Head of AI

JOB DESCRIPTION

Head of AI Department Engineering Location Austin, TX (preferred) Work Arrangement Hybrid, with frequent site travel Travel Approximately 40%, primarily within Texas and to Indiana FLSA Status Exempt Employment Type Full-time Direct Reports None initially; AI and data team expected to grow to approximately 3-5 people Clearance Not required

POSITION SUMMARY

The Head of AI will establish CMG's artificial intelligence and machine learning capability for advanced manufacturing and operations. This is initially a hands-on individual contributor role, responsible for architecting and building the enterprise AI technology foundation and working with department heads across operations, production, development, growth, and people to turn their needs, both known and unknown, into secure, integrated AI capabilities that improve decision-making and automate workflows. As the capability matures, this leader will build a small team and expand the platform toward physical automation and agentic systems that support rapid, reliable production scale-up. The Head of AI will set the security standards, governance, and performance measures needed to scale AI adoption across energetics manufacturing and business operations, making CMG the premier data and technology company automating defense energetics manufacturing.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

AI Strategy & Executive Communication

• Define and execute CMG's AI/ML strategy, technical foundation, investment priorities, and phased implementation roadmap.
• Communicate technical decisions, risks, progress, and resource requirements to executives and technical stakeholders outside the AI function.

Data Foundation & Cross-Functional Partnership

• Partner with operations, production, programs, growth, safety, and external partners to translate business needs and critical process parameters into technical requirements and implementation plans.
• Evaluate sensors, instrumentation, and data acquisition approaches, and establish reliable, traceable methods for measuring, collecting, storing, structuring, and accessing data.
• Develop practical tools that use manufacturing data to improve process safety, product quality, operational visibility, and production efficiency.

Models, Security & Governance

• Evaluate open and closed AI models for chemistry, synthesis, formulation, industrial processes, and manufacturing automation, selecting approaches appropriate for proprietary, export-controlled, and security-sensitive information.
• Build, adapt, and validate models using CMG data, with clear performance metrics, evaluation methods, and controls for safe deployment.
• Establish secure development practices, technical documentation, model governance, and enterprise data-handling standards appropriate for ITAR-controlled and proprietary manufacturing environments.

Automation & Physical AI

• Develop a phased path from monitoring and decision support to closed-loop optimization, AI-enabled process control, and agentic systems.
• Advance physical AI and automation applications across continuous-flow synthesis, energetic material formulation, material handling, automated assembly, load-assemble-pack operations, inspection, and quality verification.
• Support rapid iteration between software and equipment at CMG production and pilot-plant facilities and with university and technical partners.

Team Building

• Serve initially as a hands-on builder and individual contributor.
• Identify capability gaps, recruit complementary talent, and lead an AI and data team expected to grow to approximately three to five people.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

First 6 months

• Establish CMG's data strategy and AI-ready data foundation, lead development of an enterprise ontology across departments, and prioritize AI use cases with measurable business outcomes.
• Produce an enterprise AI and data strategy with a phased implementation roadmap.
• Begin capturing available equipment, process, and visual workflow data that is not yet collected consistently.
• Create a clean, usable data architecture, including common definitions, metadata, and relationships among process information.
• Establish baseline measures for safety, quality, cycle time, throughput, and process efficiency.
• Deliver initial analytical or machine learning tools that demonstrate measurable operational value.
• Recommend the model stack and secure computing approach CMG should use for proprietary and controlled information.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, engineering, or a closely related quantitative field, or equivalent demonstrated experience.
• 5+ years of relevant experience in machine learning, applied AI, data engineering, industrial analytics, or intelligent automation.
• Experience architecting and building enterprise AI capabilities, from strategy development and infrastructure stand-up to building agentic tools and capabilities.
• Hands-on experience selecting, adapting, training, evaluating, and deploying machine learning or foundation models for real-world applications.
• Strong understanding of open-source model ecosystems and the tradeoffs among open, proprietary, and custom model approaches.
• Experience designing data pipelines, schemas, ontologies, or comparable structures that convert unstructured, raw data into reliable, model-ready data.
• Demonstrated experience applying AI, machine learning, or advanced analytics in manufacturing, industrial operations, or another physical production environment.
• Working knowledge of sensors, instrumentation, industrial control systems, or manufacturing automation sufficient to collaborate effectively with controls and equipment specialists.
• Ability to move between strategy and implementation, including writing code, evaluating data, prototyping solutions, and testing them against physical processes.
• Ability to communicate clearly and work effectively with engineers, scientists, operators, executives, and external partners.

Preferred

• Experience with continuous-flow chemistry, pharmaceutical manufacturing, specialty chemicals, materials processing, or another liquid-to-solid production environment.
• Experience with physical AI, robotics, machine vision, automated material handling, pick-and-place systems, or automated assembly.
• Experience applying AI or automation in automotive, aerospace, space, semiconductor, cementitious-material, or other advanced manufacturing environments.
• Experience with process optimization, anomaly detection, predictive quality, computer vision, reinforcement learning, or agentic workflows.
• Experience working with sensitive, proprietary, export-controlled, or classified data and computing environments.
• Experience establishing a new technical capability, moving from prototype to production, and building a small, high-performing team.
• Advanced degree in a relevant technical field.

Leadership Profile

• A builder who is willing to start with foundational data work before pursuing more advanced AI applications.
• Practical and outcomes-oriented, with sound judgment about when to build internally and when to use a partner or existing platform.
• Highly curious, technically rigorous, and able to learn unfamiliar manufacturing and scientific domains quickly.
• Mission-aligned, collaborative, and comfortable working in a fast-moving, early-stage company.
• Ambitious without ego, and motivated by measurable operational impact rather than technology for its own sake.
• Capable of growing from a senior individual contributor into the leader of a multidisciplinary AI and data team.

WORKING CONDITIONS & PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Preferred home base is the Austin, Texas area, with hybrid work based on project requirements.
• Regular travel (approximately 40%) to production and pilot-plant locations is required, including sites in Texas and Indiana.
• Work may take place in offices, laboratories, pilot plants, manufacturing facilities, and active industrial environments.
• Must comply with all safety, security, data-handling, and site-specific requirements.

EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS

• Successful completion of a background check and drug screening
• U.S. citizenship required
• Ability to satisfy applicable export control (ITAR/EAR), security, and site-access requirements

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Base salary: To be determined. This role is also eligible for CMG's full benefits package.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Critical Materials Group is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Critical Materials Group