Why this opportunity stands out
Set the AI direction for a Milan-based organisation and lead the team that delivers it. Permanent, hybrid working in Milan, EUR 130,000-150,000.
About the role
167 Solutions is recruiting a Head of AI for a Milan-based group.
This is the role that owns where AI goes in the business and makes it happen. Our client has moved past experimentation - AI is now part of how the organisation works, and what is needed is someone to set the direction, build the team around it, and hold the standard for what gets built.
You would own the AI strategy and the portfolio behind it: which problems are worth solving with AI, what the platform needs to support, and how the capability compounds rather than being rebuilt in every department. You would lead a team of engineers and scientists, and work with the business - finance, operations, product, risk - on the decisions that determine where the investment goes.
The practical reality of the role is a mix: setting direction and being credible enough to be trusted with it, building a team that can deliver without being micromanaged, and staying close enough to the work to know when something is not going to work. The band of EUR 130,000 to 150,000 reflects a genuine leadership role with an organisation-wide remit, based in Milan with hybrid working.
Key responsibilities
• Lead, grow and support the AI engineering and science team - hiring, developing, and setting the bar for what the team produces.
• Own the platform and tooling the team builds on: model access, evaluation, orchestration, observability and the guardrails that let AI run safely in a live business.
• Work with business leadership to decide where AI genuinely creates value and where it does not, and be able to explain the difference clearly.
• Build the credibility of the AI function internally - earn the right to be consulted early rather than brought in late.
• Define how AI quality is measured: evaluation, monitoring, and the standards that decide whether something is allowed into production.
• Manage delivery risk - regulatory exposure, data handling, and the operational consequences of AI making decisions in a live business.
• Stay technically current and represent the organisation with business, technology and external stakeholders, in English and in Italian.
What they're looking for
• Credibility with engineers: enough hands-on technical depth that the team will trust your judgement and the business will take your direction seriously.
• Experience taking AI from scattered experiments to an organisational capability - platform, standards, governance and a portfolio that delivers.
• Strong commercial judgement: what is worth the investment, and the ability to make the case for it in business terms.
• Experience building and operating a team - hiring, developing, and creating the conditions for people to do their best work.
• A sound view on evaluation, monitoring and safety, and the judgement to build controls that fit the risk rather than blanket restrictions.
• Experience working with risk, compliance or legal in a regulated business, and building explainable, auditable systems.
• Clear communication with senior stakeholders, able to translate between technical detail and business consequence.
• Professional working Italian and English. English-only applicants will not be suitable for this role.
• Based in Milan or able to relocate, with hybrid working on site.
Benefits
• Hybrid working, based in Milan.
• Ownership of the AI direction for the whole organisation, with the budget and mandate to act on it.
• The chance to build and lead the team, not just the systems - the shape of the function is yours to set.
• Real enterprise problems with real users and real consequences, in a business with the runway to invest properly.
• A small, senior team with visible ownership and no layers between you and the work.
• Private health cover, pension contribution and a flexible working rhythm.