Director of AI Operations

Build the operating system for an AI-native company Galang AI is looking for a rare kind of leader: a world-class operator who treats AI as a practical operating advantage—not a presentation topic. You will run and continuously improve the systems that turn our strategy into execution across company operations, client delivery, people, planning, finance, risk, and internal technology. You will also lead our own AI-forward transformation: identifying high-value opportunities, redesigning workflows, deploying the right mix of automation and human judgment, and proving the business impact. This is not a pure MLOps, data science, or model-infrastructure position. It is a senior operating leadership role for someone who can move fluidly between an executive planning session, a client-delivery review, a process map, a financial forecast, and an AI-enabled workflow. If you have ever thought, “There has to be a better way to run this—and I can build it,” we want to meet you. About Galang AI Galang AI helps organizations move from scattered AI experiments to practical, trusted, AI-native operations. We combine operator experience, business-process understanding, and AI implementation skill to build solutions around the way people actually work—without forcing unnecessary platform changes or heavy change-management programs. Our mission is to help organizations use AI in practical, trusted, operationally grounded ways—from strategy through implementation—so AI becomes real business leverage instead of hype, unused subscriptions, or disconnected pilots. Founded in Virginia in 2025, Galang AI has quickly grown from a passion project into an AI consultancy serving organizations across healthcare, community management, media, finance, and government-adjacent work. Galang AI was recognized by the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity as a 2026 SWaMmy Honors recipient for rapid growth and the impact of SWaM certification on our early success. We are an SBA-certified Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) , a Virginia-certified SWaM business, and an active SAM.gov registrant. We are also a member of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program and a Zapier Silver partner. Our operating philosophy is simple: Zero Friction. Infinite Leverage. Build around the real workflow first. Change the process only where it creates clear value. What you will own 1. Company operating system and strategic execution Translate founder and leadership priorities into annual, quarterly, and weekly operating plans. Establish a clear operating cadence for priorities, decisions, metrics, risks, and follow-through. Create role clarity, decision rights, accountability, and escalation paths across employees, contractors, and partners. Build executive dashboards and concise decision briefs that make the health of the business visible. Identify constraints early, recommend tradeoffs, and drive decisions to closure. 2. AI-native operational transformation Build and maintain an enterprise-wide portfolio of AI, automation, and process-improvement opportunities. Prioritize use cases by business value, effort, risk, data readiness, and adoption likelihood—not novelty. Redesign high-friction workflows and deploy practical solutions using copilots, agents, intelligent automation, knowledge systems, and conventional software where appropriate. Establish reusable patterns, playbooks, guardrails, and human-in-the-loop controls for responsible AI use. Partner with technical resources to move solutions from prototype to reliable day-to-day operation. Measure adoption, time saved, quality, cost, throughput, and return on investment. 3. Client delivery and portfolio operations Own the operating rhythm for client delivery: portfolio reviews, staffing, capacity, milestones, dependencies, risks, quality, and margin. Ensure every engagement has a clear owner, scope, success measures, communication plan, and acceptance path. Improve handoffs from business development through scoping, delivery, adoption, and expansion. Develop repeatable delivery playbooks without sacrificing Galang AI’s customized, low-friction approach. Surface at-risk work early and coordinate decisive recovery plans. 4. Financial and business operations Partner with the founders and financial advisors on budgets, forecasts, cash planning, pricing, utilization, and investment decisions. Improve visibility into revenue, pipeline conversion, gross margin, delivery economics, vendor spend, and resource allocation. Strengthen contracting, procurement, vendor management, insurance, records, and administrative workflows. 5. People, talent, and culture Build a high-accountability, high-trust environment where talented people can do their best work. Lead workforce planning, recruiting operations, onboarding, goal setting, feedback, performance management, and professional development. Design roles and team structures that combine human expertise with AI-enabled leverage. Coach team members and managers to improve judgment, communication, prioritization, and execution. 6. Risk, governance, and operational trust Embed security, privacy, quality, records, client commitments, and responsible-AI practices into normal operations. Support the operational requirements associated with government-adjacent work and company certifications, including SWaM, WOSB/EDWOSB, SAM.gov, and CMMC Level 1. Maintain clear ownership for incidents, risks, exceptions, and corrective actions. Ensure the company can move quickly while preserving human review for consequential decisions. Required qualifications 10+ years of progressive experience across operations, business transformation, technology-enabled services, professional services, consulting, or a related field. 5+ years leading teams and complex cross-functional programs with accountable business outcomes. A record of building or substantially improving an operating system in a growing or changing organization. Demonstrated success using AI, automation, data, or digital tools to improve real workflows—not only evaluating or presenting them. Strong command of planning, program execution, KPIs, budgets, forecasting, resource allocation, and risk management. Experience leading client-delivery or service-delivery operations, including scope, staffing, quality, timeline, and economics. Ability to translate between executives, operators, clients, and technical teams. Exceptional written communication, facilitation, prioritization, and follow-through. Comfort operating in ambiguity, making decisions with incomplete information, and switching between strategy and hands-on execution. Sound judgment with sensitive business, employee, and client information. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and directly relevant experience. Preferred qualifications Experience in an AI, automation, SaaS, technology consulting, management consulting, digital-transformation, or government-contracting environment. Working fluency with generative AI, copilots, agentic workflows, workflow automation, knowledge systems, and AI governance. Experience implementing change-management and adoption programs for technical and nontechnical teams. Familiarity with professional-services economics, utilization, project accounting, recurring revenue, and vendor/contractor models. Experience supporting public-sector or regulated clients and security/compliance frameworks. Experience building in a founder-led, early-stage, or high-growth business. MBA or advanced degree, or relevant credentials in program management, process improvement, change management, security, or AI governance. Compensation The good-faith base salary range for this position is $185,000 to $235,000 per year . The anticipated hiring range will depend on the candidate’s directly relevant experience, demonstrated operating and AI-transformation capability, leadership scope, and the final design of the role. This position is also expected to be eligible for: A 20% target annual performance bonus , tied to company and individual outcomes. A long-term incentive opportunity , which may be structured as equity, profits interests, or an equivalent value-sharing plan, subject to final plan approval and governing documents. Potential sign-on or make-whole consideration for exceptional candidates when justified. Health and protection Medical insurance with 100% of the employee premium and 75% of dependent premiums paid by Galang AI. Dental and vision insurance with 100% of the employee premium paid by Galang AI. Employer-funded HSA contribution when enrolled in an eligible high-deductible plan. Company-paid basic life, accidental death and dismemberment, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance. Wealth and ownership 401(k), including Roth option, with a dollar-for-dollar company match on the first 6% of eligible compensation and immediate vesting, subject to plan terms. Time and flexibility 20 days of vacation/personal time in the first year. 10 days of paid sick and wellness leave . 12 paid company holidays , plus a paid year-end closure of at least five business days. 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave for birth, adoption, or foster placement. Up to four weeks of paid family-caregiver leave . Five paid volunteer days each year. A four-week paid sabbatical after five years of service. Growth and modern work $5,000 annual professional-development budget for courses, conferences, coaching, or certifications. Company-paid access to the AI tools, software, and learning resources needed to stay at the forefront of the field. $2,500 home-office setup allowance and up to $200 per month for internet/mobile connectivity. Paid professional memberships and relevant certification maintenance. #J-18808-Ljbffr Galang AI