Incubation Foundry Director

United States (Remote)Full-TimeDirectorOther

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Lead a dynamic, cross-disciplinary incubation services team tasked with facilitating the rapid, disciplined discovery and validation of cutting-edge machine learning and AI innovations aligned with Qualtrics’ strategic priorities.
Drive the incubation pipeline through all stages of maturity, from intake to inception to product/market fit to repeatability and scalability.
Establish lean, agile discovery and experimentation processes that accelerate the path from idea to validated minimum viable product (MVP) and graduated product teams.
Cultivate strong collaboration with core engineering, product management, design, data science, marketing, business development, and go-to-market organizations to ensure a seamless transition of successful incubated technologies into general availability.
Drive culture and mindset that encourages curiosity, experimentation, and rapid learning while balancing risk and business value.
Build strategic roadmaps and prioritize initiatives that explore breakthrough AI technologies with potential for significant competitive advantage.
Drive alignment between research breakthroughs and product execution by fostering a strong partnership between R&D, engineering, and go-to-market teams, ensuring rapid delivery of innovative AI solutions that create measurable business impact.

Expand your experience leading teams focused on innovation and early-stage product development that influence the broader strategy at Qualtrics.
Develop expertise in managing a portfolio of experimental projects, balancing investment and strategic impact to maximize innovation ROI.
Gain exposure to emerging AI trends, integrating scientific advances with real-world product applications at enterprise scale.
Mentor talented teams to think beyond current constraints and invent new AI capabilities for Qualtrics customers.

Own end-to-end leadership of the Incubation Foundry team’s vision, strategy, and execution, driving discovery efforts that identify and validate novel approaches and technologies.
Foster a highly collaborative environment that encourages creative problem solving across AI research, prototyping, and product integration disciplines.
Establish and drive co-innovation programs to engage with early adopter customers and partners.
Oversee experimental design, rapid prototyping, and iterative testing cycles, deploying prototypes and pilots to showcase potential impact.
Evaluate technical feasibility, scalability, and business viability of cutting-edge AI concepts and champion the strongest candidates for broader adoption.
Represent Qualtrics in external AI innovation communities, conferences, and partnerships to stay ahead of industry trends and attract top technical talent.

Direct experience with programmatic incubation, either as a participant or operator, ideally focused in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, or a related technical field.
10+ years of experience in machine learning, AI research, or data science, including 7+ years in leadership roles managing innovation-focused teams.
Proven success incubating and launching experimental ML/AI projects that matured into impactful products.
Deep knowledge of ML frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch), prototyping tools, and scalable data infrastructure.
Strong strategic vision combined with hands-on experience delivering rapid, iterative experimentation in ambiguous contexts.
Exceptional communication skills and a demonstrated ability to inspire, influence, and align diverse stakeholder groups, including customers
Experience managing forward deployed engineering teams
Experience managing cross-functional teams

We are driven by a rapid pace of learning, exploring the art of the possible, and real-world impact
We believe that structure and discipline enable us to go fast with confidence
We take pride in growing teams of people as well as unlocking new opportunities
We believe in real world impact over purely intellectual or hype-driven projects
We keep our heads in the clouds and feet on the ground

$1800 Experience bonus to be used for an “Experience” of your choosing
QMentorship Program matches you with a mentor inside Qualtrics to get meaningful coaching from someone outside your team.
Amazing QGroup Communities; MOSAIQ, Green Team, Qualtrics Pride, Q&Able, Qualtrics Salute, and Women’s Leadership Development, which exist as places for support, allyship, and advocacy.
For full-time positions, this pay range is for base per year; however, base pay offered within this range may vary depending on location, job-related knowledge, education, skills, and experience. A sign-on bonus and restricted stock units may be included in an employment offer. Full-time employees are eligible for medical, dental, vision, life and disability, 401(k) with match, paid time off, a wellness reimbursement, mental health benefits, and an experience bonus. For a detailed look at our benefits, visit Qualtrics US Benefits.