AI / Machine Learning Lead (fast track to CTO)

About this role

8X Energy | AI / Machine Learning Lead (fast track to CTO) | Frederick MD or Remote | EquityWe are building the AI-powered energy decision infrastructure SaaS for the commercial energy transition. USPTO non-provisional patent pending on the core methodology. Live pilot project underway at a Maryland nonprofit technology incubator.
The company is pre-investment. We are in active seed raise discussions and have enterprise pilot confirmations from Pharmaceutical, Electric Companies, National Energy trading platforms, and federal agencies.
What we need:
An AI and machine learning lead who has shipped production SaaS before. Not a researcher. Not a consultant. Someone who has taken software from prototype to deployed, maintained it in production, and knows what breaks when real users engage. You should be comfortable with the full stack from model development through deployment and understand what it means to build AI systems that need to be auditable, accurate, and defensible in a regulated environment. Energy domain experience is a plus but not required. The ability to learn a domain fast is required.
Specific experience we are looking for:
You have built and deployed at least one…