Business Development Director – Artificial Intelligence

Front End is a Saudi-born, globally respected technology and industrial innovation company leading the future of energy, industry, and beyond. Recognized as Innovator of the Year at the Oil & Gas Middle East 2025 Awards and trusted by tier-one clients, we deliver a precision-engineered ecosystem of advanced solutions across energy, industrial facilities, geoscience, offshore, space, and mining - fully aligned with Saudi Vision 2030.

Our Artificial Intelligence practice delivers mission-critical, domain-specific AI - not generic models. We integrate predictive analytics, operational optimization, anomaly detection, and autonomous decision systems directly into industrial, energy, and subsurface operations, combining real-time data fusion, machine learning, and advanced modeling to drive faster, smarter, and more resilient decisions in high-stakes environments.

Role Description

This is a full-time, on-site role in Al Khobar for a Business Development Director - Artificial Intelligence. The Director will own the growth strategy, pipeline, and revenue for Front End's AI practice within the energy, oil & gas, and industrial sectors - translating our domain-specific AI capabilities into commercial solutions for upstream, midstream, downstream, and industrial clients across the Kingdom and wider region.

This is a domain-led commercial role, not a generalist technology sales position. The successful candidate must be able to sit credibly across the table from a reservoir engineer, a refinery operations manager, or a drilling superintendent, understand their technical and operational pain points, and articulate precisely how AI-driven predictive analytics, process optimization, and anomaly detection create measurable value in their environment. Candidates whose experience is purely in AI, SaaS, or software sales - without genuine oil & gas, subsurface, or industrial domain depth - will not be a fit for this role.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and execute the business development strategy for Front End's AI offerings across the energy, oil & gas, and industrial process automation markets
• Build and convert a qualified pipeline with upstream, midstream, downstream, and industrial/manufacturing clients, including national oil companies, operators, and tier-one industrial accounts
• Translate domain problems - reservoir and subsurface workflows, drilling and completions efficiency, refinery and process optimization, asset integrity, predictive maintenance - into scoped AI solutions and commercial proposals
• Partner with technical and delivery teams to shape solution architecture, proofs of concept, and use cases grounded in real operational data and outcomes
• Lead complex, consultative, multi-stakeholder sales cycles involving engineering, operations, procurement, and C-suite decision-makers
• Develop and manage strategic partnerships and channel relationships that extend Front End's AI reach in the energy and industrial space
• Own commercial negotiations, contracting, and revenue targets for the AI practice, working closely with finance and legal
• Represent Front End as a credible domain authority at industry forums, client engagements, and technical discussions

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 10+ years in business development, commercial, or technical-commercial roles, with a substantial and verifiable portion in energy, oil & gas, or subsurface - this is a hard requirement
• Demonstrable technical fluency in at least one core domain: upstream operations and subsurface workflows (seismic, reservoir characterization, drilling, completions), downstream and refinery/process operations, or industrial process automation for manufacturing (DCS/SCADA/PLC, process control, asset performance)
• Proven ability to map AI and data capabilities - predictive analytics, machine learning, anomaly detection, optimization - onto specific oil & gas and industrial use cases and quantify their business impact
• Track record of closing complex, high-value B2B deals within the energy or industrial sector in Saudi Arabia or the GCC
• Strong command of the technical vocabulary, operating constraints, regulatory context, and decision-making structures of energy and industrial clients
• Excellent stakeholder management across technical, operational, and executive audiences
• Bachelor's degree in Petroleum, Chemical, Mechanical, or related Engineering, Geoscience, or a comparable technical discipline

Preferred Qualifications

• Existing senior-level network within Saudi/GCC national oil companies, operators, or major industrial players
• Experience selling or delivering digital transformation, Industry 4.0, or AI/analytics solutions specifically within energy or industrial environments
• Postgraduate qualification (MBA or technical Master's) combining technical and commercial depth
• Familiarity with Front End's solution areas: AI operations and optimization, predictive maintenance, drilling automation, and industrial anomaly detection