About the Role

A leading frontier AI company is hiring a Technical Lead, Applied AI to open and build their Abu Dhabi market. This is a priority hire - some customers are already in place, and you'll be the person who shapes the region from day one.

You'll start by leading yourself, then grow and lead a team hired around you. This is not a pure management role: you're expected to operate at roughly 70% individual contributor level. The work is hands-on, the ownership is real.

The split is approximately 30% presales and strategic positioning (identifying common use cases, building a point of view on the market, being the primary technical contact for your most strategic customers) and 70% building and deploying AI solutions end-to-end.

Arabic language is mandatory for this role.

What You'll Do

Lead technical discussions during presales - translate customer requirements into actionable solutions and communicate the company's technological advantages to diverse stakeholders
Design and oversee the implementation of complex AI systems including fine-tuning, RAG, agentic workflows, and custom LLM applications
Drive innovation by identifying emerging trends in AI, evaluating new tools and methodologies, and championing best practices for fine-tuning, inference, and deployment
Work closely with product managers, researchers, and engineers to feed customer insights into the product development cycle
Identify common use cases in the region, build a strategic point of view, and own the Abu Dhabi market as it grows
Grow and eventually lead a local Applied AI team

How the Team Works

What matters is what you ship, not the time you spend on it
No bureaucracy - you talk to whoever you need to, the best idea wins
Low ego, high standards; direct, honest feedback
Unstructured environment; people who thrive here find joy in it

About You

Fluent in English and Arabic (mandatory)
7-8+ years of experience in AI/ML, with at least 2+ years in a technical leadership role (Tech Lead, Engineering Manager, or Solutions Architect) focused on AI products or enterprise solutions
Proven track record of leading teams to deliver complex AI projects from prototyping to production
Strong combination of machine learning/data science and software engineering - not a pure researcher, comfortable with production and infrastructure constraints
Strong Python coding skills
Experience with fine-tuning LLMs, advanced RAG, and agentic workflows
Autonomous, impactful, with a strong drive - quality of experience matters more than years

Location & Work Model

Abu Dhabi (no office yet - initially remote/coworking, then hybrid)
Company standard: 1 day remote per week; additional days require management approval
Candidates expecting fully remote or strong half-remote setups are not a fit (flexibility possible for exceptional candidates - flag rather than reject)

Compensation

Base salary + meaningful equity