Head of Applied Research at an AI-native vertical SaaS at Series A.

An AI-native vertical SaaS at Series A. The firm serves a specific professional vertical with high regulatory complexity. Around 40 staff. The firm's product is built around a proprietary model trained on a curated and licensed corpus; applied research is the function that turns that model into shipped product for customers.

We name a client on the mandate page only where the firm has approved publication. Where not named, the description above is intended to be enough for a senior candidate to recognise whether their pattern fits the brief.

Head of Applied Research, reporting to the CTO. Founding applied research hire — the seat is being lifted out of the CTO's remit.

Builds the applied research function from a standing start. First responsibility is to hire two senior applied researchers within six months. The seat will manage to around five staff by month 12.

Owns the firm's evaluation discipline, the customer-facing model improvement loop, and the relationship between the research team and the firm's data partners.

London-based, office-first three days per week.

This is the first applied research seat at the firm, reporting to the CTO. The model is already live: a proprietary system trained on a curated, licensed corpus and in production with customers in a regulated professional vertical. The work is both publishing and shipping, against the data and regulatory constraints of the vertical. As the founding hire, the head sets the research agenda, decides what ships to customers and what stays in research, and owns the model roadmap alongside the CTO.

— Peter Wood, Partner & Chief Strategy Officer