Chief AI Officer

Fidus is a global high-tech design firm headquartered in Ottawa, with additional design centres in Kitchener-Waterloo and San Jose. We specialize in leading-edge electronic product development, with hardware, embedded software, FPGA/ASIC, and signal integrity teams working together to design and deliver next-generation products for clients in emerging technology markets. Reporting to our CEO, the Chief AI Officer will lead our AI transformation - own and drive our AI strategy, roadmap, and adoption. What You'll Be Doing: • AI Strategy & Roadmap • Own and drive the company-wide AI strategy, roadmap, and governance framework • Define the multi-year vision for AI adoption across service delivery, business development, and operations • Lead prioritization of AI initiatives against revenue, margin, and competitive differentiation outcomes • Report to the CEO on AI transformation progress; own the AI KPI scorecard • AI-Enabled Products & Services • Collaborate with CTO and Delivery Leaders to identify and build net-new AI-enabled service offerings that expand Fidus's addressable market — e.g., AI-assisted SI/PI analysis, automated design review, embedded AI in customer product development • Lead productization of Fidus's engineering expertise into scalable, repeatable AI-augmented deliverables • Partner with discipline leads (FPGA, SI/PI, Layout, Software, Hardware, ASIC) to embed AI tooling into delivery workflows • Establish IP strategy around proprietary AI methods and tooling developed internally • AI Adoption & Change Management • Drive measurable adoption of AI tools across all teams — engineering, operations, and business development • Design and execute a structured change management program: enablement, training, and accountability • Define and own adoption KPIs: cycle time reduction, AI-assisted delivery percentage, proposal and BD efficiency • Champion a culture of experimentation while maintaining rigorous quality standards in safety-critical engineering environments • Data Strategy & Infrastructure (in partnership with IT) • Partner with IT to define and evolve Fidus's data architecture, governance, and quality standards as the foundation for AI capability • Collaborate with IT to build and maintain the data platform required to support AI model development, training, and deployment • Partner with IT and Legal to ensure data practices meet compliance requirements including ITAR, export control, and client NDA obligations • Work closely with IT and engineering leadership to instrument delivery processes for systematic data capture and to maintain data quality at the source • Client-Facing AI Leadership • Serve as Fidus's external AI authority — engaging clients, strategic partners, and industry forums • Advise clients on AI integration into their hardware, firmware, and systems product development programs • Support channel and business development by articulating Fidus's AI differentiation to silicon vendors, EDA partners, and the broader partner ecosystem • Build & Lead the AI Organization • Hire, develop, and manage the AI function — engineers, data scientists, and ML operations • Define the organizational model: centralized Center of Excellence or embedded discipline-level AI leads • Manage AI vendor and tool relationships — model providers, MLOps platforms, and data tooling — in coordination with IT procurement and security standards Requirements Who You Are • Services industry experience: Proven track record of driving AI adoption and transformation inside a services or professional services organization — not a product company. You understand the utilization model, the people dynamics of a billable delivery environment, and how to drive change without disrupting client commitments • AI transformation leadership: 10+ years in technology leadership; 3+ years in a senior AI/ML leadership role with demonstrated organizational impact. You have taken AI from concept to deployed, production-grade capability in an organization that did not start AI-native • Deep data background: Hands-on expertise in data architecture, data governance, and ML pipeline development. Skilled at working across functional boundaries — able to engage credibly with both engineers and IT leadership, not just manage upward • Product development experience: Demonstrated experience building AI-enabled products or productized service offerings, from ideation through commercialization • Execution track record: History of executing on strategic roadmaps under ambiguity with measurable business outcomes — revenue, margin, efficiency. You ship • Executive communication: Able to translate AI strategy into board-level narrative and into day-to-day engineering direction. Equally fluent in both registers Strong Preference • Background in engineering services, EDA, semiconductor, or adjacent deep-tech industries • Familiarity with safety-critical or regulated engineering environments: A&D, medical, automotive • Experience in