Director of Artificial Intelligence

Vertex; United States; On-site; USD 199,000 - 542,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare options

401(k) with matching

Life Insurance

Job summary

The Vertex Companies, LLC is seeking a Director of Artificial Intelligence to lead enterprise delivery of AI solutions. This hands-on role combines technical execution with strategic leadership to turn AI priorities into secure, scalable products.

You will design architectures, build data pipelines, and lead global teams across AI foundations, vector stores, and MLops initiatives, ensuring timely delivery while maintaining safety and regulatory standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 12 years of related experience, or a Master’s degree and 8 years of related experience, with at least 5 years in management.
• Hands-on software development background with solution-architecture experience.
• 5+ years architecting and delivering AI/ML, data, or analytics solutions.
• Proven production AI deployments with measurable business impact.
• Experience integrating multiple platforms, data sources, and building data pipelines.
• Experience deploying RAG-based and generative AI in production including retrieval and grounding.
• Strong integration background with APIs and iPaaS.
• Data modeling skills across modern platforms.
• Vendor and partner management experience.

Responsibilities

• Own the AI execution roadmap aligned with business priorities and deliver end-to-end solutions.
• Develop reference architectures, standards for scalable, secure delivery.
• Design data pipelines and vectorization layers powering AI solutions.
• Lead solutions across foundation models, vector stores, and orchestration frameworks.
• Oversee prompt engineering, model evaluation, and guardrails for safety and performance.
• Establish and mature the AI delivery process (MLOps/LLMOps).
• Manage end-to-end lifecycle of AI use cases from prototype to production.
• Communicate status and ensure on-time delivery to stakeholders.
• Build and optimize data pipelines for enterprise content readiness.
• Ensure AI solutions meet security, identity, access, privacy, and regulatory requirements.
• Implement data protection controls and model risk measures.
• Build and mentor a global AI engineering team; manage vendors.
• Communicate complex concepts clearly to technical and leadership teams.

Skills

AI architecture

Hands-on software development

Leadership

MLOps

Security & governance

Communication

Mentoring

Vendor management

Cloud platforms

RAG & retrieval

Education

Bachelor's degree + 12 years

Master's degree + 8 years

Tools

MuleSoft

APIs

iPaaS

Job description

Description

Company Description

The Vertex Companies, LLC (Vertex) is a $180M global consulting firm that integrates strategic advisory, project management, and dispute resolution services for organizations facing complex challenges in a world of risk. We embody our core values of embracing lifelong learning, operating with urgency, maximizing value, and driving collaboration to better outcomes for our clients, colleagues, and communities. Join us if you are looking for a career that offers you a chance to love what you do and deliver meaningful impact.

Job Description

We are seeking a Director of Artificial Intelligence to lead enterprise delivery of AI solutions. This leader executes the organization’s AI strategy and roadmap, defined by senior leadership, turning priorities into secure, production-grade solutions at scale.

This is a hands‑on technical and managerial role. The role designs AI solutions, establishes the processes and standards that govern how AI is built and delivered, integrates AI across enterprise platforms and data pipelines, and leads the teams and partners that build and deploy them. The Director will collaborate with business leadership to translate AI into measurable operational and competitive advantage, operating at a fast pace, communicating clearly, and consistently delivering on committed timelines.

Core Responsibilities

• Own the AI execution roadmap, aligning AI initiatives with business priorities and leading delivery of solutions end to end.
• Develop reference architectures, design patterns, and technical standards for scalable, secure, and maintainable delivery.
• Design and build the data pipelines, indexing, embedding/vectorization, and retrieval layers that power RAG and other AI solutions.
• Lead solutions across foundation models, vector stores, orchestration frameworks, and APIs.
• Oversee prompt engineering, grounding, model evaluation, and guardrails to ensure accuracy, safety, and performance.
• Establish and mature the AI delivery process, intake, prioritization, design, build, testing, deployment, security review and continuous improvement (MLOps / LLMOps).
• Own the end-to-end lifecycle of AI use cases, from prototype through production deployment, monitoring, and iteration.
• Deliver on committed scope, timelines, and budgets, with clear status communication to technical and executive stakeholders.
• Build and optimize data pipelines, ingestion, transformation, indexing, and vectorization, to prepare enterprise content for AI consumption.
• Ensure AI solutions meet enterprise security, identity, access‑control, privacy, and regulatory requirements.
• Implement controls for data protection, model risk, auditability, and acceptable use.
• Build, lead, and mentor a global team of AI engineers, data professionals, and solution developers.
• Manage vendors, partners, and consultants delivering AI and integration work.
• Communicate complex concepts clearly to both technical and leadership, and set and meet expectations on delivery.

Qualifications & Competencies

• Bachelor's degree and 12 years of related experience or a Master's degree and 8 years of related experience, and at least 5 years in management capacity.
• Solution-architecture and hands on software-development background, with a proven record of architecting and delivering enterprise applications or platforms.
• 5+ years architecting and delivering AI/ML, data, or advanced analytics solutions.
• Proven deployment of AI use cases into production, not proofs-of-concept alone, with measurable business outcomes.
• Hands‑on experience integrating multiple platforms, applications, and data sources, and building data pipelines, indexing, and embedding/vectorization layers.
• Experience designing and deploying RAG‑based and custom generative‑AI solutions in production, including retrieval, grounding, and evaluation.
• Strong integration background, integration platforms (e.g., MuleSoft or comparable iPaaS), APIs, and event‑driven enterprise integration.
• Strong data analysis and data modeling skills across modern data platforms.
• Platform‑and‑vendor‑agnostic across cloud AI services and foundation‑model providers, with sound judgment on tool and model selection.
• Demonstrated ability to move from architecture to hands‑on execution in a fast‑paced environment, with excellent communication and a track record of meeting timelines.
• Experience leading, mentoring, and managing technical teams and external partners.

Preferred Experience

• Experience in professional services, AEC, or a similarly project‑driven industry.
• Experience across multiple cloud and AI platforms and foundation‑model providers.
• Experience in integrating modern data platforms (warehouse / lakehouse), structured and non‑structured data , CRM, ERP, and HRIS systems.
• Relevant cloud, data, or AI engineering certifications.
• Experience leading global teams (Onshore / offshore)
• Background in security, governance, or responsible AI frameworks.

Additional Information

At Vertex, we invest in top talent with a highly competitive total compensation package that rewards performance and supports long‑term success.

Benefits

• Total compensation includes a base salary and a discretionary variable bonus program, depending on your level.
• Our comprehensive benefits package offers multiple healthcare and dental plan options, as well as company-paid Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, and Long-Term Disability coverage—ensuring peace of mind for you and your family.
• We offer a 401(k) plan with immediate matching and full vesting, empowering employees to build financial security from day one.
• Additional benefits include Flexible Spending Accounts, a robust Employee Assistance Program, and a suite of exclusive perks that enhance everyday life.
• Time away matters - so we provide a generous paid time off program, including vacation, sick time, and paid holidays (with prorated options for eligible part‑time employees).
• Our signature “Lifetime of Learning” program offers tuition reimbursement and personalized support for employees pursuing advanced education—helping you sharpen your skills and accelerate your career.

At The Vertex Companies, our salary ranges are intentionally designed to support meaningful career growth over time. These ranges allow employees to develop, expand their impact, and increase their earnings as they progress within their job level. A new hire’s starting compensation is determined by their experience, geographical location, scope of the role at the time of hire, and Company affordability. Our ranges are structured to reward growth and performance, ensuring there is room for advancement and long‑term opportunity.

The salary ranges for this role are as follows:

$199,000 - $542,000 USD annually (Geographical Tier AA - Sample Locations: NY Metro, San Franscisco, San Jose, Seattle)

$184,000 - $500,000 USD annually (Geographical Tier A - Sample Locations: Irvine CA, Middlesex NJ, Tacoma WA, Boston, Alexandria)

$168,000 - $459,000 USD annually (Geographical Tier B - Sample Locations - Baltimore, Chicago, Anchorage, Portland)

$153,000 - $417,000 USD annually (Geographical Tier C - Sample Locations - Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Miami)

$146,000 - $397,000 USD annually (Geographical Tier D - Sample Locations - Mississippi, Mobile AL, Bowling Green KY, Tulsa)

Notice to Third Party Agencies:

Please note that The Vertex Companies employs a fully staffed recruiting team. We do not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters or