact and innovation. Act as an internal consultant within the org to find impactful opportunities to leverage AI.

• Innovation & PoCs: Manage a small “AI SWAT” team (1–2 dedicated resources) focused on rapid prototyping of AI-driven solutions. Oversee the end-to-end development of Proofs of Concept – for example, an AI-based test automation tool or a GPT-based coding assistant tailored to our tech stack. Prototype, pilot, and productionize successful solutions in collaboration with squads, then hand off to those squads for ongoing use. Track the impact of these initiatives (e.g. reduction in development cycle time, improvement in test coverage) and iterate accordingly

• Engineering Practice Transformation: In partnership with leadership & other engineering leaders, re-imagine our engineering and implementation practices with an “AI-first” mindset. This includes updating DevOps, code review, and QA processes to leverage AI (such as AI code analysis for pull requests, AI-assisted incident resolution, or intelligent monitoring). Define new best practices and coding standards that integrate AI tools while maintaining software quality and ethics. Guide squads in adopting pair-programming with AI, continuous testing with AI, and other modern techniques. Essentially, act as a catalyst for cultural change – fostering an engineering culture that embraces automation and data-driven decision making.

• Cross-Functional Visibility & Collaboration: Provide visibility into ongoing work and AI initiatives across all squads in the Brand, CtC, and Supply Chain areas. Regularly interface with each squad’s Product Managers, Engineering Managers, and Tech Leads to understand their deliverables and pain points. Connect the dots between teams Ensure our domain-specific AI efforts are not siloed and leverage company-wide infrastructure and policies (e.g. data privacy, model governance).

• Offshore Team Oversight: Serve as the local leader for offshore engineering teams in India, providing mentorship and guidance. Although this role doesn’t directly manage the day-to-day of each squad, the Director will oversee the health, engagement, and performance of the offshore contingent. This includes understanding the work the India teams are doing for the Brand/CtC/SC squads, identifying any gaps or issues (like communication challenges or talent needs), and working with onshore counterparts to address them. Act as a liaison to ensure the offshore perspective is represented in global planning. In essence, ensure that our “Global Technology Hub” in India operates seamlessly as an extension of the San Francisco-based teams. This may involve occasional program management or stepping in to resolve time-zone gaps and keep work moving.

• Governance & Ethical AI: Implement and enforce guidelines for responsible AI usage within our engineering domain. Stay abreast of the latest AI and machine learning standards, tools, and ethical considerations, and ensure our squad-level AI experiments comply with company policies (e.g. data security, model bias, IP protection). Coordinate with the corporate AI governance working group or Data Science team on any needed approvals for new AI tools or third-party services. Establish simple governance for squad-developed AI (like registering any new models or scripts developed in squads, to avoid duplication and manage risk).

About You 

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (Master’s preferred).

• 15+ years of experience in software engineering or technology roles, with at least 5 years in leadership positions.

• Significant exposure to AI/ML or data-driven automation projects in an engineering context is required.

• AI Domain Knowledge: Strong understanding of modern AI capabilities and how they apply to software development. Familiarity with AI-assisted coding tools, test automation frameworks, machine learning operations (MLOps), and generative AI. You stay updated on emerging tech – e.g. large language models (LLMs), AI code review assistants, AI ops tools – and can discern which are hype versus high-value. Hands-on ability to experiment with scripts, APIs, or cloud AI services is a plus (you need not be a data scientist, but should be technical enough to prototype or evaluate AI solutions).

• Proven Transformation Leadership: A track record of driving process improvements or technology transformations across teams. This could be leading an Agile adoption, CI/CD implementation, cloud migration, or AI initiative. You are adept at analyzing workflows, identifying opportunities for automation, and executing changes that increase efficiency or effectiveness.   You can point to projects where your leadership directly resulted in measurable improvements (e.g. faster delivery, higher quality, cost savings, etc.).

• Global/Offshore Experience: Experience working with globally distributed teams (especially India-based teams) and an appreciation for multicultural collaboration. You understand the dynamics of offshore delivery – time zone differences, communication challenges, talent development – and have strategies for integrating offshore teams into a unified development process. Prior experience being based in or managing a remote hub would be beneficial.

LOCATION

Bengaluru, India

FULL TIME/PART TIME

Full time

Current LS&Co Employees, apply via your Workday account.

Experience Level

Executive Level