Head of Artificial Intelligence

Role: Head of AIReporting line: CTOSector: Energy / UtilitiesLocation: Abu Dhabi, UAEWe are currnetly representing a major UAE based energy and utility organisation at the forefront of the region's energy transition in recruiting a Head of AI. With large-scale operations spanning power generation, water and renewable assets, the organisation is investing significantly in digital technologies with AI capabilities and digital twin at the core of its strategy to optimise asset performance, reliability and sustainability.The Head of AI will define and lead the organisation's AI agenda across its asset portfolio. This is a build-and-scale leadership role: establishing the strategy, platform and team to bring physics-based and data-driven modelling into daily operations from predictive maintenance and process optimisation to energy efficiency and grid intelligence. The role works closely with operations, engineering, and asset management leadership.Key ResponsibilitiesStrategy & Leadership:Define the AI roadmap across generation, transmission/distribution and water assetsBuild, lead and develop a multidisciplinary team of data scientists, simulation engineers and ML engineersServe as the organisation's senior authority on industrial AI, advising executive leadership on opportunities, investments and risksApplied AI & Digital Twin Delivery:Deliver high-value AI use cases: predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, energy optimisation, demand forecasting and asset lifecycle managementEstablish MLOps practices to move models from pilot to reliable production at scaleEnsure AI solutions meet standards for explainability, safety and operational trust in critical infrastructure environments.Lead the design and deployment of asset, process and system-level digital twins across critical infrastructure.Integrate physics-based simulation, real-time operational data (SCADA, historians, IoT sensors) and machine learning into unified twin environments.Partner with OEMs, engineering firmsband technology vendors to accelerate delivery while building internal capability.Data & Platform Foundations:Shape the industrial data architecture (data historians, time-series platforms, cloud/edge infrastructure) required to support AI workloads and Digital Twin Capability.Champion data quality, governance and interoperability across OT and IT environmentsCollaborate with cybersecurity teams to ensure secure OT/IT integrationStakeholder & Value Management:Build strong partnerships with plant operations, asset management and engineering to drive adoption on the groundDefine and track the business value of the portfolio: availability gains, cost reduction, efficiency and emissions impactRepresent the organisation in industry forums and with government stakeholders on digital energy innovation Experience & Qualification: 15+ years in industrial digital technology, with 7+ years leading industrial AI, digital twin or advanced analytics programmesTrack record in the energy, utilities, oil & gas, or heavy industrial sectors ideally spanning both operations-facing and technology leadership rolesProven experience taking industrial AI/twin initiatives from concept to production at scaleExperience with major industrial platforms (e.g., AVEVA, Bentley, Siemens Xcelerator, GE Vernova, AspenTech, Cognite) and cloud environments (Azure, AWS)Strong understanding of physics-based modelling, simulation and data-driven approaches and when to use each.Solid grasp of industrial data landscapes: SCADA, historians (PI/OSIsoft), IoT, edge computing and OT/IT integrationWorking knowledge of modern ML engineering and MLOps practicesUnderstanding of cybersecurity considerations in critical infrastructure environmentsDegree in Engineering, Computer Science, Physics or a related field; advanced degree preferred