Head of AI/ML Startup Business Development

Key Skills

Aartificial intelligence, AWS, Leadership Skill, Machine learning techniques, Management, Natural Language Processing (NLP), OpenCV

Job Description

Would you like to work with the most exciting, innovative machine learning (ML) startups in North America? Are you passionate about generative AI and engaging the AI/ML startup community? Do you have the technical insight, business savvy, and relationship development skills, to help further establish Amazon Web Services as the cloud computer leader for ML startups?

The artificial intelligence (AI) landscape is being reshaped by the rise of generative models capable of synthesizing high-quality data—such as text, images, music, videos, and code­—from natural language. Amazon Web Services (AWS) brings the best models and tools that are open, extensible, and work with the technology you use today, allowing startups to be in the front row of generative AI innovation.

We are looking for an experienced and motivated candidate to lead our specialist ML Startup Business Development team in North America. In this role you will be responsible for leading a team of former startup founders/operators who champion and work alongside the world’s best startups and investors in ML, artificial intelligence (AI), and data science. You will work closely with the startup ecosystem as well as internal teams to define the strategy to ensure the world’s leading founders are choosing to build their ML startups on AWS. You will represent AWS at external events to speak on the exciting products our customers are building from foundational models to designing practical solutions to problems such as healthcare burnout or tools that drastically reduce time spent on costly, tedious tasks.

The ideal candidate will possess both a business background to drive engagements and interact with founders and general partners, as well as technical knowledge to effectively interact with CTOs and software developers. You have a track record of creating strategy and working cross functionally to successfully execute. You also have a demonstrated ability to think strategically and analytically about business, product, and technical challenges, with the ability to build and convey compelling value propositions and work cross-organizationally to build consensus. You’ll be expected to execute in the face of ambiguity, shifting priorities, and limited resources. Competency in cloud computing will be required for ongoing success – as is a keen sense of ownership, curiosity, scrappiness, and drive.

Roles & Responsibilities:

• Identifying and engaging the founders/leaders of newly founded and venture-backed ML startups to 1) identify their technical and commercial challenges/opportunities 2) map those needs onto people, technology, knowledge, programs, relationships across Amazon that could potentially help and 3) mobilize those assets to work on behalf of these startup customers.
• Acting as the voice of the startup customer by discovering, capturing, and reporting back patterns and learnings from the field about opportunities as they relate to AI/ML.
• Developing and holding relationships with key influencers in the startup ecosystem focused on AI/ML (e.g., venture funds, accelerators, university labs and programs). Activities include putting Amazon assets to work on behalf of their portfolio companies, driving customer and partner relationships for the portfolio, jointly producing thought leadership and educational events and/or the broader startup ecosystem.
• Collaborating with colleagues across the global Startup Business Development and Sales teams to better serve the needs of customers leveraging AI/ML technologies.
• Producing AI/ML thought leadership and technical-leaning content, workshops, and events for the startup ecosystem. Serving as a technical evangelist and AI/ML subject matter expert within AWS and externally.
• Informing, influencing, and contributing to the work of other AI/ML-related colleagues across AWS and Amazon including sales, marketing, business development, solutions architecture and product teams. Contributing to the development of our AI/ML strategy.
• Conceiving, authoring, securing support for, launching and executing new initiatives and programs to meet the needs of startup customers as they relate to AI/ML.

A day in the life

Inclusive Team Culture

At AWS, we embrace our differences. We are committed to furthering our culture of inclusion. We have twelve employee-led affinity groups, reaching 40,000 employees in over 190 chapters globally. We have innovative benefit offerings and host annual and ongoing learning experiences, including our Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and AmazeCon (gender diversity) conferences. Amazon's culture of inclusion is reinforced within our 14 Leadership Principles, which remind team members to seek diverse perspectives, learn and be curious, and earn trust.

Work/Life Balance

Our team puts a high value on work-life balance. It isn't about how many hours you spend at home or work; it's about the flow you establish that brings energy to both parts of your life. We believe striking the right balance between your personal and professional life is critical to life-long happiness and fulfillment. We offer flexible working hours and encourage you to find your own balance between your work and personal lives.

Mentorship & Career Growth

Our team is dedicated to supporting new members. We have a broad mix of experience levels and tenures, and we're building an environment that celebrates knowledge sharing and mentorship. We care about your career growth and strive to assign projects based on what will help each team member develop into a better-rounded professional and enable them to take on more complex tasks in the future.

We are open to hiring candidates to work out of one of the following locations:

New York, NY, USA

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• 15+ years of business experience
• Experience working with AI/ML technologies and demonstrated understanding of generative AI
• Proven ability to build trust and manage relationships with the C-level leadership of startups, managing directors of investor organizations, and other key influencers in the startup ecosystem
• Proven ability to execute as an individual contributor in the face of ambiguity, shifting priorities, and limited resources
• Knowledge of core cloud computing concepts and ability to go deep enough on technical aspects to differentiate among various AWS services, as well as top use cases for popular startup industries
• Strong verbal and written communications skills
• Willingness to travel within North America

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Degree in Computer Science, ideally with a focus on ML or a related field
• Experience with machine learning algorithms, model development, common frameworks, workflow tools, or applied AI (e.g., CV, NLP).
• Exited founder/CxO/operator of one or more ventures that involved data science, machine learning, or artificial intelligence
• 10+ years of customer-facing ML business experience
• Publications in peer-reviewed conferences or journals
• Speaking engagements at ML conferences and industry events
• AWS SA Associate or equivalent certification
• AWS ML Specialist or equivalent certification
• Software development experience (Python preferred)
• Experience working effectively and cross-functionally within a large organization