A fast-moving startup is seeking a Head of AI to establish and lead the artificial intelligence division from its inception. This high-ownership position is ideal for individuals who excel in early-stage environments and wish to influence both technical direction and company culture. The role involves complete ownership of the AI strategy and roadmap, transitioning from early prototypes to scalable production systems, and requires designing, training, fine-tuning, and deploying AI/ML models in a hands-on manner through initial growth phases. The successful candidate will build and lead the AI team, involving hiring, mentoring, and establishing best practices and team structure. The position requires rapid experimentation and iteration while balancing short-term execution with long-term architecture planning. The Head of AI will be responsible for building all AI infrastructure, which includes data pipelines, training workflows, model hosting, and providing MLOps foundations. Collaboration with founders and product/engineering teams to identify impactful AI opportunities, along with implementing responsible AI practices, is vital. Additionally, the role involves evaluating emerging AI technologies and setting standards for experimentation, evaluation, benchmarking, and deployment. The ideal applicant will have 7-10+ years of AI/ML experience with comprehensive hands-on experience in building and deploying real systems. A proven track record in shipping AI products or infrastructure, especially within startups or small teams, is crucial. A strong understanding of LLMs, modern ML frameworks, retrieval systems, data engineering, and model evaluation is required, along with the ability to make high-impact decisions amidst ambiguity. Leadership skills to set vision and execute effectively, along with an advanced degree in ML/CS or equivalent practical experience, are essential. Additional preferred experiences include having been a founding ML engineer or early technical leader and familiarity with lightweight startup-friendly ML infrastructure.