Head of Data Jobs

Octave

Location:
United States

Category:
IT - Software Development

Contract Type:
Not provided

Salary:

239300.00 - 280000.00 USD / Year

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Job Description:

As Head of Data, you will own our end-to-end data function: analytics, data engineering, and data science. You will set the vision and roadmap for how we use data and AI/ML across the company, ensure our infrastructure is reliable and scalable, and lead the development of product- and business-facing AI applications. This role is both strategic and operational: you’ll partner with executives to shape company direction, while also ensuring your teams deliver reliable pipelines, actionable insights, and production-ready models. You’ll also be a team builder, responsible for developing current talent and hiring externally to close skill gaps in critical areas like advanced data science, ML engineering, and data governance.

Job Responsibility:

Define and drive the company-wide data & AI/ML vision, aligned with business and product strategy
Partner with executives across Product, Engineering, Growth, and Finance to ensure data informs key decisions and creates competitive advantage
Evangelize data culture — making data and AI central to how we operate and build
Oversee pipelines, warehouse, and infrastructure for reliability, observability, and scale
Establish a single source of truth for KPIs and reporting
Implement governance for data quality, security, and compliance
Lead analytics team to deliver insights that drive product, growth, and operations
Scale self-serve analytics adoption while maintaining consistency and quality
Build frameworks for experimentation (A/B testing, causal inference)
Launch and scale high-impact AI/ML initiatives, from pilots to production
Build the foundation for ML operations: monitoring, retraining pipelines, feature store
Ensure responsible AI practices around bias, fairness, and explainability
Explore emerging AI capabilities (LLMs, generative AI) to keep us ahead of the curve
Lead, mentor, and develop a growing team of analysts, engineers, and scientists
Identify gaps and hire externally for critical expertise (e.g., ML engineers, senior scientists)
Define career ladders and growth paths to retain and motivate top talent
Build the company’s reputation as a top destination for data and AI talent
Develops, coordinates, and implements systems, policies, procedures, and productivity standards
Provide leadership and guidance to the team, ensuring the achievement of goals and objectives
Foster a positive and collaborative work environment
Oversee the planning, execution, and completion of projects and initiatives within the team
Establish and monitor operational processes and workflows to enhance efficiency and productivity
Streamline operational processes, enhance efficiency, and improve overall organizational performance
Implement best practices, monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), and develop strategies to achieve operational excellence
Ensures a safe, secure, and compliant work environment
Accomplishes staff results by communicating job expectations
planning, monitoring, and appraising job results
Build and manage a high-performing team, including hiring, training, and development
Provide leadership to the team, including setting goals, providing guidance, and ensuring the team's overall success
Set performance expectations and goals for team members
Conduct regular performance evaluations, provide feedback, and address performance issues
Identify skill gaps within the team and develop strategies for filling those gaps
Support employee development through training, mentoring, and coaching
Identify high-potential employees and create succession plans

Requirements:

8+ years of experience in data analytics/data science
4+ years in a leadership role scaling teams and delivering cross-functional impact
Expertise with analytics reporting and data platforms Tableau, SQL, Adverity
Fluency in SQL and Python
experience with modern data stacks (e.g. BigQuery, dbt, Metabase, Mixpanel)
Proven leadership experience overseeing multi-disciplinary data teams (engineering, analytics, science)
Track record of hiring and scaling teams at high-growth startups or scale-ups
Experience shipping ML/AI solutions into production with measurable business impact
Strong technical background: modern data stacks (dbt, Snowflake, Airflow), programming (Python, SQL), ML/AI frameworks
Strategic thinker who can roll up sleeves when needed
Excellent communication skills and ability to ‘translate’ between the data and the business via layman’s terminology of complex analytical methods to deliver a clear story to influence your recommendations with data and insights
Established track record of building and leading high-performing data teams, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and knowledge sharing
strong desire to lead and grow the team’s expertise and leadership skills
Self-motivated to work with diverse business scenarios, handle multiple priorities, and have a business & consultancy mindset while being technically (data) savvy
Advanced modeling techniques, strategic analysis skills, and understanding of SaaS metrics
Proven ability to drive business intelligence initiatives across the full data stack, from automated pipelines (Fivetran, dbt, Coalesce) through warehouses (Snowflake, ClickHouse, Databricks) to visualization tools (Sigma, Power BI, Tableau, Hex)
ensuring organizational data integrity and strategic insight generation
In-depth understanding of modern data governance, security, and compliance best practices, with the ability to balance data accessibility with data integrity for data-driven projects
Must be eligible to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future

What we offer:

company sponsored life insurance
disability and AD&D plans
Voluntary benefits such as 401k retirement, medical, dental, vision, FSA, HSA, dependent care and commuter/parking options
Octave offers generous Paid Time Off as well as paid parental leave benefits
equity in the form of stock options
an annual bonus

Additional Information:

Job Posted:
December 10, 2025

Employment Type:

Fulltime

Work Type:

Remote work

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Head of Data