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Associate Director - Principal Full Stack Educator – Technical

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About Cognizant Corporate

Cognizant Corporate is a global community united by a shared purpose: to make a meaningful impact. We are committed to excellence and driven by outcomes that matter. Collaboration is at the heart of how we work, and our forward-thinking mindset fuels continuous learning, innovation, and growth.

At Cognizant, careers transcend titles. We empower our people to think strategically, inspire others, and lead with purpose – always guided by our core values. Join us in shaping future of business.

About the role

As a Principal Full Stack Educator (PFSE) you will drive impactful contributions and focus on outcomes. You will be a key member of the Corporate Learning & Development team, collaborating with in-house Full Stack Educator ecosystem who own end-to-end learning life-cycle. Principal Full Stack Educator (PFSE) is the strategic leader and architect of enterprise‑scale technical skilling. This role leads the Full Stack Educator Center of Excellence (FSE CoE) and owns the direction, standards, scalability, and sustainability of technical learning across entry level talent (GenC – Generation Cognization), all associates, all exec leaders, and targeted upskilling programs in Cognizant and Clients.

PFSE operates from the balcony, shaping learning ecosystems, enabling Senior Full Stack Educators (SFSEs), and advising leadership—rather than owning day‑to‑day classroom delivery.

As a team of self-starters, you can work with impact with our vibrant people and culture all while enjoying unmatched learning opportunities.

In this role, you will:

Lead the Full Stack Educator CoE

  • Own and evolve the Full Stack Educator (FSE) Center of Excellence
  • Define educator role frameworks, competency models, and readiness criteria
  • Establish and govern learning standards, quality benchmarks, and playbooks
  • Ensure consistency of technical depth and learner outcomes across programs

Define enterprise technical skilling strategy

  • Shape long‑term technical skilling roadmaps aligned to business priorities
  • Identify future skills, emerging technologies, and platform shifts
  • Translate enterprise needs into scalable learning architectures
  • Ensure entry level talent are future‑ready, not just project‑ready

Enable & govern educator capability

  • Coach and enable Senior Full Stack Educators (SFSEs) on advanced programs
  • Set expectations for facilitation excellence and SME depth
  • Sponsor educator development paths, certifications, and readiness milestones
  • Build internal pipelines for next‑generation SFSEs and FSEs

Champion AI‑first learning at scale

  • Define and promote AI‑first learning principles across L&D
  • Guide adoption of AI for content creation, facilitation leverage, assessments, and analytics
  • Drive responsible AI usage, governance, and standardization in learning
  • Improve scalability, personalization, and time‑to‑competency using technology

Act as strategic advisor to leadership

  • Serve as a trusted advisor to L&D leadership and senior stakeholders
  • Provide insights on skilling effectiveness, risks, and ROI
  • Represent technical skilling in leadership forums, audits, and client / ecosystem discussions
  • Influence decisions with data‑driven recommendations and industry best practices

Own Cognizant product & platform skilling strategy

  • Define and govern the enterprise-wide skilling strategy for all Cognizant products and platforms (including Neuro‑SAN, Neuro‑OPS, and all current and emerging Cognizant proprietary platforms) — ensuring all associates are trained, proficient, and deployment-ready
  • Personally maintain deep, hands-on competency across all Cognizant platforms — model the standard expected of all SFSEs and FSEs in platform fluency; proactively upskill as the Cognizant product portfolio evolves
  • Partner with Cognizant product leadership, platform owners, and business units to co-develop training content, align platform rollout with skilling readiness, and embed platform learning into the FSE CoE curriculum roadmap
  • Enable SFSEs and FSEs to deliver platform training with depth and credibility — set competency standards, build platform learning journeys, and track adoption and proficiency across the associate population

Embrace our vibrant culture by striving for excellence, focusing on meaningful outcomes, and collaborating effectively. Take ownership, build relationships, and focus on personal growth to drive business strategy and foster an inclusive culture, creating unmatched career opportunities and impactful work.

What you must have to be considered

  • Experience: 17+ years in technical education, engineering enablement, or large‑scale L&D roles

· Hands‑on depth expected, but primary responsibility is enablement and governance.

Full Stack Ecosystem: Java / .NET / Python / Mainframe, Frontend / Testing frameworks

Cloud & DevOps: AWS / Azure, CI/CD, containers

Modern architectures, quality and testing strategies

GenAI‑assisted development and AI‑enabled learning platforms

Cognizant Products & Platforms: Neuro‑SAN, Neuro‑OPS, and all current and emerging Cognizant proprietary platforms — strategic depth and hands-on proficiency required; must govern platform skilling across the CoE and upskill as the portfolio grows

  • Demonstrated success in scaling high‑quality technical skilling programs
  • Proven leadership in educator enablement, governance, and transformation
  • Enterprise‑level technical and learning architecture capability
  • Strong strategic thinking and system design mindset
  • Executive presence and credibility with senior leadership
  • Ability to influence without direct delivery ownership
  • Coaching and mentoring mindset at leadership scale
  • Willing to travel across Cognizant locations where GenC batches are onboarded
  • A strong sense of ownership, desire to create meaningful outcomes, and passion for work that serves a greater good for customers, communities, or global challenges.
  • The embodiment of Cognizant’s Values of: Work as One, Dare to Innovate, Raise the Bar, Do The right Thing, & Own It

These will help you succeed

  • Active, enterprise-level AI fluency — must have hands-on experience governing AI adoption in L&D and personally upskill on a periodic basis to model the standard expected of all educators in the full stack educator career roadmap
  • Enterprise-level, hands-on competency across all Cognizant products and platforms (Neuro‑SAN, Neuro‑OPS, and others); must personally lead platform upskilling, govern platform training standards across the CoE, and stay current as the Cognizant product portfolio evolves

Work model

At Cognizant, we strive to provide flexibility wherever possible, and we are here to support a healthy work-life balance though our various wellbeing programs. Based on this role’s business requirements, this is an onsite position requiring 5 days a week in a Cognizant office in Chennai, Siruseri, Tamil Nadu.

The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you’re engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations.

We're excited to meet people who share our mission and can make an impact in a variety of ways. Don't hesitate to apply, even if you only meet the minimum requirements listed. Think about your transferable experiences and unique skills that make you stand out as someone who can bring new and exciting things to this role.


About us
Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH) is an AI Builder and technology services provider, building the bridge between AI investment and enterprise value by building full-stack AI solutions for our clients. Our deep industry, process and engineering expertise enables us to build an organization’s unique context into technology systems that amplify human potential, realize tangible returns and keep global enterprises ahead in a fast-changing world. See how at www.cognizant.com or @cognizant.

Additional employment information

Compensation information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.

Applicants may be required to attend interviews in person or by video conference. In addition, candidates may be required to present their current state or government issued ID during each interview.

Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. Your application and candidacy will not be considered based on race, color, sex, religion, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

If you have a disability that requires reasonable accommodation to search for a job opening or submit an application, please email [email protected] for roles based in the Americas or [email protected] for roles based in India.

Benefits that help you thrive and grow

Our benefits program is built with you in mind—so you can enjoy a fulfilling, balanced and healthy life.

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Financial wellbeing

We regularly review market data to ensure compensation reflects the value you bring. Your benefits extend beyond pay and may include retirement plans, financial education, etc.

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Physical and mental health

We empower you to prioritize your wellbeing through paid time off, flexible working where possible, healthcare plans, counselling, our Mental Health Allyship program and more. 

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Your career, your way

With 350,000+ roles at Cognizant, you’ll have opportunities explore new technologies, industries and locations—and build the skills you need to grow your career.

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Real-world impact

Think about the biggest brands you rely on. Chances are, they rely on us to help strengthen their business. Here, you’ll turn bold ideas into solutions that improve lives everywhere.

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