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:

- Visionary AI leadership with the ability to anticipate major technology shifts.
- Investment attraction capability and credibility with sophisticated investors.
- Exceptional technical depth and scientific judgment.
- Proven ability to build and lead high-performance R&D; organizations.
- Strong product commercialization mindset.
- Executive presence and outstanding presentation and communication skills.
- Ability to translate complex AI technology into a compelling business and investment proposition.
- Strong strategic thinking combined with disciplined execution.
- Demonstrated ability to attract, develop, and retain elite technical talent.
- Strong understanding of AI architecture, engineering, data platforms, and production systems.
- Entrepreneurial mindset with comfort operating in a fast-growing startup environment.
- Experience establishing university, research, and industry collaborations.
- Solid commercial judgment and understanding of customer and market requirements.
- Commitment to Responsible AI, security, privacy, governance, and ethical technology development.
- 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 (Thiruvananthapuram)
🏢 SK AI
📍 Thiruvananthapuram