Research Director, AI Infrastructure

IDC is seeking a Research Director to be part of our enterprise AI infrastructure research focusing on upcoming and shipping products, as well as emerging trends and how they will impact the market. The ideal candidate will possess a combination of qualitative and quantitative skills that would a) engage with industry contacts to gather demand and supply intelligence on the market, and b) enable them to deliver research and insights to IDC’s clients and prospects. The candidate must be self-driven and be able to collaborate with analysts across multiple research areas (e.g., adjacent infrastructure domains, cloud, enterprise software, security, and technology leader) to deliver rich insights synthesized from both IDC data and external sources. The job also requires regular interactions with clients to update them on current market trends and to provide advice on technical and business strategies.What You’ll Do

Develop and maintain direct relationships with key AI infrastructure vendors globally. Develop market models for AI infrastructure products and markets for both custom projects and to feed into IDC’s data products. Develop and deliver rich insights on the industry (key manufacturing and supply chain vendors) and the market (key adoption trends). Collaborate with infrastructure, enterprise applications, and device analysts to build insights and support intersecting research domains in order to create a more holistic picture of AI infrastructure use cases, deployment patterns, and value. Adopt a flexible work schedule as needed to accommodate interactions with globally distributed clients and colleagues.

• Bachelor’s degree (with course work in computer information systems, programming, engineering, or AI/Data Science being a bonus)
• At least 10 years of experience in the IT industry either for a technology vendor or implementing and supporting technology for enterprises, or at another market research firm in a relevant field.
• Strong story telling (narrative and writing) skills. Ability to verbally convey, write and publish professional research notes (without the use of writing aids). These research notes will be circulated to IDC clients.
• Proficient with AI tooling for accelerating work and developing new insights.
• Analytical, adaptability, problem-solving abilities, and presentation skills.
• Flexible work schedule to engage with IDC teams and globally distributed clients.
• Percentage of travel required: ~35% domestically with some travel internationally.
• Desired work model: Hybrid/Remote (optional onsite, depending on proximity to an IDC office)