Senior Director, Applied Machine Learning
kadence · NAMER
- Hybrid
- Full-time
- $700,000 / year
- NAMER
Job highlights
- Lead AI innovation for enterprise knowledge workers.
- Own AI vision for flagship product suite.
- Bridge research, engineering, and product.
- Drive AI strategy with significant investment.
- Impact real customer workflows at scale.
About the role
Senior Director, Applied Machine Learning
Kadence is partnering with a global enterprise building one of the most advanced applied AI platforms for knowledge workers. This search is for a highly technical Senior Director / VP-level AI leader to drive the next phase of AI innovation across a large, high-impact product portfolio. This is a rare opportunity to operate at the intersection of applied AI, product strategy, and real customer impact at scale.
The Opportunity
You’ll be the AI leader for a flagship product suite, owning technical direction and acting as the bridge between research, engineering, product, and customer-facing teams. Working closely with senior product and technology leadership, you’ll identify ambitious opportunities, validate them through hands-on prototyping, and influence the roadmap to bring them into production.
What You’ll Be Doing
- Owning the AI vision and execution across a complex tax / compliance portfolio.
- Leading & Mentoring senior scientists and applied researchers of 40+ globally.
- Partnering with product leadership to apply AI meaningfully to real workflows.
- Designing and validating capabilities across areas such as Information retrieval over structured and semi-structured content, Knowledge graph–based domain representations, Extraction and verification pipelines for rules, calculations, and quantitative logic, and Agentic systems orchestrating multi-step workflows with high correctness requirements.
- Staying close to the work to maintain technical credibility.
- Influencing stakeholders across product, engineering, and commercial teams.
Ideal Profile
- 10+ years in applied ML / AI, with experience building real-world systems.
- Proven leadership of teams delivering AI products at scale.
- PhD from a top computer science program.
- Strong grounding in several of - IR, Search, Knowledge graphs, NLP / LLMs, Agentic systems.
- Comfortable bridging research and production.
- Experience across both high-growth and large, complex organizations.
- Clear communicator with strong product and business judgment.
- Domain experience working with a mix of both language & tabular based data is preferred.
Why This Role?
- Ownership of a flagship AI portfolio with real customer impact.
- Opportunity to extend a proven AI model into a complex new domain.
- Strong foundations: modern AI platform, committed leadership, and serious investment.
- Influence over how AI is built and deployed across a large enterprise.
Key skills/competency
- Applied Machine Learning
- AI Research
- Product Strategy
- Technical Leadership
- Knowledge Graphs
- Information Retrieval
- NLP LLMs
- Agentic Systems
- Team Leadership
- Data Modeling
Skills & topics
- Senior Director Applied Machine Learning
- AI Leader
- Machine Learning
- Artificial Intelligence
- Product Strategy
- Research and Development
- NLP
- LLMs
- Knowledge Graphs
- Agentic Systems
- Information Retrieval
- Team Leadership
- VP AI Research
- Head of Applied Research
How to get hired
- Tailor your resume: Highlight your 10+ years of applied ML/AI experience, team leadership, and PhD from a top program.
- Showcase impactful projects: Detail your experience building and scaling AI products, especially in IR, Knowledge Graphs, NLP/LLMs, or Agentic Systems.
- Demonstrate leadership: Emphasize your ability to lead and mentor large, global research teams and influence cross-functional stakeholders.
- Prepare for technical depth: Be ready to discuss your hands-on experience and technical judgment in AI, product strategy, and business impact.
- Network strategically: Reach out directly for a confidential conversation to learn more about this unique opportunity.
Technical preparation
Deep dive into IR, Knowledge Graphs, NLP/LLMs.,Practice explaining complex AI concepts simply.,Prepare case studies on AI product launches.,Review agentic systems and workflow orchestration.
Behavioral questions
Describe leading 40+ global researchers.,How do you bridge research and product?,Share an example of influencing roadmaps.,Discuss managing AI vision for new domains.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the compensation for the Senior Director, Applied Machine Learning role at Kadence?
- The total compensation for the Senior Director, Applied Machine Learning position at Kadence is up to $700k. This includes base salary, bonus, and equity components.
- Is the Senior Director, Applied Machine Learning role at Kadence remote?
- Yes, the Senior Director, Applied Machine Learning role at Kadence is a remote position open to candidates in North America (NAMER), the UK, or the EU.
- What are the key technical areas for the Senior Director, Applied Machine Learning role?
- Key technical areas include Information Retrieval, Knowledge Graphs, NLP/LLMs, Agentic Systems, and extraction/verification pipelines for structured and semi-structured content.
- What is the expected leadership experience for a Senior Director, Applied Machine Learning at Kadence?
- The role requires proven leadership experience with teams delivering AI products at scale, including leading and mentoring senior scientists and applied researchers, ideally a team of 40+ globally.
- What kind of product portfolio will the Senior Director, Applied Machine Learning oversee?
- The Senior Director will own the AI vision and execution across a complex tax and compliance product portfolio, applying AI meaningfully to real workflows.
- Does Kadence prefer candidates with specific domain experience for the Senior Director, Applied Machine Learning role?
- Yes, domain experience working with a mix of both language and tabular-based data is preferred for this role.
- What educational background is preferred for the Senior Director, Applied Machine Learning position?
- A PhD from a top computer science program is preferred for the Senior Director, Applied Machine Learning role.
- How does this role bridge research and production at Kadence?
- The Senior Director will act as the bridge between research, engineering, product, and customer-facing teams, identifying opportunities, prototyping, and influencing the roadmap to bring AI innovations into production.