Rackspace is at an inflection point. AI is no longer a supporting theme — it is the central strategic lever for how we operate, compete, and grow. This role exists because AI requires more than executive sponsorship; it requires a full-time operator with authority, financial accountability, and the discipline to convert narrative into measurable impact.
The Chief AI Officer will own four interconnected mandates: driving internal productivity and cost discipline, building monetizable customer AI offerings, maintaining strategic market intelligence, and incubating focused AI IP through a lean Labs function. This is a P&L-accountable role with cross-functional authority across IT, Product, Engineering, and Delivery — and compensation tied directly to outcomes. Reports directly to the CEO.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Internal Productivity and Cost Discipline
Own and drive engineering productivity lift targets, measured through cycle time, code velocity, and defect reduction
Lead AI-driven cost reduction initiatives across IT and support functions
Conduct a full audit and rationalization of Rackspace's AI licensing footprint, eliminating duplicative programs and spend
Report quarterly on quantified productivity gains with results tied directly to compensation milestones
2. Customer AI Offerings and Sales Plays
Define and launch 3–5 standardized AI sales plays segmented by vertical and workload within the first 6 months
Translate Rackspace's private cloud and AI runtime capabilities into packaged go-to-market motions
Embed AI positioning into key partner relationships including VMware, Palantir, Uniphore, and Rubrik
Equip the Sales organization with clear AI messaging, competitive framing, and active deal support
Establish tracking infrastructure for AI-influenced pipeline and revenue attribution
3. Market Intelligence and Strategic Translation
Monitor model releases, inference economics, developer ecosystem shifts, and AI governance developments on a continuous basis
Translate market shifts into concrete strategy adjustments within 30–60 days of identification
Advise the CEO, marketing leadership, and Board on AI competitive positioning and narrative
Drive AI messaging alignment across earnings communications, analyst relations, and partner narratives
Deliver a formal competitive brief to the CEO and Board on a quarterly cadence
4. AI Labs and Incubation
Lead a lean AI Labs function with a bias toward speed and commercial relevance
Incubate 1–2 focused, defensible IP assets per year aligned to GTM priorities
Apply rigorous ROI discipline — kill low-return experiments quickly and reallocate resources
Ensure Labs output directly supports customer-facing revenue strategy, not standalone research
Required Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or related technical field required
Advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in AI, Machine Learning, Computer Science, or related field strongly preferred
15+ years of progressive technology leadership, with at least 7 years in senior roles operating at the intersection of AI, cloud infrastructure, and commercial strategy
Demonstrated track record of translating AI initiatives into quantifiable business outcomes — revenue generated, costs reduced, efficiency delivered
Experience operating in or alongside managed services, cloud, or enterprise infrastructure businesses strongly preferred
Prior P&L ownership or accountability for a business unit, product line, or cost center
Deep fluency in the current AI landscape: foundation models, inference infrastructure, agent frameworks, AI governance, and enterprise deployment patterns
Ability to operate simultaneously as strategist, operator, and commercial leader — without losing effectiveness in any mode
Strong executive communication skills; able to advise a Board, align a sales force, and challenge an engineering team in the same week
Financial discipline: comfortable building business cases, owning targets, and reporting results with rigor
Partner ecosystem fluency, particularly with hyperscalers, infrastructure ISVs, and AI platform vendors
Comfortable making decisions with incomplete information in a fast-moving market
Earns cross-functional trust quickly; can lead without direct control
Holds themselves and their team to high standards; ties effort to outcomes relentlessly
"Remote postings are limited to candidates residing within the country specified in the posting location"
About Rackspace Technology
We are the multicloud solutions experts. We combine our expertise with the world’s leading technologies — across applications, data and security — to deliver end-to-end solutions. We have a proven record of advising customers based on their business challenges, designing solutions that scale, building and managing those solutions, and optimizing returns into the future. Named a best place to work, year after year according to Fortune, Forbes and Glassdoor, we attract and develop world-class talent. Join us on our mission to embrace technology, empower customers and deliver the future.
More on Rackspace Technology
Though we’re all different, Rackers thrive through our connection to a central goal: to be a valued member of a winning team on an inspiring mission. We bring our whole selves to work every day. And we embrace the notion that unique perspectives fuel innovation and enable us to best serve our customers and communities around the globe. We welcome you to apply today and want you to know that we are committed to offering equal employment opportunity without regard to age, color, disability, gender reassignment or identity or expression, genetic information, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity status, military or veteran status, nationality, ethnic or national origin, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or any legally protected characteristic. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.
