Director of AI

Blue J; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 100,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative firm in the generative AI space is seeking a Director of AI to lead a talented team of data scientists. This pivotal role involves enhancing and innovating an AI-driven platform while ensuring rapid production improvements. The ideal candidate will blend leadership with hands-on technical expertise, driving both innovation and optimization in AI capabilities. With a strong focus on collaboration and continuous learning, this position offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of AI in a fast-paced environment. Join a mission-driven team that values inclusivity and work-life balance while making a meaningful impact in the industry.

Benefits

Stock Options

Competitive Base Salary

Work-Life Balance

Supportive Team Culture

Investment in Growth

Flexible Working Environment

Health Benefits

Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives

Team Building Activities

Remote Work Flexibility

Qualifications

• 8+ years in AI, machine learning, or NLP with leadership experience.
• Expertise in building and deploying AI models in production systems.
• Strong understanding of retrieval-augmented generation methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of data scientists to foster growth.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver AI solutions.
• Drive high-impact initiatives with a focus on customer value.

Skills

AI

Machine Learning

NLP

Leadership

Communication Skills

Problem Solving

Continuous Learning

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Data Science

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science

Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering

Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics

Bachelor’s degree in Artificial Intelligence

Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics

Tools

Python

TypeScript

SQL

Apache Kafka

Postgres

Pinecone

ElasticSearch

OpenAI

LLMs

PyTorch

LangChain

Job description

About Blue J

Blue J is the leading solution in generative AI for tax experts. We’re a B2B SaaS company whose customers are tax accountants, and our AI-tax research software is the best in the market.

We are racing ahead with an exciting product development roadmap to continue to delight our customers and to ensure that our users can generate the very best possible tax research answers in the service of their clients in record time.

Since launching our flagship generative AI product, we have blown past our revenue targets quarter over quarter, and are looking for a Director of AI to help us scale. We’ve also just announced our Series C funding and are looking for someone to help drive our growth, scale our efforts, and seize new opportunities in this exciting phase!

A Note on Location

We are excited to meet with qualified candidates and are grateful for everyone’s interest. Please note that this is a hybrid position requiring applicants to be within commuting distance of Toronto for in person meetings a few times a quarter. All candidates must be eligible to work in Canada.

The Opportunity

As Director of AI, you’ll lead a team of data scientists and play a key role in enhancing and innovating our generative AI, RAG-based platform, Blue J. This is not a back-room R&D role, this role entails actively developing and shipping improvements to production on a regular cadence. The role blends people leadership with hands-on technical expertise, ensuring that our AI-driven solutions are both cutting-edge and impactful. We're looking for someone who is passionate about making a meaningful impact and believes that high-quality standards drive rapid progress. As relentless learners, we constantly refine our skills, exchange knowledge, and push the boundaries of innovation. We value creative, out-of-the-box thinking paired with the pragmatism required to ship research projects into production at a rapid pace. Fast-paced delivery defines us; we deploy many of our services to production several times daily.

We’re looking for an experienced and passionate leader to guide our AI team while actively shaping the future of our algorithms. In this role, you’ll drive both innovation and optimization, leading the design and implementation of new AI capabilities while refining existing components to make them even better. You’ll dive deep into the problem space, improve the end to end RAG pipeline (from retrieval strategies, to prompt engineering, to agentic processes), and ensure iterative and continuous improvement of our platform. If you thrive on leading teams, solving complex challenges, and pushing the boundaries of AI, we’d love to hear from you!

What You'll Be Responsible For

• Leading and mentoring a team of talented data scientists, fostering both technical excellence and professional growth.
• Collaborating cross-functionally with product, legal research, and engineering teams to develop and deliver cutting-edge AI solutions.
• Designing and implementing advanced AI systems, continuously shipping improvements into production at a rapid pace.
• Establishing and championing best practices for experimentation, AI model development, and algorithm refinement.
• Driving high-impact initiatives with an iterative, incremental approach, ensuring we consistently deliver customer value.
• Staying ahead of the curve, keeping up with AI advancements and integrating the latest research and innovations into our platform.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Leading the design and deployment of enhancements to our RAG algorithm, driving continuous improvement.
• Developing, iterating and shipping to production at a regular cadence.
• Tracing and debugging AI pipelines, including an emphasis on detecting and mitigating hallucinations.
• Enhancing our evaluation frameworks and active monitoring for non-deterministic systems with fat-tailed behavior, especially in the context of legal intricacies where precision and verifiability are paramount.
• We have a close, working relationship with OpenAI and you can expect to be interacting with them regularly.
• Engaging regularly with Product, CS and the Legal Research Team to develop a deep understanding of the subject matter to better tailor the solution to meet the users' needs.
• Mentoring and coaching team members, helping them deepen their expertise in machine learning, NLP, and AI systems.
• Elevating our AI standards, tools, and best practices.
• Providing technical and strategic leadership to guide and inspire our data science team.
• Keeping stakeholders informed by clearly communicating progress, challenges, and key insights.

What You Offer Blue J

• 8+ years of experience in AI, machine learning, or NLP, with at least 3 years in a leadership role
• Demonstrated expertise in building and deploying AI models into live production systems
• Strong understanding and deep experience in retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) methodologies
• Highly proficient with Python, including frameworks such as PyTorch, LangChain or similar
• Experience managing and mentoring technical teams
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• A rigorous approach to your work and an insatiable desire to learn

Technologies You Can Expect to Work With

• Python / TypeScript / SQL
• Apache Kafka / Postgres / Pinecone / ElasticSearch
• OpenAI / LLMs

Required Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Data Science / Computer Science / Software Engineering / Mathematics / Artificial Intelligence / Linguistics or equivalent industry experience.

A Bit About Us

• We’re well-funded and offer competitive base salaries and stock options. You’ll play a crucial role in our growth and share in our long-term success.
• We are leading the generative AI tax research market with an exciting product in a virtually untapped market, amidst significant buzz about our work.
• Our leadership team has a proven track record of success in the technology industry.
• Our team is mission-driven, collaborative, and supportive. We offer all the start-up perks you’d expect while fostering a culture where you can pickleball if you want, feel safe to be yourself, and watch your career flourish with our investment in your growth.
• We care about work-life balance. You’ll find colleagues who respect it, along with a thoughtfully designed benefits package covering you and your family.

The Core Values That Define Our Culture

• We are customer-focused
• We put the team’s interest before self-interest
• We are pleasant and playful
• We are open to better ideas
• We deliver on our promises
• We solve tough problems

We believe our strength is built on diversity of thought, and encourage candidates from all backgrounds and experiences to apply. We value inclusiveness and are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

We strive to create an inclusive and accessible hiring experience for all candidates. If you need any accommodations during the interview process, please let us know in your application. Our team is dedicated to providing the necessary support and making reasonable adjustments to ensure a smooth process for everyone.