Senior Director, Data

Traveltechessentialist; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 194,000 - 432,000; Full time

Job summary

Navan, a Nasdaq-listed global AI-powered business travel and expense platform, seeks a Senior Director of Data to drive enterprise data strategy and AI readiness. You will lead data engineering, analytics, and data science teams, scale modern data infrastructure, and deploy production ML models.

The role emphasizes a fearless, data-driven culture and strategic collaboration with business partners. The ideal candidate has 10+ years in leadership across data domains, hands-on ML tooling

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive leadership across data engineering, analytics, and data science.
• Proven track record of managing data engineering and ML teams while fostering a data-driven culture.
• Strong hands-on knowledge of Python, SQL, ETL tools, cloud data warehouses, and major ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn).
• Deep expertise in pipeline design, streaming data architectures, MLOps, and feature store management.
• Master's or Ph.D. in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, or related field.
• Excellent capability to translate complex technical concepts into clear strategic insights for non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute enterprise data, AI data readiness, and analytics strategy.
• Champion a data-driven culture and elevate data literacy and self-service analytics.
• Build, mentor, and lead teams of data engineers, data scientists, and analysts.
• Drive AI data strategy and lifecycle management of ML models and analytics.
• Oversee end-to-end data pipelines, data warehouses, data lakes, and MLOps infrastructure.
• Establish governance policies for data quality, security, and compliance; deliver executive dashboards and KPIs.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic vision

Communication

Python

SQL

ML frameworks

Data governance

Education

Master's or Ph.D. in Data Science/CS

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

scikit-learn

Airflow

dbt

Job description

Position Overview

As our Senior Director of Data, you will serve as the strategic visionary and executive engine powering our company’s data transformation. In this high-impact leadership role, you will redefine how we leverage information by driving enterprise data strategy, pioneering AI data readiness, commanding end-to-end pipeline engineering, and unlocking competitive advantages through cutting-edge predictive analytics. You will champion, build, and inspire a world-class team across data engineering, analytics, and data science, scaling modern infrastructure, deploying production-grade ML models, and relentlessly embedding a fearless, evidence-based, data-driven culture across every level of the organization.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategy & Organizational Data Leadership

• Define and execute the enterprise data, AI data readiness, and analytics strategy aligned with business objectives.
• Champion a data-driven culture across departments by elevating data literacy and self-service analytics.
• Build, mentor, and lead high-performing teams of data engineers, data scientists, and analysts.

2. AI Readiness & Data Science Leadership

• Drive the AI data strategy, ensuring data is curated, labeled, and optimized for ML/AI model development and deployment.
• Oversee the end-to-end lifecycle of machine learning models, predictive analytics, and feature store infrastructure.
• Collaborate with business partners to identify high-impact AI/ML opportunities that drive strategic value.

3. Pipeline Engineering & Infrastructure

• Oversee modern data engineering, architectural design, and reliable ETL/ELT pipelines for batch and real-time processing.
• Architect scalable data warehouses, data lakes, and modern data stack operations (MLOps).

4. Governance, Analytics & Reporting

• Establish governance policies to ensure high data quality, security, and global regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).
• Deliver key executive dashboards, visualizations, and A/B testing frameworks to measure operational KPIs.

Qualifications

• Experience: 10+ years of progressive leadership experience across data engineering, analytics, and data science.
• Leadership: Proven track record of managing data engineering and ML teams while fostering a data-driven organizational culture.
• Technical Mastery: Strong hands-on knowledge of Python, SQL, modern ETL tools, cloud data warehouses, and major ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn).
• Architecture & Pipelines: Deep expertise in pipeline design, streaming data architectures, MLOps, and feature store management.
• Education: Master's or Ph.D. in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, or related quantitative field.
• Communication: Excellent capability to translate complex technical concepts into clear strategic insights for non-technical stakeholders.

The posted pay range represents the anticipated low and high end of the compensation for this position and is subject to change based on business need. To determine a successful candidate’s starting pay, we carefully consider a variety of factors, including primary work location, an evaluation of the candidate’s skills and experience, market demands, and internal parity.

For roles with on-target-earnings (OTE), the pay range includes both base salary and target incentive compensation. Target incentive compensation for some roles may include a ramping draw period. Compensation is higher for those who exceed targets. Candidates may receive more information from the recruiter.

Pay Range

$194,400 — $432,000 USD

Navan uses AI-assisted Automated Employment Decision Tool (Metaview) to assist with evaluating resumes against job qualifications for this role. All final decisions are made by human recruiters and hiring managers.

Human oversight: Metaview does not automatically reject candidates or make final hiring decisions. Our recruiters and hiring managers review all outputs and make the final hiring decision regarding every application.

• Your rights: If you prefer to have your application reviewed without AI assistance, you may request a human evaluation by entering your email here. Your decision to do so will not affect how your candidacy is evaluated.

Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about our processing of personal data, and your rights.

About Navan

Navan (Nasdaq: NAVN) is the global AI-powered business travel and expense platform that makes travel easy for frequent travelers. From finding flights and hotels, to automating expense reconciliation, with 24/7 support along the way, Navan delivers an intuitive experience travelers love and finance teams rely on. See