Overview
About the Role & Team
IDC is seeking a transformative AI leader to define and execute our enterprise-wide AI strategy—embedding cutting-edge artificial intelligence across both internal operations and customer-facing products. This is a rare opportunity to shape how a global data and intelligence company harnesses AI, from agentic workflows and large language models to predictive analytics and AI-native product experiences. Reporting directly to the CTO, the VP of AI will lead a high-performing technical team, partner across business units, and drive measurable business impact through intelligent, responsible, and scalable AI solutions. The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise in modern AI—including generative AI, LLMs, and agentic systems—with the strategic acumen to align AI investments to revenue growth and competitive differentiation. IDC sits at the intersection of proprietary data, expert human insight, and global technology reach—an ideal foundation for AI transformation. Key opportunity areas include: AI-augmented research & analyst productivity — deploying LLM-powered tools to accelerate data synthesis, report generation, and market forecasting. Intelligent data products — embedding predictive models and AI-driven insights directly into IDC's subscription and advisory offerings. Agentic content & marketing workflows — leveraging generative AI to personalize content, automate content pipelines, and optimize Foundry's MarTech capabilities. Enterprise AI infrastructure — building shared platforms, APIs, and MLOps practices that enable AI adoption at scale across all IDC business units.
What You’ll Do
AI Strategy & Vision:
Partner with the CEO, CTO, CIO, and business unit heads to define IDC's multi-year AI roadmap—spanning generative AI, agentic systems, predictive analytics, and AI-native product development.
Technical Leadership:
Architect and oversee IDC's AI platform and infrastructure, ensuring scalability, security, and alignment with enterprise data strategy.
Product Delivery:
Develop and execute IDC’s approach to agentic AI technology, thereby delivering the centerpiece of IDC Quanta, our cross-channel technology intelligence layer.
Team Building:
Recruit, develop, and retain a world-class AI team spanning ML engineers, data scientists, AI product managers, and MLOps specialists.
Stakeholder Alignment:
Translate complex AI capabilities into clear business value for executives and department heads; maintain transparent goals and resource planning.
Ecosystem & Partnerships:
Evaluate and manage AI technology partnerships, vendor relationships, and open-source contributions to accelerate IDC's AI capabilities.
What You Bring
PhD. or Master's degree in Computer Science, AI/ML, Statistics, or a related quantitative field (or equivalent experience).
7+ years of experience in applied machine learning, AI engineering, or data science—with at least 3 years in senior technical leadership roles.
Demonstrated track record of delivering AI-powered products and platforms that generated measurable business impact (revenue growth, cost reduction, or product differentiation).
Deep expertise in modern AI/ML and agentic/generative systems design.
Hands-on fluency with generative AI technologies: LLM fine-tuning, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), prompt engineering, and agentic frameworks (e.g., LangChain, LlamaIndex, AutoGen).
Strong engineering foundation: Python, SQL, cloud ML platforms (AWS SageMaker, GCP Vertex AI, or Azure ML), and modern MLOps practices (CI/CD, model monitoring, feature stores).
Experience building and managing diverse, cross-functional AI teams in fast-paced environments.
Outstanding communication skills—able to translate AI concepts for non-technical executives and inspire confidence at board level.
Preferred
Experience in media, data/intelligence, B2B SaaS, or MarTech industries.
Familiarity with knowledge graphs, semantic search, or AI applications in content and market research workflows.
Experience with responsible AI frameworks, model governance, and AI regulatory compliance (EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF).
Track record of building AI developer platforms or shared ML infrastructure used by multiple product teams.
Location
This role is open for remote US location or for a hybrid work schedule in our office in downtown Boston, MA.
Why This Role Stands Out
At IDC, your work helps shape how the world understands technology and where it goes next. You collaborate with curious, high-caliber colleagues who value rigor, integrity, and shared success. As the premier global provider of trusted technology intelligence, IDC equips business and technology leaders with the evidence they need to make confident decisions. Our insights inform strategy, investment, and innovation across industries and regions.
Recognized by IIAR as Analyst Firm of the Year for five consecutive years, IDC sets the standard for credibility and impact. With more than 1,000 analysts worldwide and a truly global perspective, we combine deep expertise with practical relevance. Here, your ideas matter, your voice is heard, and your contributions provide the insights leaders rely on every day. It is meaningful work, backed by a culture that supports growth, collaboration, and long-term career development with a globally respected brand.
What We Offer
15 vacation days (prorated based on start date)
12 company-paid holidays
6 paid sick days (prorated based on start date; may vary by state)
Medical, dental, and vision coverage
2 floating holidays (prorated based on start date)
1 volunteer day
401(k) company match (IDC matches 3% on the first 6% of employee contributions)
Company-paid short-term disability
Company-paid life insurance
Company-paid parental leave
Compensation Transparency
At IDC, we are committed to fair and equitable pay practices. Employees are compensated equitably for their work, aligned with their skills and experience. Salary and incentive structures are determined through a rigorous process that considers experience, education, certifications, role-specific requirements, internal equity, and verified U.S. market data from an independent third-party partner.
The expected total annual compensation, depending on location and experience, is between $305,000 – $470,000, inclusive of base salary and variable compensation.
Equal Opportunity Employer
IDC is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all qualified persons. Employment eligibility verification required. We participate in E-Verify.
IDC is currently able to employ remote workers in the following states: Arizona (AZ), California (CA), Colorado (CO), Connecticut (CT), Washington D.C. (DC), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Illinois (IL), Indiana (IN), Kansas (KS), Massachusetts (MA), Maryland (MD), Maine (ME), Michigan (MI), Minnesota (MN), Missouri (MO), Mississippi (MS), North Carolina (NC), New Hampshire (NH), New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY), Ohio (OH), Oregon (OR), Pennsylvania (PA), Rhode Island (RI), South Carolina (SC), Tennessee (TN), Texas (TX), Utah (UT), Virginia (VA), Vermont (VT), Washington (WA), and Wisconsin (WI).
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