Technical Training Manager - GenAI

About the Role: 

As a  Technical Training Manager - GenAI, you will work on the cutting edge of AI, specifically GenAI. 

In this role, you'll manage a team of 3-5 technical trainers to deliver engaging and effective training programs for the annotation teams supporting state-of-the-art GenAI projects and solutions for some of the world's most forward-thinking and influential companies. You'll be at the forefront of the next wave of AI advancement, helping Sama develop market leading best practices for GenAI project training and workforce development.

Reporting to the VP of Global Project Operations, this role will be responsible for developing standard training methodologies and outcome assessments for GenAI annotation training. You will shadow, audit and mentor your team of trainers to ensure the highest quality of training delivery that will set the production teams up for success and ultimately, delight Sama’s customers.

Key Responsibilities:

Lead GenAI Technical Training Centre of Excellence

• Develop and document GenAI project training standard operating procedures and best practices. Be a center of excellence and expertise in GenAI training methodology and outcome assessment. 
• Work autonomously to liaise with business stakeholders to identify the training goals and objectives for GenAI projects. Consult on training timelines and feasibility for new opportunities. Define success criteria for certification post training.
• Create standards and templates for engaging learning activities and compelling course content (audio, video, simulations, role plays, games, practice exercises, etc).
• Actively contribute to the development of Sama’s GenAI offerings. Consult on Sama’s competitive advantages in GenAI workforce development.
• Continuously innovate and iterate on training methodologies and techniques.

Technical Training Team Management

• Serve as the primary point of contact for GenAI technical training needs, manage capacity and timelines of the training team.
• Manage a team of trainers supporting multiple GenAI projects from initial intake of customer requirements, development of training plans and certification criteria, facilitation of training sessions and supporting post training transition into production. 
• Performance management: Build a high-performance culture within the team, ensuring trainers meet set KPI targets and milestones in training quality and effectiveness.
• Conduct monthly class observations of the trainers, audit adherence to training best practices and provide actionable feedback to support the trainer’s ongoing development.
• Hold trainers accountable for post training outcomes and project success.
• Ensure all  training administrative tasks are completed in a timely and accurate manner (attendance tracking, allowances, etc).

Technical Training Leadership

• Actively participate on the Technical Training Leadership team alongside the VP of Global Project Operations and the other Technical Training Managers.
• Help set Strategic Priorities and KPIs for the Technical Training Department.
• Lead key strategic initiatives at departmental and cross-departmental levels.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 2+ years of experience in a training leadership role in an Operations environment managing a team of at least 3 direct reports.
• Previous minimum 5+ years of experience in a training delivery role, preferably in an international environment.
• Bachelor's degree in a training and development-related field
• Experience in teaching/ training young adults with a  high level of energy, drive, enthusiasm, initiative, and commitment.
• A good understanding of e-learning techniques.  Ability to explain complex concepts to non-technical trainees.
• Fluency in both English and Kiswahili as a language of instruction.
• Strong presentation, communication, writing, and interpersonal skills.
• Track record of data driven decision making to monitor and improve training effectiveness.
• Professional curiosity with the ability to prioritize effectively in a fast-paced, changing environment.
• Must be self-motivated, and results-oriented with a proven ability to work autonomously from concept to implementation.

Preferred Qualifications:

• At least one year of demonstrable experience managing training for GenAI projects, preferably Model Eval, SFT, Model Alignment( RHLF, DPO, etc.), or Red Teaming
• Demonstrable experience and knowledge of machine learning pipelines, model training and evaluation.
• Demonstrable knowledge of the latest trends and advancements in AI technologies, particularly GenAI.
• Experience teaching/training in underprivileged communities.

About Sama 

Sama provides high-quality training data that powers AI technology for Fortune 2000 companies such as Google, Walmart, Ford, Microsoft, and Marriott. We’re experts in data curation and data annotation for 2D and 3D image, video, and sensor data for machine learning algorithms. Sama offers the highest quality SLAs in the industry, along with cutting-edge ML-assisted annotation tools, QA processes, and security and compliance standards. 

Founded in 2008 on the belief that “talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not”, Sama is driven by the mission to expand opportunities for those who are underprivileged. As a certified B-corp, Sama has provided worker training programs to increase economic opportunity for more than 13,000 people from underserved communities. By connecting our customers with amazing talent in East Africa, we've impacted more than 59,000 workers and their dependents.

Today, our vision is to provide data scientists, ML engineers, and data operations teams with an indispensable, integrated platform for AI data preparation, labeling, and collection. 

For more information, visit www.sama.com.

More information can be found at:

• Featured in Forbes: How Ethical Is Your AI?
• Sama Honored on Inc. Magazine’s Annual List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies — the Inc. 5000
• Reversing Poverty - Ted Talk by our founder Leila Janah

Our Culture:

Sama is quite unique. We are a technology company with a social mission. People that thrive in a high-growth environment, love working on the bleeding edge of technology, and really care about having a positive impact on the world are a great fit for the Sama culture. Our core values are One Team, One Goal - Deliver. Period. - Trust & Transparency - Customer First - Humanity.

Our Benefits:

Sama is proud to offer competitive compensation corresponding to market data & level of experience. Sama also offers benefits packages based on country of employment, including but not limited to medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, holiday and vacation policies, professional development stipends and a paid sabbatical program. Our Talent Acquisition team would be happy to discuss our benefits packages with you in more detail during the interview process.

At Sama, we pride ourselves in being a diverse and equal opportunity employer.