Head of AI Research & Development

Senior Leadership Role

S K AI Pvt Ltd is seeking an exceptional Head of AI Research & Development to lead the development of advanced Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Generative AI, Data Science, and AI-enabled software products and services.

This is a high-impact leadership position for an accomplished technology executive who can combine scientific depth, engineering excellence, product vision, business acumen, and executive-level communication. The successful candidate will build and lead a world-class AI R&D; organization while representing S K AI before investors, research institutions, universities, strategic partners, customers, and other stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

- Define and execute the company's long-term AI R&D;, technology, and innovation strategy aligned with commercial and investment objectives.
- Build, mentor, and lead multidisciplinary teams of AI scientists, ML engineers, data scientists, software engineers, data engineers, and research professionals.
- Lead development of scalable AI/ML solutions including Generative AI, LLMs, agentic AI, deep learning, predictive analytics, multimodal AI, NLP, computer vision, and decision-intelligence platforms.
- Establish rigorous processes for AI experimentation, model validation, reproducibility, MLOps, responsible AI, data governance, cybersecurity, and production deployment.
- Convert research concepts and prototypes into commercially viable, scalable, defensible products and intellectual property.
- Develop technology roadmaps, product-development milestones, R&D; budgets, KPIs, resource plans, and commercialization strategies.
- Represent the company's technology vision in meetings and presentations with venture capital firms, private investors, institutional investors, strategic partners, customers, universities, and research organizations.
- Provide compelling technical narratives, product demonstrations, technology due diligence, competitive differentiation, and R&D; strategy to support fundraising and strategic investment discussions.
- Develop partnerships with leading universities, laboratories, technology companies, healthcare/life-sciences organizations, and other research institutions.




- Identify emerging technologies, research opportunities, patents, datasets, platforms, and strategic capabilities that can strengthen the company's competitive position.
- Work closely with founders and executive leadership on corporate strategy, business development, investor relations, product positioning, and international growth.
- Recruit and retain exceptional technical talent while creating a culture of scientific rigor, innovation, accountability, speed, and continuous learning.

Required Qualifications
- PhD strongly preferred in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Computer Science, Data Science, Computational Science, Mathematics, Engineering, Statistics, or a closely related discipline. Exceptional candidates with a Master's degree and substantial AI leadership experience will also be considered.
- Typically 12+ years of progressive technology/R&D; experience, including significant leadership of AI, ML, data science, engineering, or advanced research organizations.
- Demonstrated experience taking AI technologies from research or prototype stage through production and commercialization.
- Strong knowledge of modern AI architectures, LLMs, foundation models, RAG, AI agents, deep learning, model optimization, cloud AI platforms, distributed computing, data engineering, and MLOps.
- Experience building enterprise-grade AI products using platforms such as Databricks, Azure, AWS, GCP, Nvidia, Claude, PyTorch, TensorFlow, MLflow, or comparable technologies.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate complex technologies to both highly technical and non-technical audiences.
- Experience supporting investor presentations, fundraising, technology due diligence, strategic partnerships, or enterprise business development is highly desirable.
- Strong understanding of intellectual property creation, patents, research collaboration, product strategy,



and competitive technology positioning.
- Experience working in startup, scale-up, product R&D;, deep-tech, SaaS, defense, healthcare, life sciences, financial services, or another data-intensive industry is preferred.

Leadership Qualities We Are Seeking

The ideal candidate will demonstrate:

1. Visionary AI leadership with the ability to anticipate major technology shifts.
2. Investment attraction capability and credibility with sophisticated investors.
3. Exceptional technical depth and scientific judgment.
4. Proven ability to build and lead high-performance R&D; organizations.
5. Strong product commercialization mindset.
6. Executive presence and outstanding presentation and communication skills.
7. Ability to translate complex AI technology into a compelling business and investment proposition.
8. Strong strategic thinking combined with disciplined execution.
9. Demonstrated ability to attract, develop, and retain elite technical talent.
10. Strong understanding of AI architecture, engineering, data platforms, and production systems.
11. Entrepreneurial mindset with comfort operating in a rapid-growing startup environment.
12. Experience establishing university, research, and industry collaborations.
13. Strong commercial judgment and understanding of customer and market requirements.
14. Commitment to Responsible AI, security, privacy, governance, and ethical technology development.
15. Ability to establish defensible intellectual property and long-term technological differentiation.

Why Join S K AI Pvt Ltd?

This position offers the opportunity to shape the AI technology strategy of an ambitious innovation-focused company, build a high-caliber R&D; organization, develop cutting-edge AI products, establish global research and commercial partnerships, and participate directly in strategic discussions that influence the company's growth and investment trajectory.

Location: India

Employment Type: Full-Time | Executive Leadership

Title: Head of AI Research & Development

- Qualified senior AI leaders with a demonstrated record of building transformative technologies, organizations, and commercial opportunities are invited to apply.

📌 Head of AI Research & Development (Kollam)
🏢 SK AI
📍 Kollam