Sr. Director, Engineering - Applied AI at Zapier

This role is for a seasoned technical leader with deep expertise in Applied AI and Machine Learning. You should have a proven track record of managing multiple

Work type: remote

Location: NAMER | EMEA

Salary: €240,500 – €360,700/yr

Type: Full-time

Summary

This role is for a seasoned technical leader with deep expertise in Applied AI and Machine Learning. You should have a proven track record of managing multiple engineering squads and moving beyond theoretical AI to ship user-facing products using LLMs and model tuning. As a strategic partner to the CPTO, you will be expected to bridge the gap between emerging AI trends and pragmatic, scalable architecture. The position offers the ultimate flexibility of a fully remote setup within North America. You will lead "AI Orchestration," one of the company's most strategic initiatives, giving you significant influence over how millions of users interact with automation. Zapier is known for its transparent culture, commitment to diversity, and a non-standard application process that focuses on skills over resumes. **You might be a good fit if you:** * Have successfully built and scaled engineering organizations focused on LLM-powered features. * Thrive in high-ambiguity environments where technology evolves weekly. * Are "customer-obsessed" and prefer working closely with Product and Design over siloed engineering. * Experience a "hands-on" leadership style—balancing high-level strategy with technical mentorship and rigor.

Job Description

## AI at Zapier

At [Zapier](https://zapier.com/about), we build and use automation every day to make work more efficient, creative, and human. So if you’re using AI tools while applying here - that’s great! We just ask that you use them responsibly and transparently.

Check out our guidance on [How to Collaborate with AI During Zapier’s Hiring Process](https://zapier.com/l/jobs/ai-at-zapier), including how to use AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or others during our hiring process - and when not to.

Hi there!

Zapier is on a mission to make automation accessible to everyone, empowering people and businesses to be more efficient and productive. We’re seeking a Sr.Director of Engineering to lead our AI Orchestration engineering organization. In this role, you’ll manage multiple engineering squads to innovate and deliver AI solutions. You will lead AI engineering execution across the build organization.

This role will report to[ Chee Chew Zapier’s CPTO](https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheechew/) (Chief Product and Technology Officer) and will partner with the Director of Product - AI.

We know applying for and taking on a new job at any company requires a leap of faith. We want you to feel comfortable and excited to apply at Zapier. To help share a bit more about life at Zapier, here are a few resources in addition to the job description that can give you an inside look at what life is like at Zapier. Hopefully, you'll take the leap of faith and apply.

• [Our Commitment to Applicants](https://zapier.com/jobs/our-commitment-to-applicants/)

• [Culture and Values at Zapier](https://zapier.com/jobs/culture-and-values-at-zapier/)

• [Zapier Guide to Remote Work](https://zapier.com/learn/remote-work/)

• [Zapier Code of Conduct](https://zapier.com/jobs/zapier-code-of-conduct/)

• [Diversity and Inclusivity at Zapier](https://zapier.com/jobs/working-on-diversity-and-inclusivity/)

## About You

• You’re a hands-on technical leader who thrives at the intersection of AI innovation and real-world product impact. You combine a deep understanding of AI and ML systems with the ability to apply them pragmatically to ship customer-facing products that solve meaningful problems.

• You’re passionate about applied AI engineering. You stay at the forefront of AI development and experimentation, and your peers look to you for insight, vision, and guidance on how to best leverage AI for customers and in day-to-day execution.

• You're driven to ship user-facing ML and LLM-powered products. You’ve had hands-on experience building and shipping user-facing LLM features, training and tuning models, and integrating them into end-to-end products. Beyond AI, you’re a trusted technical architect who makes pragmatic tradeoffs to deliver quickly and with impact.

• You think strategically and act pragmatically. You can see where AI is heading and use that vision to guide near-term architecture, tradeoffs, and execution. You’re comfortable with ambiguity and can chart a path forward even when the technology is evolving.

• You’re customer-obsessed. You deeply understand customer needs and are passionate about delivering high-quality solutions to our customers. You have a passion for building products that delight both internal and external customers, making their jobs easier and more productive. You thrive on working directly with customers and support and customer success teams towards the common outcome.

• You can develop and sell a vision and strategy to your team and across the org.You have a good sense of vision and strategy, and you’re able to translate that strategy into successful execution through experimentation and continuous improvement. You partner closely with product management, design, marketing, and the support organizations to drive and achieve business outcomes.

• You’re motivated by shaping what’s next. You want to define how millions of people experience automation in the AI era and help lead Zapier’s next generation of customer-facing products.

• You are a skilled mentor, coach, and engineering leader who holds a high bar for talent. You have a passion and a track record of mentoring engineers and leaders, while also growing your own skills. You've introduced and broadened engineering practices and enhanced engineering cultures. You hold a high bar for talent and increase talent density within your organization through effective hiring, growing and upskilling your team, and performance management.

• You use AI in your work today — not occasionally, but as part of how you operate at a high level. You can point to workflows you’ve built, how your approach has evolved through iteration, and the impact on quality, efficiency, and experience — while intentionally applying AI for the right outcomes, setting a high bar for outputs, and taking ownership of what ships.

• Lead Zapier’s AI Orchestration Zone in partnership with Product and Design. Co-own one of the company’s most strategic initiatives, unifying core AI capabilities, driving technical direction, and shaping how AI is applied across Zapier’s products to create differentiated customer experiences.

• Prototype and push the boundaries of applied AI. Experiment with new models, tools, and approaches to deliver impactful, production-ready AI features that extend Zapier’s automation capabilities.

• Build and mentor a world-class engineering organization. Attract, develop, and retain exceptional talent while fostering a culture of technical excellence, curiosity, and velocity.

• Drive a culture of innovation and technical rigor. Balance exploration with execution by turning emerging AI capabilities into scalable, reliable features that create measurable customer impact.

• Foster cross-functional alignment. Collaborate with Product, Design, and Go-to-Market partners to define the AI roadmap, ensure execution against company strategy, and translate bold ideas into tangible outcomes.

• Champion engineering excellence. Guide architectural decisions, evolve Zapier’s AI infrastructure, and uphold best practices in reliability, scalability, and agile development.

• Shape Zapier’s next chapter. Play a key role in defining what AI-powered automation looks like for millions of customers and how Zapier evolves into an intelligent orchestration platform.

At Zapier, we believe that diverse perspectives and experiences make us better, which is why we have a non-standard application process designed to promote inclusion and equity. We're looking for the best fit for each of our roles, regardless of the type of companies in your background, so we encourage you to apply even if your skills and experiences don’t exactly match the job description. All we ask is that you answer a few in-depth questions in our application that would typically be asked at the start of an interview process. This helps speed things up by letting us get to know you and your skillset a bit better right out of the gate. Please be sure to answer each question; the resume and CV fields are optional.

Education is not a requirement for our roles; however, if you receive an offer, you will need to include your most recent educational experience as part of our background check process.

After you apply, you are going to hear back from us—even if we don’t see an immediate fit with our team. In fact, throughout the process, we strive to never go more than seven days without letting you know the status of your application. We know we’ll make mistakes from time to time, so if you ever have questions about where you stand or about the process, just ask your recruiter!

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