Director of Decision Science & Insights

Canvaslms; Northern (KY); On-site; USD 170,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Ownership program

Flexible work

Generous time off

Wellness programs

Professional development

Tuition reimbursement

Modern tools

Job summary

Instructure is seeking a Director of Decision Science to build and lead the team that turns our data into better decisions. You will own the function, hire and coach a group of scientists, and set the standards for analytical rigor across the company.

You'll partner with product, engineering, marketing, finance, and the executive team to translate business questions into actionable analysis, deliver insights, and guide strategic decisions with measurable impact.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in data science, analytics, or decision science, including at least three years managing and developing a team.
• Track record of analytical work that changed real decisions and produced measurable business results.
• Deep expertise in experimental design, causal inference, statistical modeling, and machine learning, and the judgment to know which one a problem calls for.
• Strong SQL skills, plus fluency in Python or R.
• Experience with modern data platforms and large-scale data tools, such as Snowflake, Databricks, or Spark.
• Ability to explain a complicated analysis to an executive in plain language, and to defend the method to a peer who knows the math.
• A record of hiring well, developing people, and building a team culture others want to join.
• Comfort setting priorities in a fast-moving environment where the questions change and the data is imperfect.
• A master's or PhD in statistics, economics, computer science, operations research, applied mathematics, or a related quantitative field, or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead the decision science team. Hire, onboard, coach, and develop a group of scientists and analysts, and own their career growth.
• Set the function's strategy and roadmap. Decide which problems the team takes on, which it declines, and how success gets measured.
• Partner with product, engineering, marketing, finance, and executive leadership to turn fuzzy business questions into clear analytical problems, then deliver answers people can act on.
• Direct the development of predictive, prescriptive, and causal models that inform product decisions, customer retention, pricing, and operating efficiency.
• Raise the bar on how insights reach decision-makers, from dashboards and metric definitions to written recommendations and executive readouts.
• Present findings and recommendations to senior leaders. Say clearly what we know, what we don't, and what you'd do about it.
• Grow data literacy across Instructure so teams ask sharper questions and read results correctly on their own.
• Work with data engineering and platform teams to make sure the team has the data, tooling, and infrastructure it needs.
• Hold the line on ethical, privacy-conscious data use, including student data. Follow applicable regulations and our own standards, and make sure your team does too.

Skills

10+ years experience

Team management

Experimental design

Causal inference

Statistical modeling

Machine learning

SQL

Python/R

Big data tools

Executive communication

Hiring & culture

Priority setting

Advanced degree optional

Education

Master's or PhD in quantitative field

Tools

Snowflake

Databricks

Spark

SQL

Python

R

Job description

Instructure is seeking a Director of Decision Science to build and lead the team that turns our data into better decisions. You will own the function, hire and coach a group of scientists, and set the standards for analytical rigor across the company.

You'll partner with product, engineering, marketing, finance, and the executive team to translate business questions into actionable analysis, deliver insights, and guide strategic decisions with measurable impact.