Lead AI Strategist

Job description

ABOUT DISTYL AI Distyl is an applied AI technology company partnering with the world’s most ambitious institutions to rearchitect critical operations for the frontier of AI. Our customers include the largest companies in telecom, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, consumer goods, and global social organizations. We research and deploy technologies that power AI-native operations — both for our partners and for Distyl itself. Our work spans research into self-constructing systems, the development of the most reliable execution of AI systems, and products that transform mission-critical workflows. As a result, Distyl's technologies affect some of the world's largest operations — from hundreds of millions of consumer interactions to tens of millions of supply chain transactions and millions of patient journeys. Distyl is backed by leading investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Coatue, DST Global, and the board-members of 20+ F500s. WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR As a Lead AI Strategist, you are the partner our largest customers turn to when they rethink how their business runs on AI. You work alongside CIOs, COOs, and their leadership teams on the technology and business strategy that reshapes how a company operates — and that partnership becomes some of Distyl’s deepest, fastest-growing relationships. These are companies with hundreds of thousands of employees and problems measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars. You learn their business better than almost anyone outside it, bring Distyl’s engineers and researchers to their hardest problems, and own the outcome — as a strategic partner, not a vendor. The relationships you build run into the tens of millions of dollars a year and grow from there. The revenue is the result of trust, not a pitch. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES - Be the strategist in the room. Sit with CIOs, COOs, and their teams on where AI changes their business. Bring a point of view they can’t get from their own staff, and shape the technology and operating strategy — not a product pitch - Understand the business cold. Learn how the customer makes money and where the friction is. Find the problems worth hundreds of millions to solve, and frame them in their language, not Distyl’s - Turn strategy into outcomes. Translate executive conversations into real programs, mobilize Distyl’s forward-deployed engineers and researchers, and stay accountable to the metric that has to move - Grow the relationship. Expand from a first program into a portfolio across business units and budgets. Done well, these become Distyl’s largest relationships — tens of millions a year and climbing - Earn trust over the long run. Make the call that serves the customer even when it costs Distyl in the short term. That is what keeps a relationship compounding - Be the connective tissue. Align Distyl’s delivery, product, and research teams behind the commitments you make, and give leadership a clear read — explanations and plans, not excuses WHO YOU ARE - A track record as a trusted advisor to senior executives — CIOs, COOs, and their peers — at large enterprises. The person leaders call before they’ve decided what to do - 10-15+ years of experience in management consulting, an operational/ transformation leadership role within large enterprises, or product leadership role within enterprise technology companies - Experience in standing up and delivering strategic agendas ($100M+ value impact) with cross-functional executive team - shaping roadmaps, driving scoping and discovery, establishing ROI and value case for funding approvals - Fluency in both technology and business strategy: you can hold a conversation on architecture and on the P&L, and translate between the two - Experience turning strategic relationships into large, multi-year programs — and growing them - Command of complex, multi-stakeholder enterprise dynamics — procurement, security, legal, and competing internal agendas — without ever reading as a salesperson - AI-native instincts: you use frontier AI tools yourself and can speak credibly about what they change for a business - The judgment to tell a customer a hard truth, including when not to buy. Serve, don’t sell. - A history of leading large-scale enterprise programs — transformations with significant budgets ($XXM+) and many moving parts - You’ve been the person an executive team trusts with their biggest technology-driven bets WHAT WE OFFER - The base salary range for this role is $200 – $250K, depending on experience, location, and level. In addition to base compensation, this role is eligible for meaningful equity, along with a comprehensive benefits package - 100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance for employee and dependents - Flexible time off - Retirement and financial planning benefits, including access to pre-tax HSA, FSA, and commuter accounts, 401(k), and financial coaching resources - Comprehensive wellness benefits, including physical fitness, mental well-being, and fertility and family-building benefits through Carrot - Complimentary in-office lunches and snacks provided - Access to state-of-the-art AI models, generous usage of modern AI tools, and real-world business problems - Ownership of high-impact projects across top enterprises - A mission-driven, fast-moving culture that values curiosity, pragmatism, and excellence Distyl has offices in San Francisco and New York. This role follows a hybrid collaboration model with 3+ days per week (Tuesday–Thursday) in‑office. We believe diverse perspectives make our work stronger and more impactful. We are an equal opportunity employer and evaluate all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply.