Chief AI Officer

About the role

Chief AI Officer roles at this level command salaries between $210K and $500K. Strongest candidates bring a blend of hands-on AI/ML engineering leadership, board-level communication skills, and proven experience scaling AI capabilities across multiple business units. These leaders combine deep technical credibility with strategic business judgment—they can translate between engineering teams and the C-suite, own both vendor evaluation and build-vs-buy decisions, and anchor organizational AI strategy in realistic technical roadmaps rather than aspirational frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Own the organization's AI strategy, roadmap, and execution—defining which AI initiatives drive business value, sequencing them against technical and organizational constraints, and holding teams accountable to outcomes.
• Build and lead the AI engineering function, including hiring, retention, skill development, and cross-functional collaboration with product, data, security, and infrastructure teams.
• Partner with the CEO and executive team on AI-driven business opportunities, competitive positioning, and risk mitigation—translating technical trade-offs into business language for board and investor conversations.
• Drive adoption of AI across the organization by identifying high-impact use cases, removing organizational barriers, and embedding AI literacy into existing workflows and decision-making.
• Manage vendor relationships, evaluate third-party AI platforms and models, and make informed decisions on proprietary vs. commercial AI solutions based on security, performance, and cost.
• Establish governance, risk, and compliance frameworks for AI—including data privacy, model fairness, security, and regulatory obligations specific to your industry.
• Report to the CEO or Chief Technology Officer; represent AI engineering at the executive table and in board-level discussions.

Requirements

• 12+ years in AI/ML engineering, data science, or related technical leadership roles, with at least 5 years in a director, VP, or C-level position.
• Demonstrated experience leading and scaling engineering teams (typically 10–50+ people), recruiting senior talent, and building high-performing organizations.
• Hands-on technical depth in AI/ML—comfortable reviewing model architectures, understanding training pipelines, and making informed judgments on technical feasibility and approach.
• Proven track record shipping AI products or capabilities into production, including experience with ML ops, model deployment, monitoring, and cross-functional delivery.
• Strong executive communication skills—ability to present AI strategy, risks, and trade-offs to boards, investors, and non-technical executives with clarity and conviction.
• Experience navigating AI governance, responsible AI, and regulatory requirements (GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, or industry-specific compliance).