VP, AI

Madrona Venture Labs; Bellevue (WA); Hybrid; USD 226,300 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity plan

Job summary

Madrona Venture Labs seeks an experienced AI leader to define and drive our AI product strategy across creative intelligence, audience measurement, and outcomes platforms.

You will lead incubation, prototyping, and commercialization of AI-powered features, partnering with Product and Engineering to embed AI into future roadmaps while ensuring responsible AI governance and measurable business impact.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in CS/engineering or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• 15+ years of technology leadership with AI, ML, or data-driven products.
• Proven track record delivering customer-facing AI products with measurable impact.
• Deep understanding of modern AI tech: LLMs, agentic systems, governance and security.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute AI product strategy across CAO portfolio.
• Lead incubation, prototyping, and commercialization of AI-powered features.
• Partner with Product and Engineering to embed AI in roadmaps.
• Set technical direction for scalable, secure AI systems.
• Build and lead a high-performing AI engineering team.
• Drive experimentation frameworks with strong execution discipline.
• Collaborate with customers, partners, and sales to translate needs into capabilities.
• Evaluate emerging AI tech to accelerate time-to-market.
• Ensure responsible AI practices including governance and privacy.
• Define success metrics for AI initiatives and business impact.
• Represent iSpot externally as an AI innovation thought leader.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Hands-on technical leadership

Product strategy

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

ML platforms

Cloud-native AI platforms

Retrieval architectures

Job description

Immigration / Work Authorization Notice

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States. iSpot is not able to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa for this position at this time.

Compensation

Target cash compensation range: $226,300-260,000 USD Annually

We are committed to providing competitive, market-informed compensation. The cash compensation above includes base salary, variable commission for employees in eligible roles, and annual bonus targets for eligible roles. In addition to cash compensation, all full‑time iSpotters are eligible to participate in iSpot’s equity plan to receive stock options. Non‑exempt roles will also be eligible for (pre‑approved) overtime pay. Individual compensation packages are influenced by different factors unique to each candidate, including their skills, experience, qualifications and other job‑related reasons.

Hybrid & Flexible Workplace Policy

iSpot supports a hybrid and flexible workplace. Depending on location and work responsibilities, employees may be designated as full‑time or part‑time office‑based or a fully remote employee. A hybrid work schedule indicates that you work in the office some days and work from home other days. The best hybrid workplaces allow for flexibility while also encouraging consistency.

Those local or living in surrounding areas to one of our offices (Bellevue, WA or New York, NY) will work a hybrid schedule, coming into their local office 1-3 days a week. While those in a role, not office‑based and located further away from our offices, will work a fully remote schedule. If you have questions regarding exact details of our hybrid & flexible workplace policy, please let your recruiter know and they will discuss with you further.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute iSpot’s AI product strategy across the Creative, Audience, and Outcomes (CAO) product portfolio.
• Identify high‑value opportunities to apply generative AI, agentic systems, machine learning, and advanced analytics to deliver differentiated customer experiences and measurable business outcomes.
• Lead the incubation, prototyping, and commercialization of AI‑powered products and features across creative intelligence, audience measurement, and outcome attribution solutions.
• Partner with Product and Engineering leaders to embed AI capabilities into existing products and future roadmaps.
• Establish technical direction and architectural patterns for scalable, secure, and responsible AI systems.
• Build and lead a high‑performing team of AI engineers, scientists, and product specialists focused on customer‑facing innovation.
• Drive experimentation frameworks that enable rapid validation of new AI concepts while maintaining strong execution discipline.
• Collaborate directly with customers, partners, and commercial teams to understand market needs and translate them into differentiated AI capabilities.
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies, vendors, and platforms to accelerate time‑to‑market and maximize business impact.
• Ensure responsible AI practices, governance, security, privacy, and compliance considerations are embedded into all customer‑facing solutions.
• Define success metrics and business outcomes for AI initiatives, including customer adoption, revenue impact, operational efficiency, and product differentiation.
• Represent iSpot externally as a thought leader on AI innovation within advertising, media measurement, audience intelligence, and marketing technology.

Qualifications and Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or a related technical field; advanced degree preferred.
• 15+ years of technology leadership experience, including significant experience building AI, machine learning, or data‑driven products.
• Proven track record of delivering customer‑facing AI products that have created measurable business impact.
• Deep understanding of modern AI technologies, including large language models, agentic systems, retrieval architectures, machine learning platforms, and generative AI applications.
• Experience leading cross‑functional organizations spanning engineering, product management, and data science.
• Strong technical depth with the ability and willingness to remain hands‑on when necessary.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear business outcomes.
• Demonstrated success operating in fast‑paced, high‑growth environments and driving organizational change.
• Strong understanding of responsible AI principles, data governance, privacy, and enterprise security.

Preferred Skills

• Experience within advertising technology, media measurement, marketing technology, or consumer insights platforms.
• Experience building and deploying agentic AI systems and autonomous workflows in production environments.
• Familiarity with modern MLOps practices and cloud‑native AI platforms.
• Track record of creating new products or revenue streams through AI‑enabled capabilities.
• Experience working directly with enterprise customers to shape product strategy and innovation priorities.
• MS or advanced technical degree preferred.

Additional Notes

• This role is focused on accelerating iSpot’s customer‑facing AI innovation agenda and delivering differentiated capabilities across our Creative, Audience, and Outcomes product portfolio.
• Success in this role will be measured by the ability to translate emerging AI technologies into meaningful customer value, strengthen our competitive position, and drive measurable business outcomes.
• We are looking for a builder, operator, and hands‑on technical leader who combines strategic vision with a bias for execution, experimentation, and rapid learning. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable discussing long‑term AI strategy with executives and working alongside engineers to bring innovative ideas to life.

iSpot is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please contact our HR team.

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