VP, AI Practice Lead - US-Based

Job Summary:

Toptal is an innovative organization that is disrupting the global professional services and talent market. In response to our clients’ overwhelming demand for exceptional talent in new areas, we are expanding the breadth and depth of our Technology Services offerings to further fuel that growth. As Toptal’s VP, AI Practice, you will define and execute our strategy for artificial intelligence, machine learning, and generative AI services - from strategic advisory to full-scale AI solution delivery. You will combine deep technical expertise with business acumen to build offerings that address market demand, differentiate Toptal in a crowded AI market, and deliver measurable impact for clients.

This leader will be a proven expert in AI, ML, and Gen AI, with a deep understanding of cross-industry target buyers, their priorities, and the trends impacting them. The ideal candidate for this position will have led initiatives across AI governance, machine learning model development, natural language processing (NLP), large language models (LLMs), computer vision, and AI productization. You will determine what services to build, how to price and package them, and how to position our value proposition to meet client needs today and in the future.

This is a remote position. However, we require applicants and the person in this position to reside in-market. We do not offer visa sponsorship or assistance. Resumes and communication must be submitted in English.

Responsibilities:

The following information is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or required skills.

You will be responsible for building and scaling Toptal’s AI/ML practice, including:

·        Strategy: Identify high-value client problems in AI/ML and develop a roadmap for offerings that address them.

·        Offering Development: Create services in areas including LLM integration, custom model training, AI strategy consulting, and AI-powered analytics.

·        Go-to-Market: Lead initial market engagements to validate offerings, then scale adoption in collaboration with Sales and Practice Operations teams.

·        Thought Leadership: Represent Toptal as an AI innovation leader via publications, speaking engagements, and community involvement.

·        Sales Enablement: Educate sales teams on AI/ML concepts, emerging trends, and value propositions; personally lead key client discussions.

·        P&L Ownership: Oversee financial performance of the AI/ML practice.

·        Talent Network Development: Build and maintain a network of AI engineers, data scientists, and ML researchers with cutting-edge expertise.

·        Accomplish work objectives through leading and supervising other Toptal team members within the AI/ML Practice.

·        Establish objectives and initiatives for the team, recommend the team’s structure and jobs, and organize, assign, delegate, oversee, and monitor work.

·        Coach and mentor team members, provide feedback, conduct performance reviews, and implement performance improvement plans, if needed.

In the first week, expect to:

·        Onboard and integrate into Toptal; meet your colleagues.

·        Learn about Toptal’s history, culture, and vision, with a focus on the state of our industry, the Future of Work, and the core messages important to Toptal.

·        Shadow critical teams throughout the organization to learn Toptal’s core operations and capabilities.

In the first month, expect to:

·        Begin developing relationships with key leaders and stakeholders across the organization.

·        Dive deeper into the operations of key teams (e.g., Sales, Talent Operations) across the company.

·        Conduct a comprehensive review of the current demand in your practice area, the talent that exists already in the network, and any work we may already be doing or have done.

·        Articulate a hypothesis about where you want to take the practice (strategy) and design experiments and build execution approaches to get there.

In the first three months, expect to:

·        Be a well-integrated member of the organization with positive relationships in Sales (Enterprise and SMB), Marketing, and Talent Operations.

·        Be in front of clients on a regular basis to hear from them firsthand, while exercising discretion and independent judgment.

·        Build your practice and begin positively impacting revenue growth.

·        Understand market demand, assess Toptal’s current AI/ML capabilities, review AI Practice’s current offerings, and finalize the AI practice strategy.

·        Build pipeline momentum.

In the first six months, expect to:

·        Deliver initial client wins with high-profile AI deployments.

·        Build Thought leadership presence.

·        Be the go-to expert for your practice within Toptal.

·        Have established initial market traction.

·        See a commercial impact from your involvement in early initiatives.

In the first year, expect to:

·        Feel like you made the best decision of your career.

·        Lead Toptal’s AI practice revenue growth.

·        Position Toptal as a go-to provider for advanced AI solutions.

Qualifications and Job Requirements:

·        Bachelor’s degree is required, MBA is a plus.

·        15+ years of experience in Technology Services and/or Product, with 10+ years of experience in AI/ML, including deep exposure in enterprise AI initiatives.

·        Strong expertise in machine learning, deep learning, NLP, LLMs, and AI governance.

·        Proficiency with Python, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and ML Ops tools.

·        Track record of leading AI commercialization and productization efforts.

·        P&L ownership experience in a technology services context.

·        Industry experience in sectors like marketing, finance, healthcare, or e-commerce.

·        Strong ability to bridge technical and business conversations with both executives and engineers.

·        This role is highly collaborative and will work extremely closely with Toptal’s Marketing, Sales, and Talent Operations teams to fulfill the above responsibilities.

·        Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.

·        Ability to work in a fast-paced, rapidly growing company and handle a wide variety of challenges, deadlines, and a diverse array of contacts.

·        You must be a world-class individual contributor to thrive at Toptal. You will not be here just to tell other people what to do.

Essential Job Functions

·        Regularly and reliably attend scheduled virtual team meetings on camera.

·        Work independently with minimal supervision.

·        Use all required digital collaboration tools.

·        Prioritize and self-manage workflows and deadlines.

US FLSA Classification: Full-Time/Exempt