Head of Wildfire Affairs

About the role

The individual in this role serves as the primary link between Pano AI and the wildfire and emergency management community, translating agency needs into company strategy. They own the vision and execution of community engagement across the United States, ensuring that the perspectives of fire practitioners directly inform product development and operational workflows. This position requires building and sustaining trusted relationships with agency leaders, chiefs, and decision makers to elevate the adoption of AI driven detection and response tools. The hire will represent Pano AI at the highest level of national conferences, panels, and agency forums, shaping public dialogue on wildfire technology and policy. They will champion the mission within the fire community, actively recruiting new voices and organizations into the Pano network to broaden collective impact. This role leads the development of a vibrant stakeholder ecosystem that connects agency leaders, practitioners, and technology partners to drive collaboration and accelerate innovation. The position is responsible for synthesizing field feedback into actionable insights that guide strategic direction and ensure solutions remain grounded in real world operational realities.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Wildfire Community Representation & Advocacy
• Serve as Pano AI's senior voice to the wildfire and emergency management community, articulating the company's mission and capabilities to diverse audiences.
• Build and deepen relationships with fire agency leaders, chiefs, and decision makers across the U.S., establishing Pano as a trusted advisor in wildfire operations.
• Champion Pano's mission within the fire community and bring new voices into our network, ensuring inclusive representation from a wide range of geographic and jurisdictional stakeholders.
• Represent Pano at national conferences, panels, agency events, and industry forums, delivering thought leadership and presenting on technology adoption and impact.
• Partnerships & Coalition Building
• Build and lead a public engagement program consisting of Pano users interested in helping accelerate technology adoption across the wildfire ecosystem.
• Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with fire agencies, including state and federal wildland firefighters, wildfire safety organizations, utilities, and NGOs.
• Build coalitions among stakeholders to align on shared goals, coordinate messaging, and remove barriers to the adoption of advanced detection and response tools.
• Coordinate cross functional input from Pano's product, engineering, and sales teams to ensure community insights are integrated into solution design and rollout.
• Program Development and Field Engagement
• Design and execute a calendar of community facing initiatives, including workshops, listening sessions, and pilot program frameworks.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing between fire agencies and Pano's technical teams to promote best practices and co creation of tools.
• Collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative feedback from the field to identify opportunities for product enhancement and operational improvements.
• Act as a bridge between agency priorities and internal Pano strategies, translating complex operational needs into clear requirements for cross functional teams.
• Thought Leadership and Communications
• Create and contribute to content such as articles, white papers, and speaking notes that highlight successful technology deployments and case studies.
• Engage with media and industry analysts to elevate the profile of AI driven wildfire detection and the role of collaborative networks.
• Support the development of training and educational materials that help agencies understand how to effectively leverage Pano's platform.
• Track emerging trends in wildfire management and technology, providing regular updates to internal stakeholders and the community.

Requirements

• Hold a Bachelor's degree or higher in a relevant field such as wildland fire science, emergency management, public administration, or a related discipline.
• Possess a minimum of ten years of progressively responsible professional experience in wildfire suppression, prevention, or related emergency services roles.
• Demonstrate a proven track record of leadership within a fire agency, including experience in command roles, incident management, or program coordination.
• Maintain current, active firefighting certifications and credentials relevant to wildland or structural firefighting as required by jurisdictional standards.
• Have direct, hands on experience working with fire detection, suppression, and response operations in real world incident environments.
• Show a history of successful collaboration with federal, state, and local fire agencies, as well as utility and non governmental organization partners.
• Exhibit strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders at all organizational levels.
• Be willing and able to travel frequently, including attendance at national and regional wildfire conferences, agency meetings, and incident support assignments as needed.

Nice to have

• Advanced degree in a relevant discipline such as fire ecology, public policy, or emergency management.
• Prior experience working directly with utility companies on wildfire mitigation and public safety power management programs.
• Demonstrated experience in public speaking, media engagement, or conference presentation within the wildfire or broader emergency management community.
• Familiarity with AI and data driven technologies in the context of wildfire detection and response.
• Experience developing and managing partnerships or coalitions around shared wildfire technology objectives.

Practical notes

Full time based in the United States with remote work arrangement.

Travel is required to attend conferences, agency meetings, and incident support activities as needed.

No visa sponsorship is currently available for this role.

The listed hours reflect a standard full time schedule with flexibility to accommodate occasional after hours and weekend commitments for event attendance or urgent operational needs.