What Does a Head of AI Do in a FinTech Company?

As AI becomes a core part of FinTech infrastructure, the Head of AI is emerging as one of the most business-critical roles in the US startup and scaleup ecosystem. But what does this role actually look like inside a FinTech business?

From product development to strategic leadership, here’s a breakdown of what a Head of AI is responsible for and how they’re shaping the future of financial services.

A New Kind of Leadership Role

The Head of AI sits at the intersection of technology, product, data, and commercial strategy. They are not just an R&D lead or a technical advisor but often the person responsible for turning AI experimentation into real business outcomes.

“I work with scaling FinTech companies every day, and what I see time and time again is that AI can’t just live inside the data science team anymore. You need someone who can lead from the front, connect the business vision with technical delivery, and make sure AI is embedded, not bolted on.”
— Ryan Beauchesne, Senior Market Specialist, Storm2

What Does a Head of AI Actually Do?

Based on our market insight across hundreds of senior AI hiring processes in FinTech, here are the core responsibilities of a Head of AI:

1. Build and Own the AI Strategy

• • Set the long-term AI roadmap in alignment with company goals
  • Identify use cases across product, operations, and customer experience
  • Make build vs. buy decisions on AI tooling (e.g. open-source vs. proprietary LLMs)

2. Operationalize Machine Learning

• • Work with engineering and product teams to deploy ML models at scale
  • Monitor model performance, accuracy, and drift
  • Manage infrastructure needs (e.g. MLOps, data pipelines, cloud environments)

3. Lead a Cross-Functional AI Team

• • Hire and manage AI engineers, ML scientists, analysts, and data ops
  • Build a scalable structure that supports rapid delivery and iteration
  • Foster a culture of experimentation and innovation

4. Partner With Product and GTM Teams

• • Help product managers scope AI features (e.g. predictive credit models, fraud detection)
  • Collaborate with go-to-market teams to ensure clear AI positioning
  • Educate sales and customer success on AI capabilities and limitations

5. Ensure AI Is Ethical, Secure, and Compliant

• • Lead AI governance across privacy, bias, and explainability
  • Align with regulatory requirements from the SEC, CFPB, and others
  • Stay up-to-date on state-by-state AI policy developments

Real Examples: Inside US FinTech Teams

Across the US FinTech landscape, we’re seeing a range of AI leadership hires with varied remits depending on stage and maturity:

• • At a Series B credit scoring platform, the Head of AI is focused on refining risk models, increasing fairness in loan approvals, and driving down default rates using supervised learning and real-time data ingestion.
  • At a payment infrastructure startup, the role is more engineering-led – leading LLM model integration for intelligent transaction categorization, fraud detection, and smart routing.
  • At a WealthTech app, the Head of AI is building a recommendation engine for hyper-personalized portfolios, collaborating with both product and compliance to keep decisions transparent and auditable.

In all cases, the Head of AI is expected to own the full pipeline, from AI ideation to model deployment to post-launch optimization.

Key Traits of a High-Impact Head of AI

According to our data and recent hiring activity, the strongest candidates for this role tend to bring:

• • A background in Computer Science, Engineering, or Applied Mathematics
  • Experience in AI strategy, LLMs, machine learning deployment, and product integration
  • Commercial acumen – they know how AI contributes to revenue, retention, or risk
  • A passion for building – especially in high-growth, fast-moving FinTech environments

As AI adoption matures, this hire is less about theoretical research and more about applied, operationalized AI. That’s a key distinction when hiring.

Thinking About Hiring a Head of AI?

If you’re in the process of hiring a Head of AI or even considering it, now is the time to understand the market, budget accurately, and define what “success” looks like in the first 12 months.

Want help scoping the role or building a shortlist?
Contact Ryan Beauchesne for a confidential consultation.

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