Chief AI Officer

The Pakistan Digital Authority is Pakistan's apex statutory body for national digital transformation, established under the Digital Nation Pakistan Act 2025. PDA is responsible for the country's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), AI and data governance frameworks, national digital standards, and the Digital Nation Masterplan — a cross-government programme covering all provinces, the whole of government, and 240 million citizens.

This is not a typical government role. PDA operates with the mandate of a regulator, the ambition of a national transformation programme, and the urgency of a startup.

The Role

The Chief AI Officer is a founding executive appointment at PDA and the senior-most AI leadership role in Pakistan's public sector.

You will carry two distinct but deeply connected mandates: AI supervision — building the regulatory, governance, and oversight architecture that governs how AI is developed and deployed across Pakistan; and AI use-case strategy — identifying, prioritising, and driving the AI applications that will transform government services and public outcomes at scale.

You will report directly to the Chairperson and work alongside the Chief Data Officer and be part of PDA's integrated technology governance team.

What You Will Lead

AI Governance & Supervision

▸ Lead the development of Pakistan's National AI Governance Framework — covering AI risk classification, algorithmic accountability, transparency requirements, and prohibited use definitions

▸ Own PDA's AI regulatory instruments under the Digital Nation Pakistan Act — including government AI use policies, AI audit frameworks, and conformity assessment protocols for high-risk AI systems

▸ Help establish the National AI Advisory Council — convening government, academia, civil society, and industry to inform national AI policy

▸ Develop Pakistan's position on sovereign AI infrastructure — national compute, foundational models, and AI supply chain resilience

AI Strategy & Use-Cases

▸ Build and own PDA's government AI use-case portfolio — identifying highest-impact applications across health, justice, education, taxation, social protection, and public safety

▸ Lead the strategy and oversight of PDA's AI solutions suite

▸ Design the AI maturity assessment framework for federal ministries and lead national AI readiness diagnostics

▸ Drive Pakistan's AI talent and capability strategy in partnership with higher education institutions and the technology industry

▸ Build and lead PDA's AI Division — hiring AI policy specialists, applied AI engineers, and research capacity

What We Are Looking For

Essential

✔ 15+ years of progressive experience spanning AI/ML, technology strategy, or technology policy — with significant leadership tenure

✔ Demonstrated command of AI governance principles: risk-based classification, algorithmic accountability, explainability, fairness, and AI safety

✔ Track record of leading AI strategy at organisational or national scale — governance and policy architecture, not just AI delivery

✔ Ability to operate fluently across technical and policy registers — credible with engineers and with ministers

✔ Experience building and leading high-performing cross-functional teams in complex institutional environments

Highly Valued

✦ Experience in a national AI authority, government AI body, or equivalent institution

✦ Deep familiarity with international AI governance frameworks: EU AI Act, OECD AI Principles, NIST AI RMF, UNESCO Recommendation on AI Ethics

✦ Hands-on experience with large language models, Generative AI deployment, and the governance challenges they create in public sector contexts

✦ Exposure to sovereign AI infrastructure — national compute strategy, open-source foundation models, AI procurement policy ✦ Understanding of AI's intersection with data governance, digital identity, and digital public infrastructure

Why PDA

→ Shape the AI governance architecture of a nation of 240 million people — one of the highest-impact AI leadership roles in the developing world → Direct reporting line to the Chairperson & CEO; seat at PDA's executive leadership table → Influence Pakistan's AI legislation, international AI commitments, and the sovereign AI infrastructure agenda

→ Competitive compensation benchmarked to Pakistan's senior public sector reform appointments and international GovTech norms