Director of Engineering (AI)

Director of Engineering, AI

Location: New York, NY (Remote Flex – East Coast Hours Preferred)

Boutique AI Innovation Consultancy

$230,000–$250,000 base + 20% bonus (DOE + Location)

Build the Future of Applied AI

We’re working with a boutique AI innovation consultancy that partners with global enterprises to bring real-world AI products to life. With teams across North America and Europe, they sit at the intersection of cutting-edge AI, elegant software systems, and real business impact.

This is not an academic research lab—it’s where ambitious strategy becomes deployable software.

The Opportunity

We’re looking for a Director of Engineering to become the founding technical leader in the U.S., reporting to the CEO and NYC-based MD. If you’ve grown from a software engineer into an AI-focused builder, and know what it’s like to deliver high-impact work inside a consultancy, this role gives you full ownership to define the engineering function from the ground up.

You’ll lead delivery for enterprise clients, architect AI-driven applications, and help scale a lean, design-forward team. With three open headcount approved (software + AI), you’ll also have room to bring in trusted collaborators.

What You’ll Do

• Architect full-stack, production-grade AI systems (from backend to model-serving infra)
• Write clean code and lead the delivery of LLM-based tools, AI apps, and custom integrations
• Build cloud environments, CI/CD pipelines, observability tools, and MLOps frameworks
• Stand up infrastructure for prompt engineering, embeddings, RAG pipelines, and vector search
• Hire and mentor engineers across software, AI/ML, and data
• Run agile delivery cycles with enterprise clients in a consultancy model
• Translate client needs into scalable tech solutions alongside AI and product leads
• Represent engineering in client discussions with confidence and clarity

What You Bring

• Strong background in software engineering, with experience leading or managing teams
• Clear trajectory from software into AI/ML product development
• Previous experience in boutique consultancies, product studios, or innovation labs
• Proficiency with modern backend or full-stack development (Python preferred)
• Experience building enterprise-grade AI systems (LLMs, NLP, recommender systems, etc.)
• Strong with cloud architecture (AWS, Azure, or GCP), containers (Docker), and CI/CD tooling
• Familiarity with LLM frameworks (LangChain, Hugging Face, OpenAI APIs, vector databases)
• High technical rigor with the ability to communicate and lead in client-facing roles
• A builder’s mindset—low ego, high trust, and focused on outcomes over process

Why Join

• Be the founding Head of Engineering in a high-caliber consultancy
• Define the tech stack, hiring model, and delivery playbook
• Collaborate daily with product, AI, and strategy leaders to ship meaningful solutions
• Enjoy flexible remote work, with strong alignment on East Coast hours
• Competitive base + bonus, plus long-term leadership runway

Ready to Build?

Apply directly with your resume. We’re moving quickly for the right candidate.