Head of GenAI

WORK OPTION: Hybrid

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Position Summary:

Leading the newly formed Enterprise GenAI group, we are seeking a hands-on and results-oriented leader with demonstrated experience in delivering complex enterprise products and solutions at scale. The ideal candidate will possess a technical mindset that is firmly anchored in analytical rigor combined with swift planning and execution. We need someone who can balance a comprehension of the rapid pace of technology change with an expert ability to manage client relationships and expectations. You will be responsible for surfacing existing enterprise use cases that can benefit from applications of cutting-edge GenAI solutions – and following that up with development, rollout and data-driven feedback to measure success. You will build on early wins to shape organizational awareness around benefits of GenAI with a goal of driving further adoption and collaborate with functional business units to identify more workflows that can benefit from similar solutions. This is an operational role that requires the ability to establish credibility through action and comfort with leading through ambiguity. In addition to delivering solutions, you will also focus on laying out a blueprint/reference architecture for working with vendor supplied AI products and/or developing bespoke AI solutions that can be leveraged across other engineering and product teams.

Additional responsibilities include building and managing a team consisting of skilled engineering professionals focused on driving/scaling GenAI solutions. You must be able to hire, manage and mentor direct reports, as well as collaborate and deliver through powers of influence, persuasion and trust. There should be a player-coach mind-set; an in-the-trenches style and a fearless willingness to roll up the sleeves – diving into technical details and understanding complex business flows. Bringing contemporary ideas and tech expertise is mandatory; creating and setting industry standards while constantly raising the bar internally is expected. This will be a creative individual who is excited about inventing the future with us and creating solutions to complex technical challenges that drive game-changing innovation. You will need to wear many hats, so flexibility and a can-do attitude are essential!

Major Responsibilities:

• Develop enterprise GenAI strategy and roadmap – including specific technologies/products along with their value proposition and get buy-in from senior leaders.
• Conduct feasibility studies and PoCs to assess applicability of AI techniques to enterprise use cases.
• Identify quick wins to prove benefits of GenAI, create organizational awareness and drive adoption.
• Partner with senior leaders to understand their business workflows and explore opportunities to automate and simplify through application of AI solutions.
• Build awareness of tools, data classification and governance controls in place across the enterprise – and suggest best practices to mitigate unintended data losses or leaks through AI.
• Work with internal IT, HR and external vendors to develop programs on training staff to effectively use products and services developed.
• Be an active participant on the cross-functional GenAI Working Group – including providing feedback on emerging LLMs, responsible AI, vendor products, open-source services and related initiatives across the company.
• Based on the program roadmap and objectives, hire a team of skilled engineers/technologists and ensure that they hit the ground running.
• Actively stay abreast of vendor products/solutions and developments in the GenAI space – with a specific focus on identifying products that benefit internal use-cases and workflows.
• Define technical and application strategies to support objectives – including positioning on use of vendor products, model transparency, Foundational Models, LLMs, fine-tuning, RAG, and other techniques.
• Nurture an organization that is committed to constant improvement and iteration of enterprise products/services – and equally focused on accelerating delivery without compromising on quality.
• Drive a strong engineering culture based on transparency, collaboration and teamwork.
• Apply industry best practices, cutting-edge technologies and engineering principles to solve business problems while achieving long-term scalability and reduced operational costs.
• Manage enterprise GenAI related capital and operating expense budgets.

Required Education/Professional Experience:

• 8 years of experience in the field or a related area.
• Master’s degree in computer science, math or engineering (or equivalent experience).
• Proven experience in GenAI and cloud technologies and application architectures – including hands-on roles in multiple large-scale AI/ML, cloud and/or data-related initiatives.

Required Skills/Knowledge Attributes:

• Subject Matter Expert in GenAI industry trends and emerging systems development technologies.
• Skilled in business, technical management and people leadership – with a focus on developing, empowering and motivating technical staff.
• Demonstrated success in forging excellent relationships with key clients and stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) with the proven ability to create business cases/ ROI statements that will gain support from business partners.
• Credible presence with ability to interpret and deconstruct complex issues for non-tech audiences.
• Skilled at structuring data analysis and driving strategic answers to address novel and ambiguous issues.
• Knowledge of all aspects of technology operations including development, infrastructure and security.
• Experience building AI/ML applications in the cloud – ideally AWS and/or Azure.
• Proven experience across multitude of tech architectures and paradigms such as microservices, serverless, event-driven, cloud, edge computing, databases, search and content management systems.
• Programming skills or experience across several languages/data technologies – examples including (but not limited to) the following: Java, C , C#, Python, Go, R, RDBMS, NoSQL, graph databases, semi-structured & unstructured data storage and data retrieval techniques.
• Passionate, organized, smart, engaging, and technically savvy leader with ability to build real value.
• Capable of recruiting, inspiring and retaining top talent.
• Proficient in managing talent outside of personal areas of technical expertise.
• Must be able to execute in a nimble fashion – specifically around use-case prioritization, project management, quality assurance, and development.
• Experience working in a customer facing environment building out and optimizing enterprise systems.
• Extremely credible in her/his field as an expert, but also self-aware of any weaknesses & limitations.
• Set high but reachable goals, clearly communicate them to staff, and infuse a sense of purpose and urgency in pursuit of those objectives.
• Ability to define priorities and focus on areas that add value. Strength in figuring out processes necessary to get things done; understands how to separate or combine tasks for best path forward.
• Flexible, able to adjust and change direction as the business-technology universe evolves and changes.
• Ability to work through conflict, gain trust and persuasively influence outcomes.
• Ability to address tactical issues in the short-term while maintaining strategic vision for the long-term.

Salary Range: $325,000 - $375,000

We Consider Applicants For All Positions On The Basis Of Merit, Qualifications And Business Needs, And Without Regard To Race, Color, National Origin, Religion, Sex, Gender Identity, Age, Disability, Alienage Or Citizenship Status, Ancestry, Marital Status, Creed, Genetic Predisposition Or Carrier Status, Sexual Orientation, Veteran Status, Familial Status, Status As A Victim Of Domestic Violence Or Any Other Status Or Characteristic Protected By Applicable Federal, State, Or Local Law.