Chief AI Officer (CAIO) / Head of AI-ML

CONFIDENTIAL RETAINED SEARCH

We are conducting a confidential, retained search for a chief AI officer at an AI-driven drug discovery, digital health, or life sciences technology company in the San Diego and CaliBaja region. The CAIO will define and execute enterprise AI strategy across R&D, discovery, and clinical operations, in partnership with the CEO or CSO. We seek leaders who have deployed AI systems in a regulated industry.

Search Reference: TNF-LS-CAIO-2026 | Enterprise AI Leadership Mandate, Life Sciences

ABOUT THIS SEARCH

Top Notch Finders holds an exclusive, strictly confidential retained search for a Chief AI Officer, also known as Head of AI/ML. To protect our client and every candidate, we disclose the company’s identity and the specifics of its location only to qualified candidates under a confidentiality agreement. In addition, Top Notch Finders receives and manages every inquiry and application directly.

THE CHIEF AI OFFICER OPPORTUNITY

This emerging C-suite function exists because AI investment keeps accelerating. However, many organizations still struggle to scale AI beyond pilots. As a result, this executive closes the execution gap between promising models and everyday discovery and clinical decisions.

MARKET CONTEXT

Life sciences companies now create C-suite roles dedicated to AI. Because the execution gap persists, these leaders must combine deep technical expertise with regulatory discipline. Therefore, we look for executives who can turn technical capability into business and clinical value.

For a deeper look at how we evaluate and hire senior leaders in this industry, read our The 2026 San Diego Life Sciences Executive Search Hiring Guide. It explains our approach to executive search for AI, data science, and R&D leadership roles.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Define the enterprise-wide AI/ML strategy across drug discovery, clinical development, and operations.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams of AI/ML engineers, data scientists, and life sciences domain experts.
• Evaluate and deploy transformer-based architectures, generative AI, and multi-modal data platforms.
• Partner with the CSO and CMO to embed AI tools into discovery and clinical decision-making workflows.
• Ensure responsible AI governance, data privacy, and regulatory compliance for AI-driven tools.
• Represent the AI strategy and platform capability to investors, partners, and the board.
• Build internal upskilling programs to close organizational AI capability gaps.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• An advanced degree in computer science, AI/ML, biomedical informatics, or a related field.
• Deep technical expertise in machine learning, generative AI, and multi-modal data architectures.
• Experience deploying AI systems within a regulated industry such as life sciences, healthcare, or pharma.
• A track record of leading multidisciplinary technical teams.
• The ability to translate technical AI capability into business and clinical value for non-technical stakeholders.
• We will consider candidates from Director level through the full C-suite, depending on company stage.

HOW TO APPLY IN CONFIDENCE

This is a discreet, retained engagement. We will never present your candidacy to any organization without your explicit prior authorization. In addition, the hiring company cannot see any application at this stage.

If you are an accomplished AI or data science leader and want to be considered as our next chief AI officer, please submit your resume in confidence through the Top Notch Finders website. Reference search code TNF-LS-CAIO-2026 in your submission. However, do not include patient-identifiable, trial-blinded, or other confidential clinical information of any kind in your application materials. We will contact only the candidates whose backgrounds align closely with the mandate.