Job Title: Chief Innovation Officer (CINO)

Location: Silicon Valley – Hybrid Preferred

Employment Type: Full-Time

Seniority Level: Executive

Role Details:

Industry: Biometric Security | Enterprise AI

End Client: Confidential (Venture-backed technology leader headquartered in Cupertino, CA)

About the Organization

Our client is a venture-backed innovator in biometric security and AI-driven access control, delivering privacy-first hardware and software solutions to Fortune 50 enterprises, hyperscale data centers, financial institutions, universities, critical infrastructure, and government organizations. With rapid growth and global deployments, the company is redefining how identity verification and secure access are delivered at scale.

About the Role

We are seeking a Chief Innovation Officer (CINO) to define and lead the organization’s long-term innovation vision. This is a strategic, future-facing executive role for a visionary technologist who can anticipate where the market is heading and translate deep technical innovation into commercial, real-world impact.

As CINO, you will own the innovation roadmap across AI, biometrics, secure hardware, and privacy-first technologies, driving initiatives from frontier research through commercialization. This role sits at the intersection of advanced R&D, customer insight, and strategic execution—shaping products that must deliver performance, trust, and regulatory compliance at the highest levels.

Key Responsibilities

Innovation Strategy & Vision

Define and execute a 3–10 year innovation roadmap spanning AI, edge computing, facial biometrics, privacy technologies, and secure identity
Anticipate technology, market, and regulatory trends impacting biometric and AI security platforms

R&D & Product Incubation

Lead next-generation hardware and software innovation initiatives
Drive rapid prototyping and cross-functional experimentation
Identify, validate, and incubate new product lines and market opportunities (government, healthcare, fintech, critical infrastructure)

Technology & Market Leadership

Evaluate emerging technologies such as privacy-preserving ML, multimodal authentication, decentralized identity, and digital credentials
Partner with Product, Engineering, and Go-To-Market teams to operationalize innovation into scalable offerings

External Innovation Ecosystem

Build and manage external innovation pipelines through academic partnerships, startup scouting, joint ventures, and industry collaboration
Represent the organization at industry events, standards bodies, and innovation forums

Culture & Leadership

Foster a culture of bold experimentation, fast iteration, and high-impact innovation
Inspire teams to push beyond incremental thinking while maintaining execution discipline

Mandatory Skills & Qualifications

10+ years of experience in technology innovation, advanced R&D, or innovation strategy
Executive leadership experience within scaling startups or growth-stage technology companies
Deep expertise in hardware–software convergence, edge AI, and secure embedded systems
Proven track record commercializing novel products, platforms, or patents in biometrics, security, or AI
Strong cross-functional leadership across engineering, product, design, and GTM teams
Solid understanding of privacy, encryption, authentication protocols, and regulatory environments
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field (MS or PhD preferred)

Preferred / Bonus Experience

Hands-on exposure to AI/ML development, particularly facial recognition or behavioral analytics
Patent portfolio in biometrics, computer vision, or security technologies
Experience selling to or partnering with hyperscale data centers, federal agencies, or enterprise security organizations
Familiarity with standards bodies and regulatory frameworks (ISO, FIDO, NIST, GDPR, FedRAMP)

Why Join This Opportunity

Executive ownership of innovation at a market-defining security company
Influence the future of privacy-first, AI-powered biometric systems
Work with mission-critical customers across enterprise and government sectors
Competitive executive compensation and long-term growth opportunity

About NetworkPedia

NetworkPedia is a certified women-owned technology and talent solutions company, providing IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, managed services, and specialized recruitment across North Americas and beyond. Our mission is to empower organizations with secure, scalable, and innovative technology while building inclusive teams that reflect the communities we serve.

As a trusted partner, we deliver expertise across networking, cloud, IT service management, and security operations, along with staffing solutions for niche technology roles. We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in all our hiring practices and ensure that our opportunities are open to all qualified applicants, without discrimination on the basis of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or disability.

How to Apply

Apply directly via LinkedIn Easy Apply.

All applications are routed to our central recruitment email: recruitment@networkpedia.com

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