CTO - Director of AI Engineering - NCT

Banyan Software

4d • Remote

About The Position

Next Chapter Technology (NCT), an operating company of Banyan Software, is seeking a Head of AI Engineering to lead its transformation into an AI-first platform. This is a hands-on role for an elite engineer focused on modernizing a mission-critical content and workflow management platform called CaseWorks, used in county-level Health and Human Services operations. The initial focus is on personally designing, building, and proving the first AI-driven capability, delivering measurable customer value before expanding the team. Once the AI factory is established, the role will involve people management, scaling, and upskilling the engineering team. This is not a hands-off management or slide-deck architect position; a strong commitment to day-to-day technical execution is required.

Requirements

• 8+ years of hands-on software engineering with a proven track record of modernizing complex architectures and establishing cloud-native/DevSecOps practices.
• Documented history of shipping functional AI/ML systems end-to-end to real users (data pipelines, modeling, deployment, and monitoring). You treat AI tooling as the core foundation of engineering productivity.
• Experience as a founding or first AI engineer who is completely comfortable delivering baseline architecture independently before relying on a large team.
• Exceptional judgment regarding build-vs-buy decisions and the patience required to guide a 15-year-old Microsoft-stack platform through a modernization step-change.
• Proven track record of managing engineering teams and a genuine desire to develop technical talent rather than operating in a silo.
• Radical Humility: Possess strong commercial acumen and an exploratory mindset, but earn trust through coachability and clear-eyed self-awareness.
• Must be US-based and fully eligible for government-adjacent/public-sector compliance work.

Nice To Haves

• Direct GovTech, public sector, or federal case management software experience.
• Familiarity with the Microsoft AI stack (Azure ML, Azure OpenAI integrations) given the CaseWorks platform heritage.
• Experience managing, coordinating, or collaborating with distributed/offshore engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• AI-First Modernization (Hands-On): Personally design and build NCT's foundational AI capabilities (RAG systems, code generation, LLM orchestration, and multi-agent workflows) to analyze legacy code and generate production-ready services.
• Platform Modernization: Pragmatically refactor legacy components into scalable, cloud-native services and replace manual workflows with AI-driven automation without succumbing to the temptation of a wholesale platform rewrite.
• Phased Engineering Leadership: Once the AI factory is proven solo, you will assume direct delivery outcomes: managing team execution, elevating talent density, setting engineering rhythms, and mentoring developers into an AI-native way of working.
• Safe, Compliant Execution: Safely deploy features (utilizing feature flags, shadow mode, and monitoring) while strictly operating within government-adjacent and public-sector compliance frameworks (HIPAA, CJIS).
• Banyan Ecosystem Partnership: Act as the core technical partner to the CEO while collaborating with Banyan's centralized AI initiatives to accelerate localized product value.

Benefits

• A Permanent Home, Not a Portfolio Play: Banyan buys, holds, and grows companies for life. We never resell. You can invest in real architectural health and long-term value without an arbitrary 3-to-5-year exit clock cutting your work short.
• True Autonomy with Enterprise Backing: Complete ownership of the AI strategy, tool choices, and engineering execution, combined with the financial stability and shared expertise of a global network.
• Built-In Peer Network: Gain immediate access to a vibrant community of Banyan operating company leaders sharing playbooks, lessons, and real-world tech-stack modernizations.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed