CTO - Director of AI Engineering - NCT
Banyan Software
Posted 2 days ago
Banyan Software is the best permanent home for software businesses that serve specialized industries, their employees, and their customers. We are on a mission to acquire, build, and grow great companies worldwide, helping them modernize through shared AI expertise and operational discipline. The Banyan Software Foundation, endowed with $100 million in Banyan stock, leverages technology to build a greener and more equitable world. Banyan is Great Place to Work Certified, a five-time Inc. 5000 honoree, and a top 10 company on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Atlanta, Banyan operates more than 100 portfolio companies across North America, the UK, EU, and APAC.
Head of AI Engineering
Company: Next Chapter Technology (An Operating Company of Banyan Software)
Location: US-Based (Remote) — Must meet federal-adjacent compliance eligibility Reports To: Chief Executive Officer
About Next Chapter Technology (NCT)
Next Chapter Technology builds CaseWorks, a mission-critical content and workflow management platform embedded in county-level Health and Human Services operations across the United States. With a 15-year engineering history, a captive install base, and structured operational data, NCT sits at an inflection point to become an AI-first platform. As a Banyan Software operating company, we combine the agility of an independent business with the permanent backing of a global enterprise that buys, holds, and grows software companies for life.
The Opportunity
We are seeking a Head of AI Engineering to spearhead NCT’s transition into an AI-first platform. This is an intensely hands-on, builder-to-leader role designed for an elite engineer who is energized by complex, legacy transformation.
You will lead from the front with a strict "build-solo-first" mandate. Your initial mission is to personally design, build, and prove the first version of NCT's AI-driven capability, shipping measurable customer value before expanding headcount. Once the AI factory framework is successfully established, you will take on the people-management responsibility of scaling and upskilling the engineering team to adopt these modern workflows. We are not looking for a hands-off manager or a slide-deck architect—anyone who has left day-to-day technical execution behind will not be a fit.
What You Will Own
- AI-First Modernization (Hands-On): Personally design and build NCT's foundational AI capabilities (RAG systems, code generation, LLM orchestration, and multi-agent workflows) to analyze legacy code and generate production-ready services.
- Platform Modernization: Pragmatically refactor legacy components into scalable, cloud-native services and replace manual workflows with AI-driven automation without succumbing to the temptation of a wholesale platform rewrite.
- Phased Engineering Leadership: Once the AI factory is proven solo, you will assume direct delivery outcomes: managing team execution, elevating talent density, setting engineering rhythms, and mentoring developers into an AI-native way of working.
- Safe, Compliant Execution: Safely deploy features (utilizing feature flags, shadow mode, and monitoring) while strictly operating within government-adjacent and public-sector compliance frameworks (HIPAA, CJIS).
- Banyan Ecosystem Partnership: Act as the core technical partner to the CEO while collaborating with Banyan's centralized AI initiatives to accelerate localized product value.
What We Are Looking For
- Deep Software Breadth: 8+ years of hands-on software engineering with a proven track record of modernizing complex architectures and establishing cloud-native/DevSecOps practices.
- Production AI Experience: Documented history of shipping functional AI/ML systems end-to-end to real users (data pipelines, modeling, deployment, and monitoring). You treat AI tooling as the core foundation of engineering productivity.
- The "Build-Solo" Appetite: Experience as a founding or first AI engineer who is completely comfortable delivering baseline architecture independently before relying on a large team.
- Pragmatic Refactoring Judgment: Exceptional judgment regarding build-vs-buy decisions and the patience required to guide a 15-year-old Microsoft-stack platform through a modernization step-change.
- Leadership Maturity: Proven track record of managing engineering teams and a genuine desire to develop technical talent rather than operating in a silo.
- Radical Humility: Non-negotiable at Banyan. You possess strong commercial acumen and an exploratory mindset, but you earn trust through coachability and clear-eyed self-awareness.
- Logistics: Must be US-based and fully eligible for government-adjacent/public-sector compliance work.
Nice-to-Haves
- Direct GovTech, public sector, or federal case management software experience.
- Familiarity with the Microsoft AI stack (Azure ML, Azure OpenAI integrations) given the CaseWorks platform heritage.
- Experience managing, coordinating, or collaborating with distributed/offshore engineering teams.
Success Metrics (First 3–6 Months)
- AI-assisted development model built and in production use.
- Initial wave of high-value AI features successfully shipped inside CaseWorks.
- Measurable, predictable improvements in engineering delivery speed and cadence.
- Core legacy components systematically modernized into scalable cloud services.
Why Join Us & The Banyan Family?
- A Permanent Home, Not a Portfolio Play: Banyan buys, holds, and grows companies for life. We never resell. You can invest in real architectural health and long-term value without an arbitrary 3-to-5-year exit clock cutting your work short.
- True Autonomy with Enterprise Backing: Complete ownership of the AI strategy, tool choices, and engineering execution, combined with the financial stability and shared expertise of a global network.
- Built-In Peer Network: Gain immediate access to a vibrant community of Banyan operating company leaders sharing playbooks, lessons, and real-world tech-stack modernizations.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Equal Employment Opportunity at Banyan: Banyan affirms that inequality is detrimental to our Global Teams, associates, our Operating Companies, and the communities we serve. As a collective, our goal is to impact lasting change through our actions. Together, we unite for equality and equity. Banyan is committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of any protected characteristic, including race, color, genetic information, creed, national origin, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, lawful alien status, ancestry, age, marital status, or protected veteran status and will not discriminate against anyone on the basis of a disability. We support an inclusive workplace where associates excel based on personal merit, qualifications, experience, ability, and job performance.
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Protect yourself by following these steps:
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Job details
Banyan Software
About
Banyan Software is a buy and hold for life acquirer of vertical market software businesses. Founded in 2016 by David Berkal, Banyan was created to offer software owners a third option beyond selling to a competitor focused on cutting costs or a traditional investment firm that would resell the business a few years later. As a private company with no fund timeline and no exit pressure, Banyan holds and grows its businesses for life. Unlike private equity firms, Banyan preserves the culture, brand, and autonomy of each business rather than consolidating or cutting costs to maximize short-term returns. Every acquired company keeps its management team, brand identity, and customer relationships intact. Banyan works closely with each owner to find the right path forward, whether they want to stay at the helm, transition to an advisory role, or make a graceful exit. Many owners choose to retire or move on, either at closing or within a year or two. In those cases, Banyan partners with the outgoing owner to recruit a new CEO who is the right fit for the team and culture. Every Banyan company is paired with a dedicated Operating Leader who provides strategic guidance and support. Companies also gain access to the Banyan Business Community, which includes CEO Summits, functional Guilds, an online portal, and peer networks. Growth Enablement resources are available across finance, technology, sales and marketing, HR, legal, and talent. Banyan also invests in AI capabilities across its portfolio to help modernize products and accelerate growth. Banyan acquires profitable, market-leading enterprise software businesses with annual revenues generally greater than $2M, a high proportion of recurring revenue, strong customer retention, and engaged employees. The portfolio spans vertical markets including education, government, financial services, healthcare, media and entertainment, and transportation, with businesses across North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia and New Zealand
Key Team Members
Adam Cole
Michael Giske
Lisa Cowan
Alex Jarzebowicz
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