About Valiance

Valiance is a deeptech AI company building sovereign and mission-critical AI solutions for enterprises and government institutions. Recognized with the NASSCOM AI GameChangers Award and the Aegis Graham Bell Award, and backed by a team of 150+ engineers and data scientists, we build AI systems that operate at the intersection of scale, reliability, and real-world impact. Our work spans Generative AI, Agentic AI, and sovereign AI platforms deployed in high-stakes environments across India and beyond. We are a Google Cloud Partner, and our products are live in production at enterprise and public sector clients — not in pilots, not in PowerPoints.

The Role

We are looking for an AI Product Manager who thinks like a consultant, builds like an engineer, and executes like a founder. This is not a traditional PM role — you will be working at the bleeding edge of Generative and Agentic AI, translating complex stakeholder requirements from public sector bodies and enterprise clients into production-grade AI products that deliver measurable outcomes.

This is not an in-house product role. Valiance builds & deploys AI products for external clients — enterprises and government institutions — not for an internal user base. If your experience is primarily in owning a product for your own company's customers, this role will require a significant mindset shift. We are looking for someone who has navigated client-side complexity: ambiguous briefs, multi-stakeholder sign-offs, scope negotiations, and delivery accountability where the client is paying and watching.

You will work daily with AI engineers, software engineers, cloud architects, data engineers, and security specialists across Valiance's delivery teams. You need to earn their respect technically, not just manage their timelines.

If you are someone who gets restless when things move slowly, who proactively identifies problems before they become fires, and who finds energy in navigating ambiguity — this role is built for you.

What You Will Own

Client Engagement & Requirements Management

• Own the client relationship from discovery through delivery — you are Valiance's face to the client, not just an internal coordinator
• Navigate requirement chaos systematically — clients, especially in the public sector, will give you incomplete, conflicting, or evolving briefs; your job is to bring structure without losing the relationship
• Conduct structured discovery sessions, document requirements with precision, and get written sign-off before sprints begin
• Manage stakeholder complexity across multiple levels — from operational users to department heads to government decision-makers — with appropriate communication for each level
• Anticipate scope creep proactively and manage change requests with clear impact analysis on timeline and budget

Project & Commercial Accountability

• Own project profitability alongside the delivery manager — track effort vs. estimate, flag budget risks early, and take corrective action before margins erode
• Manage timelines with external commitments in mind — government clients have hard deadlines tied to policy cycles, budgets, and public announcements; slipping is not an option
• Maintain a risk register and escalate blockers to the CEO with proposed solutions, not just problem statements
• Ensure change requests are scoped, priced, and approved before work begins — protect the commercial boundary of the engagement

Product Roadmap & Delivery

• Define and own the product roadmap with clear milestones, sprint priorities, and release plans
• Write detailed user stories, acceptance criteria, and functional specifications that engineering teams can execute without ambiguity
• Drive Agile ceremonies — sprint planning, backlog grooming, retrospectives — with discipline and urgency
• Hold the bar on quality — zero tolerance for avoidable bugs reaching production; own the QA process alongside engineering

Technical Leadership

• Maintain a working understanding of the full AI product stack: Gen AI / LLM integration, Agentic AI frameworks, cloud infrastructure (preferably GCP), databases, APIs, and security/compliance requirements
• Be hands-on in at least one area — whether that is Python scripting, prompt engineering, SQL, API integration, or front-end prototyping
• Review technical trade-offs with architects and make informed decisions on build vs. buy, architecture choices, and tech debt

AI Adoption & Change Management

• Drive post-deployment adoption — this is not optional, this is part of your KPI
• Design onboarding journeys, training material, and feedback loops for end users in government and enterprise contexts
• Monitor usage metrics, identify drop-off points, and iterate rapidly to drive engagement
• Act as the internal champion and external evangelist for the product

Stakeholder & Cross-functional Management

• Manage multiple stakeholders simultaneously — client leadership, internal delivery teams, and CEO
• Communicate product status, risks, and decisions with clarity and without sugar-coating
• Travel to client locations across India as required for discovery, pilots, reviews, and adoption drives — expect this to be a meaningful part of the role

Experience

• 4–8 years in product management, program management, or consulting delivery roles — with at least 2–3 years in a client-facing capacity where you were directly accountable to an external customer
• Experience in enterprise software delivery, systems integration, or AI/ML solution deployment for paying clients — not just internal product ownership
• Demonstrated ability to manage stakeholder hierarchies: operational users, mid-management, and senior leadership simultaneously
• Prior experience in or significant exposure to public sector clients — central government, state government, PSUs, or regulatory bodies — is strongly preferred
• Comfortable working in fixed-scope or milestone-based engagement models where timeline and budget are external commitments, not internal estimates
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments with cross-functional teams

Technical Depth

• Strong conceptual understanding of Generative AI (LLMs, RAG, fine-tuning), Agentic AI frameworks (LangChain, LangGraph, AutoGen or similar), and how these get deployed in production
• Familiarity with cloud platforms — GCP preferred; AWS or Azure acceptable
• Working knowledge of APIs, databases (SQL/NoSQL), system integration patterns, and data security/compliance
• Ability to code or script in at least one language — Python strongly preferred

Mindset & Behavioral Traits

• Consulting mindset: structured problem-solving, hypothesis-driven thinking, client-first orientation
• Aggressive ownership: you do not wait to be told, you identify gaps and fill them
• Forward-looking: you are already thinking two sprints ahead and one product version ahead
• High bias for clarity: vague requirements are your enemy and you know how to eliminate them
• Client-first under pressure: when delivery gets hard, your instinct is to protect the client relationship and find a path forward — not retreat into internal process
• Commercial awareness: you understand that every hour of scope creep has a cost, and you treat project profitability as your responsibility, not just finance's problem
• Stakeholder fluency in government contexts: you can sit across from a Joint Secretary, a PSU CMD, or a state IT department head and command credibility — not just with slide decks, but with substance
• Executive presence: reporting to the CEO means you will regularly represent Valiance in senior client and partner conversations; you need to show up accordingly

Comfortable with ambiguity in a fast-moving deeptech environment

Willingness to travel — domestic and potentially international, including client sites across Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities

Good to Have

– Prior exposure to public sector / government digital transformation projects

– Experience with sovereign AI, data residency, or compliance-heavy environments

– Familiarity with DPDP Act, data governance frameworks, or security compliance standards relevant to Indian public sector