Director of AI

Who We Are:

The 4M story is likely one you haven’t heard before: We are on a mission to unlock access to the world below us, to do for the world below ground what Google Maps did for the world above. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, we are mapping the subsurface infrastructure to make reliable, real-time utility data accessible to the construction industry - completely transforming a traditional industry. We’re a growing startup with 100 employees currently based in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Austin, Texas.

Role Overview

We are seeking a visionary Director of AI to join our leadership team and report to the VP of R&D. This is a high-impact strategic role for a leader who combines deep expertise in machine learning and advanced AI with a proven track record of turning innovation into measurable business results.

As Director of AI, you will lead and expand a group of AI engineers embedded in Product pods, play a pivotal role in roadmap planning, and balance cutting-edge research with practical productization. You will drive cross-organizational initiatives that elevate our products and operations, defend our competitive moat, and unlock new opportunities for growth and innovation.

Key Responsibilities

Team & Talent Leadership

• Manage, mentor, and inspire a team of algorithm engineers, fostering technical excellence and career growth.
• Scale the AI team through hiring, skill development, and cultivating a strong data science culture.
• Promote cross-functional collaboration, execution, knowledge sharing, and experimentation.
• Attract senior AI talent to build strong teams.

AI Roadmap & Innovation

• Execute the AI roadmap, aligned with company strategy and product vision.
• Introduce state-of-the-art techniques to solve complex challenges.
• Drive initiatives that push the boundaries of what’s possible, turning AI into a measurable business differentiator.

Technical Leadership

• Personally lead the resolution of the most complex AI/ML challenges. 
• Architect and guide the implementation of production-ready ML systems, ensuring robustness, accuracy, and low latency.
• Maintain a strong applied research perspective while delivering practical, business-impacting solutions.

Defending & Expanding Our Moat

• Keep us ahead of industry shifts by monitoring emerging technologies and evaluating competitive threats.
• Build defensible AI assets - unique data pipelines, proprietary models, domain-specific enhancements - that are hard to replicate.
• Shape intellectual property (publications, patents, methodologies) that strengthens our positioning.

• 10+ years of professional experience in AI/ML and data science with at least 5 years in leadership roles.
• Advanced degree (MSc/PhD) in Computer Science, Mathematics, or related field.
• Proven success leading data science / AI teams in production environments.
• Strong grounding in ML/DL, model architectures, and data pipelines.
• Track record of translating research into scalable production systems with measurable business impact.
• Practical trade-off mindset - build vs. buy, open-source vs. proprietary, etc.
• Excellent communication skills - capable of influencing executives, mentoring engineers, and educating non-technical stakeholders.
• Passion for continuous learning, innovation, and knowledge sharing.