OVERVIEW

Frontier is seeking a director to lead our rapidly growing AI practice. The senior director reports directly to our CEO and is responsible for developing new business, managing relationships with existing clients, leading our team of talented engineers and advisors, and pioneering new capability development. We are seeking an experienced leader and creative problem solver who is passionate about serving mission-driven clients and expanding our impact.

Frontier Design partners with brave leaders to imagine and build what’s next across the U.S. Government,with leading AI labs, for Fortune 500 firms, and in partnership with non-profits, universities and foundations. We build:

• Secure and responsible AI models
• Measurable impact for mission-driven organizations
• Learning and development experiences that transform organizations, and Data tools that surface actionable insight

Our AI practice is focused on:

• AI Risk Evaluation & Threat Mitigation: Helping Frontier AI labs and other mission-driven organizations understand the risks of their deployments, ranging from potentially catastrophic consequences (e.g., biological weapons risk), to user-centered risk (e.g., poor user experiences with an AI tool undermining an organization’s mission).
• AI Training Data & Language Services: We specialize in sourcing, recording, and transcribing speech and text in 250+ languages, including rare and endangered languages with limited digital presence. We also design and execute human annotation workflows to evaluate model-generated translations, including fluency, equivalence, and contextual relevance.
• AI Workforce Training: We partner with organizations to increase AI adoption and upskill workforces to leverage AI tools for maximum impact.

Our interdisciplinary team is creative and analytical, combining our expertise as engineers, designers, evaluators, strategists, innovators and storytellers. We believe in delivering radical value, delighting our clients with exceptional quality and wowing them with our cost-effectiveness. Our company culture sets us apart from our peers, unleashing colleagues to be their best selves – bold, empowered leaders with a lot of heart! See our values for more details.
We work globally and locally in the U.S., with a wide variety of world class organizations across industries including federal and state governments, non-profit organizations, academia, foundations and the private sector. While headquartered in Alexandria, VA, our organizational construct is largely “virtual”, which offers us the opportunity to employ remarkable talent regardless of physical location. For team members in the Washington, DC area, we utilize shared office spaces for in-person meetings as needed. To learn more about Frontier Design please visit www.imaginefrontier.com.

REQUIRED SKILLS & MINDSETS

Background

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in a relevant field
• 7+ years of experience or 5+ years of experience with a Master’s degree
• Ability to develop effective working relationships with key internal and external contacts
• Candidates selected for this position must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. U.S. citizenship is a requirement for DOD security clearance eligibility

Business Development and Leadership

• Experience managing the profit and loss of a fast-paced business.
• Experience and excitement for leading a rapidly growing practice within Frontier Design – acquiring new clients, further establishing our reputation, and carving out a niche for further growth.
• Skill in developing new partnerships, closing on proposals, and networking to develop new client relationships.
• Experience creating compelling slide decks, executive briefings, guidance documents, and more.
• Self-motivated with effective time management skills and an ability to proactively anticipate work requirements with minimal supervision.
• Exceptionally creative and imaginative – ability and excitement to go beyond the conventional options.
• Comfortable as a self-starter & taking initiative.
• Ability to rapidly upskill on the language of tech clients, if not already familiar.

Collaboration and Client Engagement

• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to develop effective and trusted working relationships with a geographically and culturally diverse range of stakeholders from various industries.
• Proven ability to use empathy and others’ perspectives to creatively frame engagements and surface possible solutions.
• Ability to embrace positivity and joy in the virtual work environment.
• Interest & skill in working with more junior staff to help them upskill & learn.

The Senior Director will be responsible for leading and growing Frontier’s AI and Emerging Tech Practice (Frontier AI). They will report directly to the CEO and COO/CFO.
This director would serve as an experienced leader and creative consultant on our team of management consultants, designers, policy advisors, researchers, and organizational coaches. We are growing quickly and seek an experienced problem solver who can immediately jump into a variety of projects across Frontier’s diverse client base.
Primary responsibilities include growing the AI and technology business; ensuring the successful delivery of existing work and follow-on contracts to include managing strategic partnerships, hiring personnel, managing P&L and developing the team.

Developing Frontier AI’s Business

• Growing the AI and technology business.
• Responsible for strategic partnerships and hiring.
• Responsible for managing P&L.
• Developing strategic plans and business development roadmaps for Frontier AI.

Client Engagement & Management

• Ensuring the successful delivery of existing work and follow-on contracts.
• Leading the delivery of AI client engagement.
• Managing key client relationships.
• Cultivating deep technical expertise in AI safety and related solutions.

Type of position: Full-time
Compensation: Base salary of $165,000 - $250,000 with performance-based bonuses and benefits commensurate with experience and education.
In addition to a competitive base salary, Frontier offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes flexible work schedules, 20 days of paid time off, 11 paid federal holidays, immediate 401K contribution, health/dental & vision insurance and more.
Requirements: