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At SJ, we're building identity into infrastructure, character into skylines and peace of mind into everyday life.
A global urban and infrastructure consultancy firm with over 75 years of project delivery success, SJ and its member companies continue a collective legacy that delivers global expertise with local precision.
Become part of our 16,000 client-centric specialists in more than 120 offices in over 40 countries who shape spaces across the world to meet the needs of today and the aspirations of generations to come.
Position Purpose
The Assistant Manager, Group IT will serve as a critical technical contributor to SJ Innovation team and SJ Group's AI acceleration and digital transformation initiative, supporting the organization's evolution into an AI-enabled enterprise. This PhD-level role combines advanced innovation capabilities with practical implementation expertise to accelerate SJ's transition to a technology-augmented workforce and establish the company as a leader in Digital Intelligence within the AEC industry.
The position bridges the gap between engineering/design domain expertise and AI innovation, leveraging deep understanding of AEC workflows, computational design, and optimization methodologies to develop AI solutions that address real-world industry challenges. The Senior Innovation Engineer will translate complex engineering and design problems into AI-enabled solutions while maintaining the scientific rigor and innovation excellence expected at the PhD level.
This role is essential for achieving the digital transformation roadmap's ambitious goals of building foundational AI capabilities, transforming organizational culture with evidence-based approaches, and breaking down data and expertise silos. The Assistant Manager, Group IT will contribute to high-impact AI initiatives that require sophisticated understanding of both engineering/design principles and emerging AI technologies to deliver transformational capabilities that differentiate SJ Group in the global marketplace.
Key Accountabilities
1. Support AI acceleration and digital transformation initiatives that redesign engineering and design workflows through computational optimization, process innovation, and systematic capability building within the digital transformation framework
- Conduct, in cooperation with other teams, transformational innovation in AI-accelerated AEC workflows, focusing on computational design optimization, automated process enhancement, generative design methodologies, and systematic workflow redesign that empowers teams to leverage advanced capabilities confidently
- Develop AI-enabled design strategies for adaptable and low-carbon buildings: Integration of AI for Carbon Assessment automation and Adaptive strategies focusing on early-stage intelligence, carbon scenario analysis and spatial or structural optimization
- Collaborate in developing comprehensive digital transformation frameworks and optimization systems that address high-complexity use cases identified in the AI acceleration Discovery and Prioritizing phases, including multi-objective optimization, evolutionary design algorithms, process automation, adaptable design logic and systematic capability building programs
- Contribute to full-scale transformation prototyping initiatives for enterprise-level solutions that redesign entire operational systems rather than simply implementing technology tools, focusing on process redesign, team empowerment, and organizational capability enhancement
- Collaborate with external technology partners and academic institutions to advance the integration of cutting-edge technologies with systematic organizational transformation, co-developing approaches that reshape operational capabilities rather than just technical implementations
- Design and architect robust digital transformation infrastructures that integrate diverse AEC data sources, workflow optimization, process automation, and team empowerment strategies to enable scalable AI acceleration deployment across global operations
- Contribute to innovation publications in top-tier AEC, computational design and organizational transformation journals, representing SJ Group at industry conferences to establish thought leadership in systematic AI-accelerated transformation
- Support and mentor transformation capabilities across teams, providing guidance not just on technical tools but on systematic approaches to workflow redesign, process optimization, and organizational capability building
2. Contribute to organizational transformation by developing comprehensive change strategies that empower teams to confidently leverage AI-accelerated capabilities across all engineering and design processes
- Support strategic transformation initiative prioritization by applying systematic engineering design principles and organizational change frameworks to assess transformation impact, capability readiness, and alignment with FY26-30 business objectives
- Develop and execute comprehensive organizational transformation strategies that leverage systematic change methodologies to address the Integration, Learning, and Evolution phases of the digital transformation roadmap, focusing on empowering teams rather than just implementing tools
- Contribute to transformation maturity assessment frameworks specifically tailored to AEC workflows, implementing evidence-based approaches to measure organizational capability development and team empowerment across design and engineering disciplines
- Create comprehensive capability-building programs and transformation content that bridge engineering/design domain knowledge with systematic approaches to AI acceleration, focusing on confident team adoption and sustainable workflow transformation
- Support cross-functional transformation networks that integrate domain expertise with systematic management improvement, breaking down silos between traditional engineering workflows and emerging AI-accelerated capabilities through process redesign and team empowerment
- Conduct strategic transformation assessments from an organizational systems perspective to identify technologies and processes with highest impact
- Support interdisciplinary transformation projects that synthesize technological capabilities with deep domain expertise and systematic management improvement to redesign entire operational systems rather than just implementing tools
- Contribute to comprehensive transformation governance frameworks that ensure responsible, sustainable, and systematically aligned deployment of AI-accelerated capabilities while maintaining engineering excellence and team empowerment
Accountability - Contribution to the Team:
- Research excellence in computational design and systematic transformation that advances the entire organization's technology-augmented capabilities
- Engineering rigor and evidence-based approaches that guide strategic transformation decisions
- Domain expertise leadership that accelerates systematic capability building in technology-augmented AEC applications
- Cross-functional collaboration that bridges traditional engineering disciplines with systematic organizational transformation
Accountability - Compliance: Actively promote a culture of zero tolerance for any misconduct, ensure:
- All team members working in your area of responsibility understand and adhere to the Company's Code of Conduct and Business Integrity Policy and associated procedures
- Compliance risks associated with your area of responsibility are understood and managed effectively
- Appropriate processes and controls are implemented within your area of responsibly for managing compliance risk effectively
- Any incidents of suspected non-compliance with Company policies within your area of responsibility are reported and acted on in a timely way
- Company assurance processes to review and improve effectiveness of Compliance management within your area of responsibility are supported
- Compliance with all Information Security policies and procedures to prevent an Information Security incident from occurring Escalate to report any actual or potential security breaches.
Accountability - Workplace Health & Safety: Ensures good health is maintained through safe work practices:
- WHS risks associated with the local operations are understood and managed effectively
- Appropriate resources and processes are available within the Country/Region for managing WHS effectively
- Information about WHS performance and incidents within the Country/Region is reported and acted on in a timely way
- Company assurance processes to review and improve effectiveness of WHS management within the Country/Region are supported.
Formal Qualifications
- PhD in Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Architecture, Computational Design, or related engineering/design field with demonstrated research excellence in computational methods, optimization, or AI applications
- Strong background in computational design, optimization, or systematic transformation approaches within engineering/architectural contexts
Experience
Has the demonstrated ability to consistently:
- Contribute to groundbreaking research projects in computational design, optimization, or systematic transformation within engineering/architectural contexts that result in novel methodologies or comprehensive solutions with real-world organizational impact
- Publish high-quality research in top-tier conferences and journals relevant to computational design, systematic transformation, organizational change, architectural technology, or technology augmentation applications in AEC
- Develop and deploy complex computational and transformation systems from research concept through practical implementation in engineering, design, or organizational environments
- Collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams including engineers, architects, software developers, and business stakeholders
- Support research funding initiatives through grants, industry partnerships, or collaborative research initiatives
- Mentor and develop junior researchers and technical teams in computational design methods
- Present complex technical concepts related to engineering optimization and AI to diverse audiences including technical teams, academic peers, and industry professionals
- Support transformation initiatives that result in measurable improvements to design processes, engineering workflows, organizational capabilities, or business outcomes
Skills / Knowledge
- Advanced expertise in computational design, optimization algorithms (genetic algorithms, multi-objective optimization), and systematic transformation approaches with growing proficiency in emerging technology applications
- Proficiency in programming languages and tools including Python, Grasshopper, Dynamo, and specialized optimization frameworks, with ability to learn emerging technology frameworks and systematic transformation methodologies
- Deep understanding of AEC industry workflows, data types, and transformation challenges with proven ability to identify opportunities for computational optimization and systematic capability building
- Experience with research methodologies including experimental design, statistical analysis, design of experiments, systematic transformation approaches, and comprehensive performance validation
- Expertise in engineering design processes, performance simulation, and systematic capability development with understanding of how emerging technologies can enhance organizational workflows and team empowerment
- Knowledge of computational architectures for systematic design optimization and growing understanding of enterprise transformation deployment strategies
- Understanding of engineering ethics, systematic validation, and professional standards in technology-augmented engineering applications and organizational transformation
- Project management and strategic planning capabilities for complex, multi-stakeholder research, development, and comprehensive transformation initiatives
Competencies
- Research Excellence - Demonstrates outstanding research capabilities in computational design/engineering with strong potential for systematic transformation innovation
- Technical Leadership - Provides expert technical guidance in engineering/design domains with growing technology augmentation and transformation expertise
- Strategic Thinking - Connects engineering research insights to comprehensive transformation strategies and competitive advantage
- Communication - Effectively communicates complex engineering, computational, and transformation concepts across organizational levels
- Collaboration & Influence - Builds strong partnerships between engineering teams and transformation initiatives to drive systematic organizational change
- Innovation & Creativity - Develops breakthrough solutions that bridge traditional engineering approaches with systematic transformation and emerging technology capabilities
