Executive Director of Applied AI
$164,500–$305,500 year
HybridBasel, Basel-City, Switzerland
Job Summary
Define and lead the applied AI deployment strategy, execution roadmap, and business integration model across enterprise business units. Partner directly with business teams to translate strategic priorities into deployable products, intelligent workflows, and redesigned processes. Lead technical solution architecture for complex AI deployments, making hands-on decisions on application architecture, system integration patterns, model orchestration, APIs, and production infrastructure. Build and coach a small, globally distributed team of forward-deployed AI engineers while establishing delivery frameworks and engineering standards that support scalability, reliability, and security. Create reusable AI services, accelerators, and integration patterns to reduce time to value across business domains. Guide the modernization of existing systems to integrate with agentic AI products and enterprise technology platforms. Communicate business impact, technical transformation vision, and delivery progress to senior executives and key stakeholders.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, data science or a related field
- At least 15 years of progressive experience in technology leadership, enterprise AI transformation or complex solution delivery, including leadership of senior technical and cross-functional teams
- Deep, hands-on expertise in applied AI delivery, including taking machine learning, generative AI and agentic solutions from concept through production and enterprise-scale adoption
- Strong software and product engineering grounding, with experience integrating AI into complex enterprise platforms, data environments and operational workflows
- Hands-on proficiency with modern AI engineering stacks, including Python, cloud platforms (e.g., AWS), LLM orchestration frameworks, vector databases, MLOps/LLMOps and software delivery practices
- Demonstrated success defining and scaling enterprise-level AI initiatives, with measurable business value, automation or performance outcomes
- Experience leading forward deployed, solutions engineering or technical consulting teams, translating ambiguous business problems into production-grade software systems in enterprise environments
- Consulting or professional-services experience partnering with senior technology and business leaders on enterprise transformation, operating models or technology strategy
- Proven people leadership and organizational development capability, including building high-performing teams, developing leaders and establishing effective governance
- Strong executive communication and cross-functional influence skills, with the ability to align priorities, investment decisions and delivery across a complex matrixed organization
- 3 days/week in office
Desired Qualifications
- Master of Science, engineering postgraduate degree or MBA
- Experience delivering AI solutions in healthcare, life sciences or another complex regulated environment, or prior zero-to-one startup experience
Hiring someone like this?
Get your role in front of qualified candidates on Sorce.