Field CTO, AI

This is a role based out of San Francisco. Priority will be given to candidates based out of SF or those open to relocation. 

Avahi is an AWS Premier partner with 6 AWS competencies and a fast-growing GenAI practice. Over the last 18 months we've shipped production GenAI work across legal, healthcare, energy, and enterprise SaaS, including NL2SQL agents, conversation analytics, multi-agent workflows, healthcare AI, and cloud migration paired with AI modernization. Q1 2026 overattained meaningfully on the back of migrations and GenAI engagement growth.

What we're missing is a single technical leader who owns the AI conversation externally with customer CIOs and enterprise architects, with AWS account teams, on stage, and in print. Our CTO runs platform, delivery, and engineering excellence. Our CRO owns revenue. We need a peer to both who is the public face of Avahi's AI point of view and who runs the field and solutions team that converts strategic conversations into signed work.

This is not a hands-on-keyboard role. It is a senior technical leader who has shipped enough real AI systems to be credible at depth, can hold a Fortune 500 CIO's attention for an hour, and runs a team that turns that conversation into a closed deal.

What you'll own

• AI GTM strategy. Define Avahi's AI/GenAI go-to-market, including which industries, which use cases, which buyer personas, and which AWS services we lead with. Refresh quarterly.
• Customer-facing AI advisory. Be the senior technical voice in our largest enterprise pursuits. Lead AI strategy conversations with customer CXOs and enterprise architects. Translate AI hype into deployable architecture.
• AWS-facing evangelism. Build deep relationships with AWS solutions architects, partner managers, and AI specialist teams. Make sure Avahi is in the room when AWS sellers scope AI opportunities. Speak at re:Invent, Summits, and partner forums.
• External thought leadership. Author Avahi's AI point of view in long-form (whitepapers, AWS co-authored content), short-form (LinkedIn, conference keynotes), and on stage. Be quotable.
• Solutions Engineering & AI Pre-Sales leadership. Own the team that builds demos, runs POCs, and supports sales technically. Raise the bar on what we put in front of customers and how fast we move.
• Demo and reference architecture portfolio. Build a living library of working AI demos and reference architectures that customers and AWS sellers actually want to see.
• Partnership with CTO and CRO. Co-own the seam between platform engineering and revenue execution. Make sure what we sell is what we can build.

What we're looking for

• 15+ years in enterprise technology, with the last 5+ focused on AI/ML, GenAI, or applied data science at scale. You've shipped real systems, even if you don't write production code anymore.
• Field CTO, Principal SA, or VP-level customer-facing experience at AWS, another hyperscaler, an AI platform company (Databricks, Snowflake, OpenAI, Anthropic, Cohere), or a top-tier consultancy. You know what a great enterprise AI conversation feels like because you've led hundreds of them.
• Deep AWS fluency. You know the AWS AI/ML stack (Bedrock, SageMaker, Q, agentic services) at architectural depth. You have a working network inside AWS partner and AI/ML teams.
• Executive presence. You can hold a room with a Fortune 500 CIO and a room of 500 conference attendees. Customers ask for you by name on the next call.
• Proven team leader. You've built and run technical pre-sales or solutions engineering teams of 10 to 30 people. You hire well, coach hard, and people stay.
• Startup Founder/Business fluency. You read a P&L, understand services unit economics, and can have a real conversation about deal margin, utilization, and pipeline shape, not just technology.
• Bias to ship. Prototypes over polish. POCs over decks. You don't need a perfect slide to start a conversation.

Nice to have

• Services or consulting leadership experience at scale 
• Published author, recognized conference speaker, or industry voice in AI/ML
• Existing relationships with AWS AI/ML partner leadership
• Experience selling into regulated industries (healthcare, financial services)

Why Work Here

1. Remote-First Flexibility: 
   Enjoy work-life harmony in a remote-first environment that allows you to work from anywhere.
2. Innovative Culture: 
   We embrace a startup mindset, encouraging creativity, agility, and growth. Be part of a team that explores cutting-edge technology and drives impactful solutions.
3. Career Development: 
   Avahi is committed to your growth, offering mentorship and opportunities to advance your career.
4. Purpose-Driven Mission: 
   Join us in making a difference. Avahi is dedicated to championing diversity, supporting women in tech, and fostering sustainable practices.
5. Global Collaboration: 
   Work alongside a diverse, talented team, sharing insights and collaborating to create innovative solutions that make a real impact. 

Join Avahi and make an impact in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment with abundant opportunities for growth.

Accessibility and Inclusivity Statement
At Avahi, we are committed to fostering a workplace that celebrates diversity and inclusivity. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, including those from underrepresented communities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, providing a fair and accessible recruitment process for all candidates. If you require accommodations at any stage of the application or interview process, please let us know, and we will work to meet your needs.