Director of Artificial Intelligence

Disclaimer:

Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the United States. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time. Remote positions at the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) require travel to our Arlington, VA office for two in-person team gatherings each year.

Job Summary:

The Director of Artificial Intelligence (AI) leads the Institute for Humane Studies’ (IHS) artificial intelligence strategy and oversees the development, deployment, and optimization of AI/ML solutions across the organization. Reporting to the Managing Director of Information Technology, this role manages technical teams powering ScholarsEdge – IHS’s AI-driven research and networking platform – and drives innovation in legislative tracking, concept search, scholar matching, and funding recommendation systems. The Director ensures scalable, reliable ML infrastructure while aligning AI initiatives with organizational goals and ethical standards.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• 2-4 direct reports (and 2-4 indirect reports).

◦ Reports include members of the Technology Innovation, ScholarsEdge, and AI teams.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Lead end-to-end development, testing, evaluation, and deployment of AI/ML models supporting ScholarsEdge and other organizational tools.

◦ Conduct robustness and adversarial testing to ensure models maintain continuous improvement, reliability, and competitive technical advantages.

• Supervise and mentor direct and indirect reports, address skill gaps through employee development, and create growth plans as AI, ML, and team capabilities scale.
• Architect and optimize AI and data systems across Azure, GCP, and AWS multi-cloud environments.
• Oversee MLOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, system performance monitoring, and optimization of compute resources, model training costs, and data infrastructure to ensure cost-effective AI operations.
• Evaluate and integrate emerging technologies (e.g., LLMs, vector databases, RAG architectures) to enhance IHS platforms and services.
• Promote knowledge-sharing across IT and cross-functional teams; maintain and enforce best practices for ML lifecycle management, model governance, and code quality.

◦ Guide the AI/ML roadmap and communicate strategy to internal stakeholders and external partners.

• Collaborate with Programs, Academic Outreach, Intellectual Talent Development, Development, and Marketing to refine matching algorithms, enhance research tools, support data-driven user engagement, and development of donor-driven AI research and analysis projects.
• Partner with Marketing to develop digital solutions that enhance user-journey data collection and integrate insights into CRM and analytics systems.
• Occasional travel to conferences, meetings, and organizational events.

◦ Up to 10% travel required.

Required Skills & Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or a related quantitative field; Master’s or PhD preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in AI/ML engineering with demonstrated success building and deploying production ML systems.
• Demonstrated experience supervising, mentoring, and developing direct and indirect reports.

◦ Strong collaborative leadership style with ability to guide cross-functional teams.

• Proficiency in Python and major ML frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn).
• Experience with Azure ML, AWS SageMaker, GCP Vertex AI, and multi-cloud architecture.
• Knowledge of NLP/LLM technologies, vector databases, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems.
• Experience with MLOps practices, feature stores, CI/CD processes, and ML deployment tools.
• Familiarity with modern databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MongoDB) and data ecosystems.
• Strong communication skills, especially in translating technical concepts for non-technical audiences.
• Strong problem-solving skills with attention to ethical and responsible AI considerations.
• Understanding of and appreciation for classical liberal values and the IHS mission.

To apply, qualified candidates must submit the following materials:

• Resume
• Cover letter detailing your interest in this position and why the IHS mission resonates with you.

EEO Statement:

We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

About IHS:

The Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) is a think network advancing the principles and practices of freedom in the academy, public policy, and civil society.

Founded in 1961, IHS believes that the liberal tradition has yielded unprecedented freedom and human flourishing. And in this moment, when the forces of illiberalism on both the left and right are gaining ground at an alarming pace, our vision is to spark a new spirit of liberal freedom.

Our Work:

• Cultivating a pool of intellectual talent for partners in policy, civil society, philanthropy, and the academy through $1.5 million in fellowship and career development programs.
• Catalyzing scholarship and academic networks to strengthen the fields of foundational and applied research that matter most to a free society.
• Equipping freedom-focused research centers, think tanks, foundations, and civil society organizations with the research and experts they need to maximize their impact in policy and in communities across the country.

IHS Benefits:

We have a flexible, professional, open office environment that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship and provides substantial opportunity for professional growth. Salary is competitive and will be commensurate with experience. IHS provides exceptional benefits to all employees, including health and dental insurance coverage (which includes paying 100% of the health and dental insurance premium for individuals), health savings accounts, long-term disability and life insurance, a 403(b) retirement savings program, a parking permit and 12 free tuition credit hours annually atGeorge Mason University.