SVP, Chief AI Officer

Rackspace

5d

About The Position

Rackspace is at an inflection point. AI is no longer a supporting theme — it is the central strategic lever for how we operate, compete, and grow. This role exists because AI requires more than executive sponsorship; it requires a full-time operator with authority, financial accountability, and the discipline to convert narrative into measurable impact.

The Chief AI Officer will own four interconnected mandates: driving internal productivity and cost discipline, building monetizable customer AI offerings, maintaining strategic market intelligence, and incubating focused AI IP through a lean Labs function. This is a P&L-accountable role with cross-functional authority across IT, Product, Engineering, and Delivery — and compensation tied directly to outcomes. Reports directly to the CEO.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or related technical field required
• 15+ years of progressive technology leadership, with at least 7 years in senior roles operating at the intersection of AI, cloud infrastructure, and commercial strategy
• Demonstrated track record of translating AI initiatives into quantifiable business outcomes — revenue generated, costs reduced, efficiency delivered
• Experience operating in or alongside managed services, cloud, or enterprise infrastructure businesses strongly preferred
• Prior P&L ownership or accountability for a business unit, product line, or cost center
• Deep fluency in the current AI landscape: foundation models, inference infrastructure, agent frameworks, AI governance, and enterprise deployment patterns
• Ability to operate simultaneously as strategist, operator, and commercial leader — without losing effectiveness in any mode
• Strong executive communication skills; able to advise a Board, align a sales force, and challenge an engineering team in the same week
• Financial discipline: comfortable building business cases, owning targets, and reporting results with rigor
• Partner ecosystem fluency, particularly with hyperscalers, infrastructure ISVs, and AI platform vendors
• Comfortable making decisions with incomplete information in a fast-moving market
• Earns cross-functional trust quickly; can lead without direct control
• Holds themselves and their team to high standards; ties effort to outcomes relentlessly

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in AI, Machine Learning, Computer Science, or related field strongly preferred
• Experience operating in or alongside managed services, cloud, or enterprise infrastructure businesses strongly preferred

Responsibilities

• Internal Productivity and Cost Discipline: Own and drive engineering productivity lift targets, measured through cycle time, code velocity, and defect reduction; Lead AI-driven cost reduction initiatives across IT and support functions; Conduct a full audit and rationalization of Rackspace's AI licensing footprint, eliminating duplicative programs and spend; Report quarterly on quantified productivity gains with results tied directly to compensation milestones
• Customer AI Offerings and Sales Plays: Define and launch 3–5 standardized AI sales plays segmented by vertical and workload within the first 6 months; Translate Rackspace's private cloud and AI runtime capabilities into packaged go-to-market motions; Embed AI positioning into key partner relationships including VMware, Palantir, Uniphore, and Rubrik; Equip the Sales organization with clear AI messaging, competitive framing, and active deal support; Establish tracking infrastructure for AI-influenced pipeline and revenue attribution
• Market Intelligence and Strategic Translation: Monitor model releases, inference economics, developer ecosystem shifts, and AI governance developments on a continuous basis; Translate market shifts into concrete strategy adjustments within 30–60 days of identification; Advise the CEO, marketing leadership, and Board on AI competitive positioning and narrative; Drive AI messaging alignment across earnings communications, analyst relations, and partner narratives; Deliver a formal competitive brief to the CEO and Board on a quarterly cadence
• AI Labs and Incubation: Lead a lean AI Labs function with a bias toward speed and commercial relevance; Incubate 1–2 focused, defensible IP assets per year aligned to GTM priorities; Apply rigorous ROI discipline — kill low-return experiments quickly and reallocate resources; Ensure Labs output directly supports customer-facing revenue strategy, not standalone research

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive