Director, Data & AI

Loblaw Companies Limited; Toronto; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading Canadian retail firm in Toronto is hiring a Director of Data & AI to shape their media data strategy. The role involves leading a technical team to develop and scale data solutions, ensuring data quality and collaboration across departments. Candidates need 7+ years of experience in data engineering, ML, or related fields, with a strong understanding of data stacks. This position emphasizes leadership, innovation, and a commitment to sustainability as part of the company culture.

Benefits

Comprehensive training

Flexible work environment

Competitive benefits

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in data engineering, data science, or ML engineering.
• Experience in ad tech, martech, or eCommerce/retail media is a strong asset.
• Strong interpersonal skills to influence cross-functional partners.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the Data & AI roadmap for media platforms.
• Lead and grow a high-performing Data & AI organization.
• Build scalable and reliable data platforms and ML solutions.
• Partner with various teams to deliver data-driven media solutions.

Skills

Data engineering

ML engineering

Leadership

Collaboration

Agile methodologies

Data modeling

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

GCP

AWS

Azure

Python

SQL

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Job description

Come make your difference in communities across Canada, where authenticity, trust and making connections is valued – as we shape the future of Canadian retail, together. Our unique position as one of the country's largest employers, coupled with our commitment to positively impact the lives of all Canadians, provides our colleagues a range of opportunities and experiences to help Canadians Live Life Well®. At Loblaw Companies Limited, we succeed through collaboration and commitment and set a high bar for ourselves and those around us. Whether you are just starting your career, re‑entering the workforce, or looking for a new job, this is where you belong.

At Loblaw Digital, we know that our customers expect the best from us. Whether that means building the best, most innovative online shopping experiences or designing an app that will impact the lives of people across the country, we’re up for the challenge. Loblaw Digital is the team responsible for building and operating the online businesses of Canada’s largest and most successful retailer. Based in downtown Toronto, we are an entrepreneurial, fast‑paced, and collaborative team working towards transforming the way Canadians shop by creating leading eCommerce experiences in the online grocery shopping, beauty, pharmacy, loyalty and apparel spaces, and we’re only just getting started! To achieve these goals, we are looking for talented and passionate individuals who want to collaborate and solve challenging problems and make significant and lasting impact on Canadians.

The impact you’ll make

Working closely with the Sr. Director of Engineering for Media and acting as a key member of the technology leadership team, the Director of Data & AI will own the Data & AI strategy for our media business, and collaborate to grow our media data products. You will ensure our data platforms, ML models and analytics capabilities are world‑class, privacy‑safe and able to scale with the rapid growth of our retail media network.

You will lead and grow a talented, multi‑disciplinary team of software developers, data engineers and ML engineers. You’ll be a champion of data quality, measurement, experimentation and AI, driving better targeting, optimisation and insights for advertisers. In addition to leading internal teams, you will manage key external partners and collaborate with Enterprise data, privacy and technology groups.

We are looking for a hands‑on, highly technical leader with a track record of building large‑scale data and AI systems for consumer or advertiser‑facing products. You can dive deep into business, operations and technology and understand what it takes to build scalable, extensible and trustworthy data products.

What you’ll do

• Define and own the Data & AI roadmap for our media platforms (targeting, optimisation, measurement, insights, experimentation). Translate business and advertiser needs into a cohesive portfolio of data products and ML solutions.
• Lead and grow a high‑performing Data & AI organization.
• Build scalable and reliable data platforms and ML solutions.
• Ensure consistent and timely delivery of new data and AI capabilities while driving velocity, predictability and quality.
• Partner with Product Management, Media Sales, Marketing, Finance and Enterprise Technology teams to define and deliver data‑driven media solutions. Communicate strategy, roadmaps and project status in a concise and accurate manner to executives and stakeholders.
• Lead relationships with onshore/off‑shore data & AI partners, vendors and platforms.
• Plan and manage multiple parallel projects and programmes, balancing short‑term delivery with long‑term platform investments.
• Contribute as a member of the Media Technology leadership team to define operating models, processes and culture.

Does this sound like you?

• 7+ years of progressive experience in data engineering, data science, ML engineering or related fields, including several years in senior leadership (managing managers and multi‑disciplinary teams).
• Experience in a high‑volume, complex, data‑rich environment; background in ad tech, martech, or eCommerce / retail media is a strong asset.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Deep understanding of modern data and AI stacks:
  • Cloud data platforms (e.g. GCP, AWS or Azure), big data processing (e.g. Spark, Flink, BQ), streaming and data warehousing.
  • ML tooling and frameworks (e.g. Python, SQL, TensorFlow/PyTorch, feature stores, MLOps platforms, LLMs).
• Strong grasp of data modelling, experimentation and ML techniques used in personalisation, targeting, recommendations and optimisation.
• Excellent understanding of Agile ways of working; experience running data and ML teams in an agile product development environment.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to influence and collaborate with cross‑functional partners at all levels of the organisation.
• Demonstrated ability to drive clarity, action and ownership across large, distributed teams.
• Proven history of building and scaling high‑performing technical teams and attracting top talent.
• Hands‑on technologist who can dive deep into architecture, data models and ML design while empowering teams to execute.
• Decisive, accountable and comfortable operating in a fast‑paced, ambiguous environment with a strong sense of urgency and ownership.
• Familiarity with privacy, security and responsible AI considerations in the use of customer and advertiser data.

Our commitment to Sustainability and Social Impact is an essential part of the way we do business and we focus our attention on areas where we can have the greatest impact. Our approach to sustainability and social impact is based on three pillars – Environment, Sourcing and Community – and we are constantly looking for ways to demonstrate leadership in these important areas. Our CORE Values – Care, Ownership, Respect and Excellence – guide all our decision‑making and come to life through our Blue Culture. We offer our colleagues progressive careers, comprehensive training, flexibility and other competitive benefits – these are some of the many reasons why we are one of Canada’s Top Employers, Canada’s Best Diversity Employers, Canada’s Greenest Employers and Canada’s Top Employers for Young People.

If you are unsure whether your experience matches every requirement above, we encourage you to apply anyway. We are looking for varied perspectives which include diverse experiences that we can add to our team.

We have a long‑standing focus on diversity, equity and inclusion because we know it will make our company a better place to work and shop. We are committed to creating accessible environments for our colleagues, candidates and customers. Requests for accommodation due to a disability (which may be visible or invisible, temporary or permanent) can be made at any stage of application and employment. We encourage candidates to make their accommodation needs known so that we can provide equitable opportunities.

Please Note

Candidates who are 18 years or older are required to complete a criminal background check. Details will be provided through the application process.