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.

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

$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.

Incubation Foundry Director

Key skills