Head of AI vs VP Engineering: when do you need each?
RAG Recruit Team·May 22, 2026·5 min read
A VP Engineering scales delivery. A Head of AI scales judgement on what to build with models. These are different skills and you usually need both by Series B.
If your roadmap is dominated by model quality, eval, and research bets, hire Head of AI first. If you're shipping a lot of surface area around a stable model, VP Eng comes first.
The failure mode is hiring a strong VP Eng and asking them to also own AI strategy. They'll default to what they know — shipping — and your model quality stagnates.