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# Director of Applied AI

Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/80efef3cae855049

webAI posts a director FDE role to lead deployment teams in Austin, TX with no pay posted. Leads a cross-functional applied AI team building and deploying customer-facing AI systems on webAI’s distributed platform. Read from the employer’s posting on November 8, 2026.

- [webAI](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/webai)

First seen May 18, 2026 · open on Ashby as of Nov 8, 2026

Pay not posted Austin, TX Hybrid Full-time

Leads a cross-functional applied AI team building and deploying customer-facing AI systems on webAI’s distributed platform.

- [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2F80efef3cae855049&placement=top)
- [View posting at webAI](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/webAI/789fac9a-0758-4052-941c-bd1fa32c8631/application)

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## At a glance

### Posted base pay

Not posted

Staff+ FDE postings, 388 postings: the middle 50% of posted pay is $197K to $262K, median $225K.

### The work

Leads the deployment team

Balance **Mixed**

Project stages

1. Pre-sales (not covered)
2. Proof of concept (not covered)
3. Implementation
4. Operations (not covered)

- **Coding**: Writes production code

- **Builds for**: External customers

- **Level**: Staff+

- **Role**: Technical lead

### What they ask for

Experience

- **8+ years** Applied machine learning, AI engineering, or related fields
- **3+ years** Leadership role

Background

- **Software engineering**

### Do you meet what the posting states?

The posting asks for 3+ years. How many do you have?

The posting reads as a staff-level role. What level are you at now?

The job is in Austin, TX. Could you work there?

Which of these have you used in production?

Answer each one. Nothing is saved or sent.

[What postings ask for, by background →](https://nextmove.md/fde/paths)

## Conditions

- **Location**: Austin, TX

- **Work arrangement**: Hybrid

- **Employment type**: Full-time

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## The job description from webAI

### About Us

webAI is pioneering the future of artificial intelligence by establishing the first distributed AI infrastructure dedicated to personalized AI. We recognize the evolving demands of a data-driven society for scalability and flexibility, and we firmly believe that the future of AI lies in distributed processing at the edge, bringing computation closer to the source of data generation. Our mission is to build a future where a company's valuable data and intellectual property remain entirely private, enabling the deployment of large-scale AI models directly on standard consumer hardware without compromising the information embedded within those models. We are developing an end-to-end platform that is secure, scalable, and fully under the control of our users, empowering enterprises and consumers with AI that understands their unique business. We are a team driven by **truth, ownership, tenacity, and humility**, and we seek individuals who resonate with these core values and are passionate about shaping the next generation of AI.

### About the Role

The Director of Applied AI will play a pivotal leadership role in designing, developing, and deploying advanced AI solutions for enterprise customers. You will lead a cross-functional team of engineers and applied scientists to deliver mission-critical AI capabilities, architect novel approaches leveraging distributed AI infrastructure, and partner closely with customers to understand their needs and translate them into scalable, impactful solutions.

This role requires deep technical expertise, strong communication and leadership skills, and the ability to drive execution in high-stakes, rapidly evolving environments. You will help shape webAI’s applied research strategy, mentor teams, and ensure we deliver world-class AI technologies that align with customer missions and business goals.

### Responsibilities

- Lead the design, development, and deployment of applied AI systems built on webAI’s distributed AI platform.
- Engage directly with commercial customers to translate mission needs into technical requirements and scalable solutions.
- Guide teams in training, fine-tuning, optimizing, and evaluating large language models and multimodal models for domain-specific applications.
- Oversee technical execution across multiple parallel projects, ensuring high-quality delivery under tight deadlines.
- Collaborate with Infrastructure, Platform Engineering, and Product teams to align applied AI initiatives with overall product strategy.
- Build and mentor a high-performing applied AI team, fostering a culture of innovation, ownership, and hands-on problem solving.
- Drive architectural decisions related to edge inference, distributed processing, privacy-preserving AI, and real-time performance.
- Establish rigorous evaluation methodologies, benchmarks, and validation frameworks for AI model performance and system reliability.
- Identify emerging trends, technologies, and research areas that can accelerate mission impact and product differentiation.
- Present complex technical concepts to leaders, customers, and stakeholders in a clear and compelling manner.

### Qualifications

- You need to code! Every leader in this company is hands-on.
- 8+ years of experience in applied machine learning, AI engineering, or related fields, with at least 3 years in a leadership role.
- Proven track record designing and deploying an AI product.
- Strong expertise with LLMs, generative AI, machine learning workflows.
- Hands-on experience building or integrating AI systems for customer-facing applications.
- Proficiency in Python and modern ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX, etc.).
- Experience leading cross-functional teams and managing multiple high-impact projects simultaneously.
- Ability to communicate complex technical ideas clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or related field.

### Preferred Skills

- Master's or PhD in a technical discipline such as Computer Science, Machine Learning, AI or Applied Mathematics.
- Background in distributed systems, edge computing, or privacy-preserving ML.
- Experience deploying AI models on-device or in constrained compute environments.
- Familiarity with MLOps, data pipelines, and scalable inference architectures.
- Strong understanding of security, compliance, and data governance considerations in enterprise or public sector contexts.
- Ability to thrive in ambiguous, fast-paced, high-growth startup environments.

We at webAI are committed to living out the **core values** we have put in place as the foundation on which we operate as a team. We seek individuals who exemplify the following:

- **Truth - **Emphasizing transparency and honesty in every interaction and decision.
- **Ownership - **Taking full responsibility for one’s actions and decisions, demonstrating commitment to the success of our clients.
- **Tenacity - **Persisting in the face of challenges and setbacks, continually striving for excellence and improvement.
- **Humility - **Maintaining a respectful and learning-oriented mindset, acknowledging the strengths and contributions of others.

### Benefits

We strive to provide competitive benefits to all employees. The benefits listed in this posting generally apply to U.S.-based employees. For employees hired outside the United States, benefits may vary based on local law, country-specific requirements, and the employment platform or entity through which the employee is hired.

- Competitive salary and performance-based incentives
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision benefits package
- Including a high-deductible HSA option with company contribution
- 401k match (US-based only)
- Flexible PTO Policy
- Parental leave for eligible employees
- Continuing education support
- Basic, company-paid life insurance
- Supplemental life insurance
- Company-paid short and long term disability
- Free parking for in-office employees

webAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We adhere to these principles in all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, training, compensation, promotion, benefits, social and recreational programs, and discipline. In addition, it is the policy of webAI to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified employees who have protected disabilities to the extent required by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances where a particular employee works.

[View posting at webAI](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/webAI/789fac9a-0758-4052-941c-bd1fa32c8631/application)

## About webAI

Distributed AI platform that deploys large models on standard consumer/edge hardware so enterprise data and IP stay fully private, no cloud dependency.

Series A · 100–200 people

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