Head of AI Strategy & Engineering

ABOUT SKILLUP: SkillUp is a leading EdTech company dedicated to closing the global skills gap. We empower learners and organizations with future-ready skills through deep-skilling courses and capstone projects. As we embrace the era of AI disruption, we are looking for a visionary and hands-on leader to drive our AI strategy, transforming how we deliver education and how our enterprise clients leverage technology. We invite you to get to know more about us: https://skillup.online/

WHY SKILLUP:

• We’re building programs tied to real career outcomes, not empty credentials
• You’ll work with a collaborative team that values transparency and trust
• You’ll have a voice in how we improve the learner experience as we scale

ROLE OVERVIEW: We are seeking a hands-on AI Leader who thrives at the intersection of technology, product strategy, and business growth. You will not just manage a team; you will be the architect of our AI capabilities. You will build Proofs of Concept (POCs), lead a global AI engineering team, and stand in front of customers to demonstrate the power of our solutions.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Technical Innovation & Hands-on Building

• Architect & Build: actively code and architect AI-based Product Proofs of Concept (POCs) and MVPs. You must be comfortable getting your hands dirty with LLMs, Generative AI agents, and RAG architectures.
• Rapid Prototyping: Turn abstract ideas into functional prototypes to test market viability and internal efficiency.

2. Pre-Sales & Commercial Strategy

• Technical Evangelism: Partner with the Sales team to act as the primary technical voice during the pre-sales process.
• Client Demos: Build and present tailored AI product demos to potential enterprise customers, translating complex technical capabilities into business value.
• Solution Selling: Listen to client pain points and conceptualize immediate AI-driven solutions that SkillUp can deliver.

3. Global People Management

• Team Leadership: Lead, mentor, and scale a global AI engineering team. Foster a culture of technical excellence, curiosity, and speed.
• Resource Management: Manage workflows across time zones, ensuring high productivity and collaboration between US and international engineering centers.

4. AI Product & Delivery Management

• Lifecycle Oversight: Own the delivery roadmap for AI products from ideation to deployment. Ensure projects are delivered on time, within scope, and with high quality.
• Agile Execution: Implement agile methodologies to manage the iterative development of AI features, ensuring we can pivot quickly based on user feedback and technological advancements.

5. Stakeholder & Client Management

• Trusted Advisor: Build strong relationships with key clients, partners, and internal executives. Manage expectations and communicate technical progress clearly to non-technical stakeholders.
• Strategic Alignment: Work closely with the CEO and Board to align the AI technical roadmap with the company’s broader business goals (revenue, user growth, retention).

6. Cross-Functional Leadership

• Collaboration: Bridge the gap between Engineering, Product, Content, and Marketing teams. Ensure the AI features we build align with our curriculum and marketing message.
• Change Agent: Drive the internal adoption of AI tools and mindset across the organization, championing the culture of "unlearning and relearning."

QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS:

• Experience: 10+ years in software engineering/data science, with at least 3-5 years specifically leading AI/ML initiatives.
• Technical Stack: Deep proficiency in Python, PyTorch/TensorFlow.
• Commercial Acumen: Proven experience in pre-sales, solution architecture, or technical consulting. You must be able to sell the vision.
• Leadership: Demonstrated success managing distributed/global engineering teams.
• Communication: Exceptional presentation skills. You can explain a Transformer model to a CTO and the business value of AI to a CEO.
• Mindset: A "Start-up" mentality. You are agile, resilient, and willing to do whatever it takes to ship a product.

ELIGIBILITY & EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

• Must reside in the U.S. and be authorized to work without sponsorship
• SkillUp Online is an Equal Opportunity Employer
• Reasonable accommodations are available during the hiring process

WHAT WE OFFER: 100% Remote Work, Paid Time Off, Impressive Benefits Package, 401K, Performance rewards and growth incentives.