Ario Giancarlo Cecchettini

AI Lead | Enterprise AI Systems, ML, Cloud Architecture, DevOps & Engineering Enablement

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

About

I am an AI Engineer and product-minded manager with over seven years of experience delivering AI/ NLP, RAG, and MLOps systems from concept to production. My work bridges deep technical expertise with product and business acumen, leading enterprise-grade deployments, shaping AI strategy and teams in both developed and emerging markets. At itemis AG, I have spearheaded the development of a requirements-engineering search and QA engine, trained / fine-tuned task-specific AI models, and stood up Kubernetes-first CI/CD and ML pipelines. My performance was consistently rated excellent, with a reputation for reliability, resilience, and independent execution. Prior to that, I contributed to data compliance and processing at Autonomous Intelligent Driving (VW), one of Europe’s former pioneering self-driving car ventures. Today, I am based in Dubai, where I have led AI and data initiatives for a single family office of an Ultra-high net-worth individual, building a stealth-mode startup. This role combined technical development, team creation, and strategic oversight. Currently I am Senior AI engineer / line manager at one of the biggest OOH advertising companies in the UAE, which has recently expanded to the London market and plans to further expand across the globe. As head of the AI core team I have full ownership over all AI activities across Multiply and its daughter companies. I was therefore at the forefront of setting up three AI departments from the ground up, from inception to hiring, development and delivery. Beyond that, I am an active contributor to the AI community. I have spoken at MLCon on Generative AI for Systems Engineering, co-presented at the European Space Agency’s LING4S workshop, and engaged with industry audiences on applied AI for traceability and autonomous driving. My work highlights how AI can augment complex engineering domains. What sets me apart is the blend of hands-on engineering, strategic leadership, and communication skills, with a proven ability to design and operationalize AI systems that drive measurable value for both startups and enterprises. In my free time, you can find me reading, listen to podcasts, work on private projects, going to the gym and swimming.

Experience

  • AI Lead at Multiply Media Group
    Nov 2025 - Present · 8 mos

  • Manager | Artificial Intelligence and Data at Confidential Single Family Office | Stealth Startup
    May 2025 - Nov 2025 · 7 mos

  • itemis (4 yrs)
    • AI Engineer
      Sep 2021 - May 2025 · 3 yrs 9 mos

      As an AI engineer at itemis AG, i am responsible for utilising the cutting edge in the field of machine learning/deep learning, natural language processing & MLOps, catering systemic AI-based solutions to itemis and its clients.

    • Working Student in Computational Linguistics / Natural Language Processing
      Jun 2021 - Aug 2021 · 3 mos

  • Working Student at Autonomous Intelligent Driving GmbH
    Nov 2018 - Jul 2020 · 1 yr 9 mos

  • Working Student at Incenda.ai
    Jun 2018 - Aug 2018 · 3 mos

    - Digital map development for autonomous vehicle technology