Vice President, Engineering, AI Lab

About Permira

Permira is a global investment firm that backs successful businesses with growth ambitions. Founded in 1985, the firm advises funds across two core asset classes, private equity and credit, with total committed capital of approximately €80bn. The Permira private equity funds make both long-term majority (Buyout) and minority (Growth Equity) investments in four key sectors: Technology, Consumer, Healthcare, Services. The Permira credit funds support businesses with flexible financing solutions across Direct Lending, Strategic Opportunities and CLO Management. Established in 2007, the firm advises investment funds and products which have provided approximately €20 billion of debt capital to over 300 businesses.

Role Overview

We are seeking an individual to join our AI Lab which sits within our Technology Value Creation Team. Our portfolio includes many of the world’s leading software and tech-enabled companies with landmark technology investments including Zendesk, Mimecast, Informatica, Squarespace, McAfee, and many more. You can learn more about our portfolio here: https://www.permira.com/portfolio

This team will be a central entity that develops and deploys machine learning capabilities across Permira, collaborating with our teams and sectors. At Permira, AI is not just another IT initiative—it’s a fundamental shift in how we work, think, and operate. We are committed to embedding AI deeply into the fabric of our products and workflows—not merely as an add-on, but as a reimaging of what our offerings can be in an AI-native world.

Our strategy focuses on identifying a few high-impact, needle-moving use cases where AI can drive measurable value. The focus of the AI Lab will be first internal use cases, to deploy AI to make better and faster investment decisions, and secondly to the portfolio, supporting Permira portfolio companies on specific AI initiatives. Our goal with the AI Lab is encourage our teams and portfolio companies to be truly AI-native and drive tangible impact with faster innovation velocity, streamlined revenue efficiency, and deliberate cost savings.

This is a hands-on role, where you will guide a talented, multi-disciplinary group of data scientists and machine learning engineers. You will be a key partner to Permira and portfolio stakeholders to translate business needs into a data and AI roadmap that delivers tangible value and competitive advantage.

This role requires a blend of deep technical expertise, strategic thinking, and inspirational leadership. It is based in Permira’s Milan office, and you will be part of a geographically distributed team (UK/US/Europe) that embraces remote and hybrid collaboration.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and execute the vision, strategy, and roadmap for Data and AI capabilities, ensuring alignment with overall company objectives
• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing, multi-disciplinary team, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and technical excellence
• Oversee the end-to-end architecture and operation of our data infrastructure, including our cloud data platform, ML platform, and GenAI solutions
• Champion data governance and establish best practices in MLOps, data engineering, and data science to ensure scalable, reliable, and compliant solutions
• Partner with senior stakeholders across the business to identify opportunities and deliver data-driven products and insights that drive business impact
• Manage the budget, resource allocation, and hiring plan to effectively scale the team and its capabilities
• Communicate the strategy, progress, and impact of the AI Lab to executive leadership and the broader company
• Engage with our portfolio companies and stakeholders to explore, advise and implement data and AI strategies

What We’re Looking For

We are looking for a high-performing, analytically sharp, and emotionally intelligent professional who thrives at the intersection of AI, business transformation, and investment. Ideal candidates will have:

• 8+ years of experience in the data and/or AI field, with a minimum of 4 years in a leadership role managing and mentoring data scientists and engineers
• Proven track record of developing and executing a long-term data and AI strategy that delivered significant business value
• Strong technical background and a deep, principled understanding of modern data platforms, data warehousing, ML/AI technologies, and MLOps
• Exceptional leadership and people management skills, with experience scaling teams and developing talent
• Outstanding communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical topics to diverse audiences, including C-level executives
• Strong business acumen with experience in tying data initiatives directly to business outcomes such as revenue growth, operational efficiency, or risk reduction
• Experience leading teams in an agile, product-driven environment
• A strategic mindset with the ability to balance long-term vision with short-term execution needs
• A strong cultural fit with Permira—team-first, intellectually curious, low-ego, and entrepreneurial

Nice to have:

• Experience leading data functions within the financial services and investment industry  
• Experience with native AI suites, for example, Google Cloud (i.e. Platform Vertex AI) or Microsoft Azure
• Experience scaling GenAI and LLM-based solutions from concept to production
• A deep understanding of data governance, data privacy, and compliance in a regulated environment (e.g., GDPR)
• Experience managing a large budget for cloud computing and tooling

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