Head, AI Engineering

Success Academy Charter Schools; New York (NY); On-site; USD 280,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full benefits program

Professional growth opportunities

Job summary

Success Academy Charter Schools seeks a visionary Head of AI Engineering to define the AI strategy, architecture, and deployment across its growing network. You will lead an agile team of AI software engineers to ship high-impact, user-centric tools leveraging generative models and cloud-native services that transform teaching, school operations, and student learning.

You will collaborate with executives, educators, and product teams to drive adoption and ensure responsible AI governance,

Qualifications

• 7+ years in software engineering leadership with hiring and mentoring
• 5+ years delivering production-grade AI features at scale
• Proficient with LLM orchestration frameworks and AI APIs
• Strong API design and cloud architecture foundations
• Product and UX focus with business impact
• Passion for K-12 education and mission alignment

Responsibilities

• Define network-wide AI roadmap with exec leadership, educators, and product teams
• Lead and mentor a high-performing AI software engineering team
• Oversee design and integration of AI applications, agents, and RAG systems
• Partner with Cloud Engineering to deploy AI services on AWS and GCP
• Translate AI capabilities into practical use cases for school leaders
• Establish governance for AI usage, privacy, bias, and safety

Skills

Leadership

AI delivery

API design

Cloud architecture

UX focus

Tools

LangChain

LlamaIndex

OpenAI API

Anthropic

Vertex AI

Bedrock

Vector databases

Python microservices

Job description

Thanks for your interest in Success Academy! Running a large, fast-growing, and high-performing network of public charter schools takes a village - families, children, teachers, staff and faculty, advocates, and supporters alike. We are growing fast in New York and expanding to Florida, and we would love to welcome you to our community! We work tirelessly every day to ensure children have access to a fun, rigorous, whole-child education regardless of zip code or economic status. When you join SA, you play a part in giving every student who walks through our doors a fair shot at reaching his or her potential.

The Role

We are looking for a visionary, results-driven Head of AI Engineering to join our Technology leadership team and power the next generation of education. In this role, you will lead the strategy, architecture, and deployment of modern AI technologies across our network. You will build and manage an agile team of AI software engineers to ship high-impact, user-centric tools—leveraging generative models, agentic workflows, and cloud-native services that transform how teachers instruct, how schools operate, and how students learn.

Key Responsibilities

• AI Strategy & Vision: Define the network-wide AI roadmap in close collaboration with executive leadership, educators, and product teams to turn cutting-edge AI capabilities into scalable tools.
• Engineering Leadership: Build, mentor, and manage a high-performing team of AI software engineers and product-focused developers, fostering a culture of rapid prototyping, continuous learning, and software excellence.
• Architecture & Delivery: Oversee the end-to-end design and integration of AI applications, intelligent agents, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems, and custom UI/UX touchpoints into our enterprise stack.
• Enterprise Cloud Integration: Partner with Cloud Engineering to deploy secure, high-availability AI services across AWS and GCP environments using modern CI/CD practices.
• Stakeholder Enablement: Act as a trusted advisor to school leaders and non-technical stakeholders, translating complex AI capabilities into practical use cases that drive real-world adoption.
• Governance & Responsible AI: Establish enterprise guidelines for AI usage, data privacy (FERPA compliance), bias mitigation, model evaluation, and safety guardrails.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Leadership Experience: 7+ years in software engineering leadership, with a track record of hiring, mentoring, and leading high-performing engineering teams.
• AI Application Delivery: 5+ years of experience delivering production-grade software applications, with demonstrable experience building and shipping AI/LLM-powered features at scale.
• Modern AI Tech Stack: Proficiency with LLM orchestration frameworks (e.g., LangChain, LlamaIndex), AI APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Vertex AI, Bedrock), vector databases, and modern Python-based microservices.
• Software Engineering Foundations: Strong foundation in API design, cloud architecture (AWS/GCP), system integration, and standard software engineering practices.
• Product & User Focus: Proven ability to translate user needs into technical solutions with a strong focus on UX, user adoption, and business impact.
• Mission Alignment: Passion for K-12 education and a commitment to Success Academy’s mission.

Exact Compensation May Vary Based On Skills And Experience.

Compensation Range

$280,000 - $300,000 USD

Success Academy Charter Schools is an equal opportunity employer and actively encourages applications from people of all backgrounds. Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience. Success Academy offers a full benefits program and opportunities for professional growth.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our organization. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We actively seek applications from people of all backgrounds to strengthen our community and the perspectives needed to flourish in a multicultural world. Success Academy offers a full benefits program and opportunities for professional growth.

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Success Academy Charter Schools does not offer employment-based immigration sponsorship.