Head of AI & Innovation

Head of AI & Innovation

📍 London or Sheffield (Hybrid)

💰 Up to £150,000 + benefits

🕒 Permanent

The Opportunity

A chance to build and lead an AI capability from the ground up within an established, global SaaS company.

This role sits within senior leadership, working closely with the c-suite, with a clear mandate to explore, prototype, and deliver high-impact AI solutions for new and well-established SaaS products. You’ll operate with a high degree of autonomy, focused on shaping how AI is applied across both product and internal operations.

You’ll be expected to test ideas quickly, validate what works, and move the most valuable concepts into production.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Define and deliver the AI and innovation roadmap aligned to product and business goals
• Take ideas from concept → prototype → MVP → production-ready solutions
• Explore and apply modern AI approaches (LLMs, orchestration, hybrid architectures, predictive models)
• Identify opportunities to enhance product capability and create commercial differentiation
• Drive internal efficiency through automation and AI-led improvements
• Establish practical frameworks around ethical AI, data usage, and governance
• Work closely with senior stakeholders to shape direction and secure buy-in
• Build and lead a small, high-performing team focused on experimentation and delivery

What You’ll Bring

• Proven track record of delivering AI-powered products or features into production
• Strong practical understanding of AI/ML, including LLMs and real-world implementation
• Experience operating in SaaS environments, aligning technology with commercial outcomes
• Cloud experience (AWS and/or Azure) and scalable architecture awareness
• Ability to move between strategic thinking and hands-on problem solving
• Strong stakeholder management, comfortable working with senior leadership
• Experience leading technical teams in fast-moving or ambiguous environments

Why This Role Stands Out

• Greenfield AI capability – full ownership from the outset
• High visibility role – close collaboration with senior leadership
• Freedom to experiment – focused on outcomes, not process
• Established product and customer base – real scale and data to work with
• Balanced remit – impact across both product and internal operations