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
