VP of AI Solutions

PCI Government Services is seeking a Senior Practice leader to build, shape, and scale an AI capability for the federal market. This role is designed for an executive who has delivered AI in real-world federal environments, understands the tension between ambition and execution, and can translate that judgment into repeatable offerings, credible client advice, and secure delivery.

The role

We are a tribally owned 8(a) small business with a strong record supporting federal missions where data, analytics, and operational reality intersect. Our clients are not asking for experiments. They are asking for AI that works inside real programs, real constraints, and real missions.

This role exists to build that capability deliberately, responsibly, and at scale. It is not about chasing hype. It is about turning AI into a repeatable, trusted service line that federal clients can adopt while helping a growing small business differentiate in a competitive market.

If you have built AI solutions in the real world, understand the tradeoffs between ambition and execution, and want to shape a practice rather than inherit one, this role was designed for you.

What you will do

Practice architecture and strategy

• Define and evolve our AI solutions strategy across data, analytics, automation, and generative AI, grounded in client demand, federal compliance realities, and delivery feasibility.
• Design and oversee reusable AI offerings, including copilots, accelerators, RAG-enabled solutions, and automated workflows deployable across federal programs.
• Make pragmatic build, buy, and partner decisions, balancing speed, risk, and long-term differentiation.
• Establish responsible AI guardrails aligned to the NIST AI RMF, agency governance policies, and federal AI policy frameworks.

Client-facing solution leadership

• Translate complex federal mission needs into architecturally sound AI solutions that agency CIOs, program managers, and contracting officers can adopt.
• Advise senior agency stakeholders with independent credibility on AI adoption, change management, and organizational readiness.
• Guide clients through the operational and institutional changes that determine whether AI integration succeeds in practice.

Technical architecture and delivery

• Serve as a senior technical leader on priority pursuits and engagements, shaping solution architectures, security design, and delivery approaches.
• Oversee delivery of AI solutions that meet federal security requirements, including ATO processes, FedRAMP-authorized platform constraints, cloud enclave environments, and data classification controls.
• Guide teams on model risk, explain ability, data readiness, and responsible AI deployment in mission-critical settings.

Growth and go-to-market

• Support business development by shaping win strategies, contributing to technical proposal volumes, and engaging directly with clients during solutioning discussions.
• Build and mentor a team of AI and analytics practitioners capable of delivering confidently and independently.
• Work cross-functionally with security, operations, and business development to ensure solutions are compliant, competitive, and positioned to win.

You will not be handed a fully formed AI practice. You will build it, with executive sponsorship, real authority, and accountability for outcomes.

• 15+ years in AI, data science, analytics, or automation, with at least 4-6 years of hands-on experience designing and deploying generative AI and LLM-based solutions in production federal environments.
• A demonstrated record of building and delivering secure AI solutions inside governed federal settings, not just prototypes or proofs of concept.
• Direct experience navigating FedRAMP authorization processes, ATO packages, NIST AI RMF implementation, and agency-specific AI governance requirements.
• Fluency operating in cloud enclave environments such as AWS GovCloud or Azure Government, and designing AI architectures within those constraints.
• Experience guiding federal agency clients through AI adoption, including the organizational, operational, and change-management dimensions that determine real success.
• A background that includes both helping win and then delivering solutions, not one or the other.
• An active federal agency network and direct experience advising agency leadership on AI strategy.
• A security clearance is preferred, with at least Secret eligibility and the ability to obtain TS/SCI if required.

Experience at large GovCon firms, federal management consulting practices, or highly regarded boutiques is common in this profile, but not required if you bring equivalent depth and credibility.

* We care about what AI can do today for our clients inside their existing program constraints and technology environments. * We value solutions that are secure, explainable, and scalable over impressive demonstrations that cannot survive an ATO or an agency change-management process. * We believe adoption, trust, and change management matter as much as model performance, and often more. * We design with the assumption that our solutions will be operated by real people under real constraints, not in ideal conditions. If your instinct is to ask whether this will actually work for the client rather than whether it is technically impressive, you will fit our culture. Why this opportunity stands out * A tribally owned 8(a) enterprise with structurally differentiated federal contracting access, including sole-source authority and mission-agency relationships many firms cannot reach. * Executive-level commitment and investment in building a genuine AI capability, not a marketing initiative. * The chance to define the AI portfolio, offerings, team, partner ecosystem, and go-to-market from the ground up, with real autonomy and accountability. * Visibility and influence at the senior leadership level without the bureaucracy of a large firm or the resource constraints of a startup. The right person for this role has often built AI capabilities inside a large firm or agency and is ready to do it their way, with the authority to make it work. What success looks like In 12-18 months, success looks like: * A defined, credible AI solutions portfolio with repeatable offerings that clients understand, trust, and can procure. * Active program engagements with AI capabilities deployed in production, not sitting in pilot or demonstration status. * Meaningful contribution to the business-development pipeline, including proposal wins where this role shaped the technical narrative. * A delivery team that can execute AI work confidently and responsibly without senior oversight on every decision. * Agency clients who describe us as a practical, credible AI partner and return for more. If that kind of challenge is what you are looking for, we should talk. PCI Government Services is a tribally owned 8(a) small business headquartered in Reston, Virginia. PCI Government Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer.