Director, Data & AI/ML

General Description

The Director of Data and AI/ML owns the Stratus Intelligence Platform: the data, machine learning, and reasoning capabilities that make compounding intelligence real. This role is accountable for delivering in the AI roadmap, ensuring that AI workloads scale on the platform, the ML lifecycle that trains and serves models on it, and the learning and reasoning capabilities that turn data into customer value over time. This is a player-coach leadership role with both team-build and execution mandates.

Data and Intelligence platform

• Stand up the canonical data layer, the ML platform (training, serving, MLOps), and the learning and reasoning capabilities (model lifecycle, feature stores, vector search, RAG architectures, eval frameworks).
• End of 2026 milestone: foundational data substrate baselined and ML workloads running on it in production.

Team build-out

• Hire and develop a high-leverage Intelligence team (Data, AI/ML, AVE).
• Build the team's craft, culture, operating rhythm and collaboration with other teams.

Production-grade ML and AI

• Stand up the trust patterns Stratus needs to ship AI workloads to customers with confidence: evaluation frameworks, observability for AI, drift detection, confidence scoring, and the operating posture that lets the platform team and customer success trust what we ship.

Three Primary Responsibilities

• Data and Intelligence platform: Stand up the canonical data layer, the ML platform (training, serving, MLOps), and the learning and reasoning capabilities (model lifecycle, feature stores, vector search, RAG architectures, eval frameworks).
• Team build-out: Hire and develop a high-leverage Intelligence team (Data, AI/ML, AVE). Build the team's craft, culture, operating rhythm and collaboration with other teams.
• Production-grade ML and AI: Stand up the trust patterns Stratus needs to ship AI workloads to customers with confidence: evaluation frameworks, observability for AI, drift detection, confidence scoring, and the operating posture that lets the platform team and customer success trust what we ship.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional experience in AI/ML, data engineering, or data science, with 4+ years in formal leadership roles (Senior Manager, Director, or Head of) at a B2B SaaS or AI/ML platform company.
• Demonstrated track record of building and leading AI/ML, data engineering, or data science teams of 5-15 people from a small base.
• Deep technical credibility across the modern AI/ML stack: data platforms (Postgres, pgvector, MongoDB or equivalent), ML platforms (training, serving, MLOps), and generative AI (LLMs, embeddings, RAG, fine-tuning).
• Experience shipping production ML and AI workloads to enterprise customers with the trust patterns (evals, observability, drift, confidence) that come with it.
• Hands-on player-coach posture. Comfortable reviewing technical designs, joining architecture debates, and writing reference implementations when the work warrants it.
• Strong hiring track record. Has built a team in the AI/ML market within the last two to three years and knows what good looks like.
• Excellent written and verbal communication. Capable of explaining AI/ML strategy to engineers, product, executives, and customers.
• Strong cross-functional partnership instincts. Has worked closely with product, engineering, and customer-facing teams as peers.
• Experience with multi-tenant data architecture and the operational realities of serving ML and AI workloads to enterprise customers.

Nice to Have

• Experience in construction tech, MEP, BIM, AEC, or other CAD and engineering workflow domains (or strong willingness to ramp on the domain).
• Background in AI security and threat modeling (prompt injection, data exfiltration, agent abuse, tenant isolation for AI workloads).
• Experience with Azure-native AI architecture (Azure ML, Azure AI Foundry, AKS).
• Experience standing up a data platform or ML platform from early-stage to scale.
• Prior experience in a Series B or growth-stage company navigating the transition from product-market fit to scale.
• Background in regulated or enterprise sales motions where compliance, security, and SLA discipline are non-negotiable.

Benefits

• Comprehensive and competitive health benefits plan
• Matching 401k contributions
• 20 days annual PTO
• Primarily remote work with occasional annual team onsites.

E-VERIFY STATEMENT

Stratus participates in E-Verify. After you join the team, we'll verify your eligibility to work in the U.S. by submitting information from your Form I-9 to the Social Security Administration and, if needed, the Department of Homeland Security. This process happens post-hire only — we never use E-Verify to pre-screen applicants.

E-VERIFY NOTICE

This right to work notice applies to all employees of Stratus and to applicants for employment. If you are offered employment with Stratus, Stratus will request that you complete and return the Form I-9 to confirm your legal right to work in the United States. Failure to provide required documents or failure to pass the verification process will result in termination of employment.