Executive Technical Director

At AKQA (part of WPP), we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful ideas, products, and services. We design connected experiences that transform brands and businesses through the integration of creativity, technology, and data.

We are seeking an Executive Technical Director to lead and shape technology-driven transformation for our clients. This role combines deep technical expertise with strategic thinking, client leadership, and a strong point of view on how AI is redefining customer experience, commerce, and business operations.

The Executive Technical Director operates as a senior partner to both clients and internal leadership, helping define how AI and modern technology reshape customer experience, commerce, and business operations. They translate business ambition into technology strategy, identify and originate new opportunities, and drive the creation of innovative, AI-enabled products and experiences. This role is critical in scaling AKQA’s impact by extending CTO-level thinking across key clients and engagements in the region.

• ROLE REQUIREMENTS
• Technical Leadership

• •Define and drive end-to-end technical strategy and architecture across complex ecosystems
• Lead design of scalable, secure, cloud-native systems

Champion MACH architectures

• •Establish engineering standards and best practices
• Oversee architecture, integrations, and data flows

Drive modern development practices (CI/CD, DevOps, etc.)

Partner with Data teams on data architecture, personalisation strategies, and real-time decisioning systems

Client & Strategic Leadership

Act as a senior technology partner to clients, leading strategic conversations at C-level across AI, platforms, and digital transformation

Translate business ambition and customer experience goals into clear, actionable technology strategies and roadmaps

Shape and originate new opportunities, from early-stage thinking through to solution definition and proposal

Lead technical discovery, solution design, and estimation for new business and pitches

• •Drive the conversion of innovation initiatives (POCs, pilots) into scaled programmes and long-term partnerships
• Navigate complex enterprise environments, influencing stakeholders across business, technology, and experience functions

Proactively identify whitespace opportunities and define new AI-led use cases, propositions, and engagement models for clients

AI, Innovation & Product Thinking

Define how AI transforms client business models, customer experience, and operational efficiency

Identify and shape AI-driven opportunities, products, and services that create tangible business value

Apply generative AI, LLMs, and agent-based systems to real-world use cases across commerce, marketing, and service

Contribute to the development of AI-led propositions, accelerators, and repeatable offerings

Lead the integration of AI into end-to-end solutions, from use case definition to architecture and deployment

Ensure responsible AI implementation, including governance, scalability, and compliance

Customer Experience & Business Understanding

Strong understanding of customer journeys, digital ecosystems, and experience design principles

Ability to connect technology decisions to customer experience quality, brand impact, and business outcomes

Experience working within large, complex organisations, understanding governance, stakeholders, and decision-making dynamics

Ability to bridge strategy, design, data, and technology into cohesive solutions

Delivery & Team

Oversee delivery across multiple programmes, ensuring technical quality, performance, and scalability

Lead and mentor senior engineers and technical leaders, building high-performing, distributed teams

Contribute to AKQA’s technical roadmap, capability development, and thought leadership

Help scale technology leadership across the region by elevating senior talent and acting as a proxy for CTO-level thinking when required

Act as a senior representative of AKQA’s technology leadership in key client engagements, operating with autonomy and authority

QUALITIES & CHARACTERISTICS

Strong strategic thinker, able to connect business ambition, customer experience, and technology into clear, differentiated propositions

A client-first technology leader, comfortable operating at senior levels within complex organisations and influencing strategic direction

Deep technical credibility across platform engineering, distributed systems, and modern web/application stacks

A natural leader and coach, experienced in developing senior technical talent and building engineering capability

Passionate about engineering craft, including code quality, performance, scalability, and maintainability

Deeply fluent in AI and emerging technologies, with the ability to translate them into concrete client opportunities, products, and transformation programmes

Confident communicator, able to influence both technical and non-technical stakeholders at senior levels

Collaborative and cross-disciplinary, thriving in environments that blend creativity, technology, and data

Calm and decisive in complex environments, balancing strategic vision with practical delivery

Highly credible in client environments, with strong communication and presentation skills, able to influence senior stakeholders

Commercially minded, with experience shaping solutions that drive revenue, growth, and long-term client value

Entrepreneurial and proactive, bringing ideas and opportunities rather than only responding to briefs

Comfortable operating across strategy, experience, and technology, not confined to a single discipline

We believe great work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach including required in-office days. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

AKQA is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

About WPP

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com .