Sr Director Data Science

UKG; Lowell (MA); On-site; USD 220,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

UKG seeks an AI & data science Delivery Lead to define and drive a multi-year AI strategy across the company, collaborating with product, engineering, and leadership to scale ML, analytics, and AI initiatives.

The role emphasizes governance, responsible AI, and measurable business impact, requiring extensive leadership experience and a proven record of delivering enterprise-grade AI products.

Qualifications

• Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Operations Research, or a related field.
• 12+ years of experience in data science, analytics, AI, or machine learning.
• 5+ years of senior leadership experience managing managers and large technical organizations.
• Proven experience delivering machine learning systems into production at enterprise scale.
• Strong understanding of statistical modeling, experimentation, predictive analytics, and AI technologies.
• Experience partnering with executive leadership on business and technology strategy.
• Experience with Generative AI, LLMs, AI agents, and AI platform ecosystems.
• Experience building AI-powered SaaS products.
• Familiarity with workforce management, HR technology, enterprise software, or related domains.
• Experience establishing Responsible AI and AI governance programs.
• Track record of leading organizational transformation through data and AI.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute multi-year data science and AI strategy aligned with company objectives.
• Identify high-value business and customer problems solvable through ML, analytics, and AI.
• Establish data science operating models, governance standards, and success metrics.
• Drive prioritization of investments across research, experimentation, and production AI capabilities.
• Partner with engineering to operationalize models at scale via MLOps and AI platform capabilities.
• Collaborate with Product Management to define AI-powered product experiences and roadmap priorities.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Executive communication

Organizational design

Data-driven decision making

Customer-centric innovation

Cross-functional collaboration

Operational rigor

Delivery against roadmap commitments

Leadership to manage managers

Education

Master's or PhD in CS/DS/Statistics/Math/OR related field

Tools

MLOps

AI platform

Generative AI

LLMs

Job description

Define and execute the multi-year data science and AI strategy aligned with company objectives. Identify high-value business and customer problems that can be solved through machine learning, analytics, and AI. Establish data science operating models, governance standards, and success metrics. Drive prioritization of investments across research, experimentation, and production AI capabilities.

AI & Machine Learning Delivery Lead

development of predictive, prescriptive, and generative AI solutions. Partner with engineering teams to operationalize models at scale through MLOps and AI platform capabilities. Ensure robust monitoring, observability, evaluation, and continuous improvement of deployed models. Champion responsible AI practices including fairness, explainability, privacy, security, and compliance.

Product & Customer Impact

Collaborate with Product Management to define AI-powered product experiences and roadmap priorities. Translate customer needs into data science opportunities that improve business outcomes. Establish mechanisms for measuring customer value, adoption, and ROI from AI investments. Support strategic customer engagements and executive discussions involving AI capabilities.

Operational Excellence

Define metrics and reporting frameworks to measure model quality, business impact, and platform efficiency. Drive planning, budgeting, staffing, and execution across multiple concurrent initiatives. Ensure effective risk management and governance for AI and data-driven systems. Lead reviews of architecture, experimentation frameworks, and technical direction.

UKG is unable to offer sponsorship for this position.

Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Operations Research, or a related field.

• 12+ years of experience in data science, analytics, AI, or machine learning.
• 5+ years of senior leadership experience managing managers and large technical organizations.
• Proven experience delivering machine learning systems into production at enterprise scale.
• Strong understanding of statistical modeling, experimentation, predictive analytics, and AI technologies.
• Experience partnering with executive leadership on business and technology strategy.
• Experience with Generative AI, LLMs, AI agents, and AI platform ecosystems.
• Experience building AI-powered SaaS products.
• Familiarity with workforce management, HR technology, enterprise software, or related domains.
• Experience establishing Responsible AI and AI governance programs.
• Track record of leading organizational transformation through data and AI.

• Strategic thinking and business acumen
• Executive communication and influence
• Organizational design and talent development
• Data-driven decision making
• Customer-centric innovation
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Operational rigor and execution excellence
• Delivery against strategic roadmap commitments