VP of AI

Location: Hybrid; remote within the UK or London office. Travel to customers and sites is required.

Company

hirify.global develops Orbital, a physics-grounded AI copilot for heavy industrial systems, including refineries, upstream assets, and energy-intensive plants.

What you will do

• Set AI strategy, innovation priorities, and the research agenda in alignment with commercial needs and customer demand.
• Define valuable industrial problems, intended users, required outcomes, feasibility, and evidence of success for AI initiatives.
• Lead customer, executive, CEO, and board-level discussions about AI capabilities, limitations, commitments, and delivery approaches.
• Lead the AI function, including management of the Director of AI Research, hiring, organisational planning, budget, performance, and people responsibilities.
• Coordinate AI, Product, and Technology to deliver reliable systems from problem definition through deployment and user adoption.
• Anticipate opportunities across refining, petrochemicals, upstream, and adjacent industrial and energy-intensive sectors.

Requirements

• Strong understanding of oil and gas, petrochemicals, or the wider energy sector, including operational users and commercially valuable problems.
• Experience taking industrial technology from problem identification through deployment and user adoption.
• A track record of leading technical teams and owning strategy, hiring, and budget.
• Sufficient understanding of AI and technology delivery to assess established applications, challenge assumptions, and recognise when deeper technical validation is required.
• Experience leading customer discussions and translating operational needs into actionable technical priorities.
• Ability to communicate clearly with industrial users, researchers, commercial leaders, and board-level stakeholders.
• Sound judgement under ambiguity, with the confidence to make decisions and take responsibility for commitments.
• Willingness to learn new industrial domains and travel to customers and sites.

Nice to have

• Deep experience in refining or petrochemicals.
• Experience delivering AI-enabled industrial solutions.
• Exposure to upstream operations or other energy-intensive industries.
• Experience leading within a growing industrial technology business.

Culture & Benefits

• AI priorities are guided by industrial value, user adoption, and what works in production.
• Research investment anticipates demand while maintaining accountability for current commitments.
• Commitments are made with clear understanding of feasibility, constraints, risks, and dependencies.
• Researchers receive clear direction and protection from unfiltered customer requests so they can focus on execution.
• Progress, risks, and delivery responsibilities are surfaced early and owned across AI, Product, and Technology.