VP Innovation

A Defense Organization is Seeking a VP of AI & Innovation!

The VP of AI & Innovation will drive innovation and initiative at the executive level in the defense sector.

This role is responsible for identifying, evaluating, and developing ideas, initiatives with customers, and technologies that will form the next generation of the organization's capabilities.

The VP will lead a technological “commando” team (the Discovery Team) specializing in the rapid construction of prototypes (POCs) and demonstrators, aimed at testing technological feasibility and potential operational value under conditions of high uncertainty.

They will serve as a bridge between raw operational needs or innovative technologies and the decision of whether to invest in launching a project.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leading the Discovery and POC Team: Direct management of a fast, multidisciplinary team including developers, data experts, and AI professionals capable of delivering demonstrators quickly.
• Innovation Scouting: Constant scanning of the technological ecosystem (internal potential clients, academia, and industry) to identify promising technologies and pain points that can be solved with AI — as well as filtering out unsolvable problems and presenting a professional counter-position to senior leadership.
• Rapid Prototype Development: Practical leadership of short, focused development processes (time-boxed) to prove feasibility, including hands-on involvement in coding, prompt engineering, and preliminary data analysis.
• Feasibility and Value Assessment: Responsible for analyzing POC results, forming a data-driven recommendation regarding further investment, and presenting findings to unit leadership and clients.
• Early Stakeholder Management: Direct engagement with end-users and operational stakeholders to deeply understand new problems and create partnerships around potential solutions.
• Handoff After Validation: Following successful proof of feasibility, responsible for knowledge/code/insight transfer to the VP of Product and CTO for establishing a dedicated squad or integrating into an existing project.

Requirements:

• Education: Mandatory: Bachelor’s degree in a technological, scientific, or engineering field.
• At least 8 years of experience in various technological roles.
• Proven track record of leading innovation or high-risk projects from concept to execution (0 to 1).
• Strong hands-on technical abilities — coding, working with data, and quickly building technical solutions.
• Experience in roles that combine customer or user interaction with strong technical skills (e.g., Presale/Sales Engineer, Founder, or highly technical Product Manager).
• Previous experience in defense industry development or deep familiarity with operational needs.
• Entrepreneurial background or experience working in early-stage startups.
• Broad familiarity with various AI technologies and ability to rapidly learn new ones.
• Experience with rapid AI-based development tools, such as Base44, Lovable, etc.

Skills and Qualities:

• Creativity, curiosity, and out-of-the-box thinking.
• Strong user-centric mindset and deep empathy for user needs and problems.
• Strong storytelling skills and the ability to communicate a compelling technological vision.
• Agility, mental flexibility, and the ability to work quickly under pressure.
• Entrepreneurial spirit and proactive attitude – ability to independently drive processes in a foggy environment.