Senior Manager, Applied Science

About Tekion:

Positively disrupting an industry that has not seen any innovation in over 50 years, Tekion has challenged the paradigm with the first and fastest cloud-native automotive platform that includes the revolutionary Automotive Retail Cloud (ARC) for retailers, Automotive Enterprise Cloud (AEC) for manufacturers and other large automotive enterprises and Automotive Partner Cloud (APC) for technology and industry partners. Tekion connects the entire spectrum of the automotive retail ecosystem through one seamless platform. The transformative platform uses cutting-edge technology, big data, machine learning, and AI to seamlessly bring together OEMs, retailers/dealers and consumers. With its highly configurable integration and greater customer engagement capabilities, Tekion is enabling the best automotive retail experiences ever. Tekion employs close to 3,000 people across North America, Asia and Europe.

Job Description:

Tekion is seeking a passionate and dynamic Senior Manager of Applied Science to lead a team of applied Scientists focused on building next-generation AI applications on the cloud. You will work closely with product, business, machine learning engineering, and customer success teams to align priorities, timelines, and deliverables. You will drive AI/ML development efforts and ensure customer engagements are supported with high-quality, scalable solutions that deliver measurable impact.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership and Team Management

Lead, mentor, and manage a team of applied scientists, including senior scientists and team leads.

Build and scale a high-performing team of 5-8 scientists; provide regular mentoring and establish clear career development paths.

Set and promote best practices for research, development, code quality, and technical excellence

Customer Engagement & Deliverable Management

Collaborate with product and customer success teams to prioritize customer needs and align development timelines accordingly.

Integrate customer feedback into development cycles, adapting priorities as business needs evolve.

Act as the technical point of contact for customer engagements, setting clear expectations for deliverables and timelines.

Ensure high-quality, on-time delivery of customer-facing AI/ML products that meet or exceed expectations.

Product Development & Strategy

Lead the execution of the R&D and product roadmap, aligning ML initiatives with business goals and customer priorities.

Drive product strategy in collaboration with product management, business development, and operations.

Provide architectural and technical leadership on key projects, ensuring robustness, scalability,and flexibility.