General Manager, AI Practice - US-Based

Job Summary:
Toptal is an innovative organization that is disrupting the global professional services and talent market. As General Manager, AI Practice you will play a pivotal role in driving Toptal’s growth by serving as the end-to-end owner of a new, high-impact business line. Leveraging your product and entrepreneurial experience, you will build the business from the ground up, starting with market positioning and strategy, through establishing product-market fit, and then, towards profitability and scalable business operations.
This is a remote position. Resumes and communication must be submitted in English.
Responsibilities:
The following information is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or required skills.
Your primary objective will be to ensure the success of the business, the single accountable owner for the business P&L. You will work closely with Executive and Senior Leadership to ensure the business is aligned with the broader growth goals of Toptal, and represents the Toptal brand in every aspect.
As you build your business strategy, you will analyze market and industry opportunities and identify those with the highest potential. Following an agile approach, you will build and test new offerings with clients, using initial client feedback to quickly achieve product-market fit. Critical for success is your ability to work both on the front lines with clients, guiding them as a trusted business partner through their business challenges, and internally at Toptal where you will work cross-functionally with teams such as Marketing, Legal, Finance, and Sales. Additionally, you will establish robust analytics and feedback loops to continuously iterate on your initial strategy, ensuring constant refinement and improvement.
This highly visible position demands a leader with exceptional communication skills, an entrepreneurial spirit, and an unwavering commitment to driving growth. If you are passionate about launching new ventures and transforming them into substantial revenue opportunities, we encourage you to join our team and be at the forefront of Toptal’s continued success.
In the first week, expect to:
·        Onboard and integrate into Toptal.·        Learn Toptal’s business model, our value proposition, and our story.·        Shadow critical teams throughout the organization to learn Toptal’s core operations and capabilities.
In the first month, expect to:
·        Understand our go-to-market model across SMB and Enterprise, and be able to articulate Toptal’s capabilities and differentiators.·        Conduct market and industry research, identify opportunities, and form your hypothesis for business positioning.·        Partner closely with Marketing to research and validate the market opportunity and ability to fulfill the demand.·        Build your initial GTM strategy and offerings, iterating on the strategy through feedback from direct client calls and meetings.
In the first three months, expect to:
·        Partner with Senior Leadership, New Businesses, Marketing, and Talent Operations to develop a robust launch strategy.·        Start executing your GTM strategy leveraging internal cross-functional support from Legal, Finance, and others.
In the first six months, expect to:
·        Assess the AI division’s progress against key milestones, refine AI roadmaps, and ensure alignment with business objectives. Identify opportunities for scaling AI initiatives and improving efficiency.·        Ensure successful integration and scaling of AI solutions across the client organization, improving operational efficiency, product capabilities, and customer outcomes.
In the first year, expect to:
·        Have broadened Toptal’s reach into key industry and subsectors through AI tools & products.·        Continue scaling the infrastructure required for execution, including the optimization of processes, and systems.·        Be able to look back on consecutive quarters of growth, having achieved product-market fit and successfully realized your core business.
Qualifications and Job Requirements:
·        Bachelor’s degree is required. Master’s degree in Engineering, Business, or a related field preferred.·        Minimum 10+ years combined business operations and consulting experience, with experience at a technology or hyper-growth company strongly preferred.·        You must have a best-in-class, analytical, and data-driven background, ideally with a degree in a STEM field or something similar.·        Strong knowledge of data management, AI governance, machine learning, and AI-driven analytics techniques and technologies, and Generative AI (e.g., large language models, fine-tuning, retrieval-augmented generation) is preferred.·        In-depth knowledge of statistical methodologies, deep learning algorithms, and AI applications in real-world business contexts is preferred.·        Proficiency in using AI and data science tools (e.g. Python, TensorFlow, PyTorch, SQL, Tableau, etc.) is preferred.·        Passion for AI innovation and ability to drive thought leadership in the field.·        You must be able to demonstrate analytical ability to break down complex problems, and efficiently use data and analytics layered against high-quality user research to inform the direction of the product.·        Leadership experience, including responsibility for business results in a fast-paced, multi-function environment.·        Proven ability to lead collaboratively and operate in a high-growth environment.·        Strong commercial acumen, informing all priorities and decisions with a keen understanding of market needs and business goals.·        Demonstrated success in, or entrepreneurial experience that is commensurate to, building and launching a new business or product offering from scratch.·        Strong command over a P&L and financial metrics.·        Must have excellent written and oral communication skills. Good communication is at the core of everything we do, and you must be a strong communicator able to work with a wide range of stakeholders from senior executives to individual contributors.·        Excellent organization skills and detail-oriented. You are hyper-organized, know how to work efficiently, and prioritize execution, as well as mentor others to do the same.·        Ability to work in a fast-paced, rapidly growing company and handle a wide variety of challenges, deadlines, and a diverse array of contacts.·        Adaptable. Comfortable managing changing priorities, learning new skills, and building consensus across varied senior stakeholder groups.·        Ownership. You are a dependable leader who takes responsibility for your success as well as the success of the entire team.·        Quality. You take pride in everything you deliver as a reflection of yourself.·        You must be a world-class individual contributor to thrive at Toptal. You will not be here just to tell other people what to do.
Essential Job Functions
·        Regularly and reliably attend scheduled virtual team meetings on camera.·        Work independently with minimal supervision.·        Use all required digital collaboration tools.·        Prioritize and self-manage workflows and deadlines.
US FLSA Classification: Full-Time/Exempt