Software Engineering Manager AI
Manages an AI engineering team for Syngenta's Vegetable Seeds business in São Paulo, leading development of ML, Generative AI, and analytics products for global seed supply chain operations. The role blends people management with hands-on coding and ownership of the platform's AWS architecture.
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Location
- Sao Paulo, SÃO PAULO, br
- Work setup
- Hybrid
- Seniority
- Not specified
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- 3+ years
- Category
- Software engineering
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- 10+ years of product engineering experience, including 3-5 years implementing AI/ML at enterprise scale
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, AI/ML, Engineering, or related field
- Hands-on experience with AI frameworks such as PyTorch and TensorFlow
- Experience with cloud AI services such as Databricks and AWS, and modern software architecture
- Practical AWS knowledge and current ability to code, review, test, and debug
- Proven ability to apply AI to supply chain, quality, or production challenges in a global manufacturing or agricultural environment
- Experience leading high-performing, distributed teams using agile methodologies
- Previous people-management experience including feedback, performance, and engineers' development
- Ability to build and develop technical teams with varying levels of experience
- Experience managing change in large organizations and aligning technology with business objectives
- Entrepreneurial mindset with a vision for AI-driven business value in digital transformation
- Ability to translate complex AI concepts for non-technical audiences and participate in meetings in English
- Ability to build relationships across technical and business teams and negotiate dependencies
- Maturity to handle pressure, shifting priorities, communicate risks early, and give constructive feedback
- Strong ownership, initiative, and openness to feedback
Nice to have
- Experience transitioning solutions from vendors or consulting partners to internal teams
- Experience scaling products across regions or crops, including demand forecasting, inventory replenishment, or lot allocation
Full description
Within IT & Digital, we aim to transform agriculture through Artificial Intelligence, digital technology, and data. With a user-centered approach, we develop and maintain AI solutions that optimize our global seeds business and create value for growers.
We are looking for a Software Engineering Manager – AI to join our Vegetable Seeds business and lead the development of products leveraging Machine Learning, Generative AI, and Advanced Analytics. You will connect complex supply chain data with digital solutions and work closely with the Head of IT & Digital and Vegetable Seeds leadership to embed AI into global operations-from production and processing to quality and logistics.
This role combines people management, technical leadership, and hands-on development, with equal importance across these areas. You will take ownership of the platform’s architecture and AWS environment, lead a team, and contribute directly to the codebase. A key priority will be to build team autonomy and lead knowledge transfer from partners, consolidating internal ownership of the platform.
With a global scope and an active roadmap, this is an opportunity to build and scale Data and AI capabilities within a valuable business division-shaping technical decisions, developing talent, and expanding solutions to new crops and regions.
Responsibilities
- Develop and execute the engineering strategy for AI products, aligned with global Vegetable Seeds objectives;
- Lead end-to-end application development, ensuring reliability, security, ethical AI standards, and a user-centered experience;
- Take ownership of the platform’s AWS architecture and infrastructure, working with Cloud, Infrastructure, and Security specialists to guide its evolution;
- Contribute through coding, code reviews, testing, and technical troubleshooting, maintaining direct involvement in delivery;
- Collaborate with AI Product Managers, Data Leads, Data Engineering, and the global Data organization to ensure high-quality pipelines and AI interfaces that meet user needs;
- Identify deployment opportunities across the 85 countries where Vegetable Seeds operates, promoting the reuse of models, components, and best practices;
- Lead, support, and develop engineers by providing feedback and mentoring, increasing team autonomy and fostering continuous learning in AI;
- Manage initiative budgets and timelines, considering GPU resources, cloud computing, and high-performance data processing;
- Monitor AI trends, such as Computer Vision for seed quality and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for internal knowledge management, assessing their potential to create value;
- Lead knowledge transfer from partners to the internal team, including architecture, documentation, and the capability to maintain and evolve solutions;