Director, AI Platform & Enablement

About the role

CoinDesk is the most trusted media, events, indices and data company for the global crypto economy. Since 2013, CoinDesk Media has led the story of the future of money and investing, illuminating the transformation in society and culture that comes with it. Our award-winning team of journalists delivers news and unparalleled insights that bring transparency, comprehension and context.

CoinDesk Events gathers the global crypto, blockchain and Web3 communities at annual events such as Consensus, the world's largest and longest-running crypto festival. CoinDesk Indices offers expertise in digital asset indices, data and research to educate and empower investors.

In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange.

Reports to: Chief Technology Officer

Engineering Organization & Culture

At Bullish, we are engineering the institutional standard for the digital asset industry. Our mission is to build a platform centered on security and compliance, requiring a commitment to technical excellence that extends beyond delivering code. As a global organization, we set a high bar for those driven to do their best work alongside experienced, deeply specialized peers.

Engineers here treat development as a craft and own the outcome from concept to deployment. Our teams bring structure to ambiguity and shape the frameworks that support a global organization. We refuse to compromise on quality and seek problem solvers who thrive on complex technical challenges with real market consequences.

The Role

As Head of AI Platform & Enablement, you will own enterprise AI strategy and delivery for Bullish Group. You will drive employee adoption, partner with business leaders to improve workflows, and lead the development of shared AI capabilities. You will work with Platform Engineering on the infrastructure supporting these capabilities and be accountable for delivery and measurable business results.

You will be the first hire in this function, working hands-on while building the team. The role requires the technical depth to lead AI architecture decisions, the business judgment to set priorities, and the communication skills to work effectively with executives, engineers, and business teams.

What You'll Do

• Own enterprise AI strategy for Bullish Group. Identify the most valuable opportunities across business functions, set priorities, and take responsibility for delivery.
• Build and lead the AI Platform & Enablement team. Partner with recruiting to hire the team, and develop and retain its members.
• Own the AI capability roadmap and lead development of shared services, including agents, connectors, a skills library, and discovery tools. Partner with Platform Engineering on infrastructure, deployment, reliability, and provider management.
• Lead enterprise AI tool rollout, access, administration, and adoption. Coordinate vendor requirements with Platform Engineering and connector security reviews with Security.
• Build practical training programs for employees with different needs and skill levels, including baseline training, low-code workshops, bespoke training, and internal hackathons.
• Work directly with business teams to redesign workflows and deliver solutions, building forward-deployed engineering capacity as the function grows.
• Establish clear ownership for deployed solutions, including maintenance, support, and continued improvement. Give business teams the tools and guidance to manage appropriate capabilities independently.
• Set and track measures of adoption, efficiency, and return on investment. Adjust priorities and execution when results fall short.
• Evaluate advances in AI to inform platform and tooling decisions, and report progress, results, and strategic priorities to the CTO and COO.

What You'll Bring

• 10+ years of experience in technical roles, including leadership of engineering or platform teams and a track record of delivering operational change.
• Experience building and developing technical teams, including hiring, setting direction, and managing delivery.
• Deep, current knowledge of AI models, agent systems, MCP, and RAG, backed by hands-on experimentation with emerging capabilities. Ability to assess new approaches, identify practical applications, and guide their adoption into production.
• Hands-on experience building and deploying production AI systems, including agent workflows, tool integrations, evaluation, and guardrails. Familiarity with tools such as LangChain, LangGraph, and Claude or OpenAI APIs.
• Experience designing and operating secure, scalable AI platforms, including custom connectors, agent deployment pipelines, and shared infrastructure. Ability to lead architecture decisions and assess engineering trade-offs.
• A track record of working directly with business leaders and their teams to identify problems, redesign workflows, drive AI adoption, and deliver measurable results.
• In-house experience at a technology-focused organization, with responsibility for setting strategy, prioritizing investment, and delivering outcomes.
• Clear communication and sound judgment, with the ability to influence senior executives, guide engineers, and help business teams put AI to use.

Nice to Haves

• Experience in digital assets, financial services, or media.
• Experience redesigning business processes or leading operational improvement programs.
• Experience establishing a new function, including hiring the team, setting priorities, and putting operating practices in place.
• Active participation in the AI community through technical writing, speaking, open-source contributions, or practitioner groups.

Pay and benefits

Bullish US LLC & CoinDesk Inc. are committed to offering competitive compensation and benefits. The anticipated base salary for this position is $275,000 - $340,000 + discretionary annual target bonus + performance incentives/benefits. Offered salary will be reflective of job related knowledge, skills and commensurate experience.