Assistant Vice President, AI Presales

Leading at Cognizant

This is a Leadership role at Cognizant. We believe how you lead is as important as what you deliver. Cognizant leaders at every level: Drive our business strategy and inspire teams around our future. Live the leadership behaviors , leading themselves, others and the business. Uphold our Values , role modeling them in every action and decision. Nurture our people and culture , creating a workplace where all can thrive.

At Cognizant, leadership transcends titles and is embodied in actions and behaviors. We empower our leaders at every level to drive business strategy, inspire teams, uphold our values, and foster an inclusive culture.

About the role

As an AVP, AI Presales, you will make an impact by shaping AI opportunities, leading technical presales strategy and helping close complex enterprise deals across our Communications, Media & Technology (CMT) and IOA portfolio. You will be a valued member of the IOA Solutions team and work collaboratively with sales, client partners, product, engineering, solutioning and delivery teams, as well as client business and technical executives.

In this role, you will:

• Lead discovery with senior business and technical stakeholders to identify high-value AI use cases, and own the technical presales strategy for IOA CMT accounts, opportunities and market segments.

• Build and direct demos, prototypes, proofs of concept and solution walkthroughs, translating business requirements into solution architectures, implementation approaches and value propositions.

• Support RFPs, RFIs, security reviews, architecture discussions and procurement responses, and present AI solutions to executive audiences with clarity, confidence and commercial judgment.

• Collaborate with AI, AIMU, PEX and delivery teams to ensure feasibility and a smooth handover from presales to implementation.

• Develop reusable demos, frameworks and solution assets that scale across pursuits, and mentor and guide junior presales resources and solution consultants.

• Consistently demonstrate the Cognizant Way to Lead, which means operating with Personal Leadership (building trust, collaboration, and inclusion), Organizational Leadership (driving vision and purpose, demonstrating a strategic and enterprise mindset, and creating and communicating a bold direction that inspires purpose), and Business Leadership (exemplifying client focus, managing ambiguity with accountability and results, and operating with financial acumen)

What you need to have to be considered

• 20+ years of overall experience, including substantial experience in presales or solution engineering and AI operations consulting or forward-deployed engineering.

• Proven ability to lead customer workshops and executive-level solution conversations, with demonstrated commercial acumen.

• Experience working with enterprise clients and complex buying cycles.

• Strong understanding of generative AI, machine learning concepts, AI workflows and cloud-based solution design.

• Ability to move pipeline forward and help close deals, aligning executives, sales, product and delivery on a practical path from AI concept to business impact.

• Demonstrated ability to lead with strategic vision, client-centric thinking, innovation, disciplined execution, collaboration and a commitment to developing people in line with the Cognizant Way to Lead.

• Proven track record of building trust, demonstrating ownership, exercising sound judgment and fostering an inclusive culture that supports growth and associate success.

• Embodiment of the Cognizant Way to Lead : Leading Self, Leading Others, & Leading the Business

• The embodiment of Cognizant’s Values of: Work as One, Dare to Innovate, Raise the Bar, Do The right Thing, & Own It

These will help you succeed

• Experience with enterprise AI platforms, LLM applications, RAG architectures or AI agents.

• Background in solution architecture or customer engineering.

• Exposure to regulated industries and large-scale enterprise deployments.

• Experience thriving in complex, fast-evolving environments by translating strategy into action, fostering cross-functional collaboration and championing continuous learning and curiosity.

Work model –

At Cognizant, we strive to provide flexibility wherever possible, and we are here to support a healthy work-life balance though our various wellbeing programs. Based on this role’s business requirements, this is an onsite position requiring 3 days a week in a client or Cognizant office.

The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you’re engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations

We're excited to meet people who share our mission and can make an impact in a variety of ways. Don't hesitate to apply, even if you only meet the minimum requirements listed. Think about your transferable experiences and unique skills that make you stand out as someone who can bring new and exciting things to this role.

Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.