Hire a fractional Head of AI in Seattle
Vetted head of artificial intelligence and machine learnings available for fractional, interim, or advisory engagements with companies in Seattle and across WA. Most engagements start inside two weeks.
The Seattle market for Head of AI / MLs
Seattle's talent pool is shaped by Amazon and Microsoft alumni, giving the market an exceptionally deep supply of cloud, marketplace, logistics, and enterprise operators. Many of those executives specifically prefer fractional and advisory work after a long tenure at scale. The risk to manage is fit: big-company scale experience does not automatically translate to a 40-person startup.
Why Seattle companies hire fractional Head of AI / MLs
The typical trigger in this market is moving from a founder-led function to a repeatable operating system, often post-Series A. A fractional Head of AI gives you the same executive seat and ai / ml judgment on 1–3 days per week, without the base salary, equity, and benefits load of a permanent hire.
- AI features are prototyped but never reach production quality
- There are no evals, so quality regressions go unnoticed
- Inference costs are unmanaged and growing
- Your engineers need senior AI guidance, not a strategy deck
Typical cost in Seattle
Expect roughly $11k–$28k/mo per month, or $220–$550/hr hourly, for a fractional Head of AI in Seattle. Seattle retainers sit modestly above national benchmarks, reflecting competition with big-tech compensation. Most fractional Head of AI / ML retainers run $12k–$20k per month for 2 days per week.
National benchmark for comparison: $10k–$25k/mo per month ($200–$500/hr).
fractional Head of AI in Seattle — FAQs
How much does a fractional Head of AI cost in Seattle?
Most Seattle engagements run $11k–$28k/mo per month for 1–3 days per week, or $220–$550/hr on an hourly basis. Seattle retainers sit modestly above national benchmarks, reflecting competition with big-tech compensation.
How fast can I hire a fractional Head of AI in Seattle?
We return a curated shortlist of vetted Head of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learnings within 48 hours of your brief, and most Seattle companies are in first conversations the same week and started within two weeks.
Do Head of AI / MLs need to be based in Seattle?
Not necessarily. Many Seattle companies hire a locally based Head of AI / ML for onsite days with the leadership team, but remote-first engagements are equally common and widen the candidate pool considerably.
When do Seattle companies usually bring in a fractional Head of AI / ML?
The most common trigger is moving from a founder-led function to a repeatable operating system, often post-Series A. At that point the function needs executive ownership, but not yet a full-time salary, equity grant, and benefits load.
Start your Head of AI / ML search in Seattle
Post a role and receive a curated shortlist within 48 hours.