Director, Data Science

DuckDuckGo is an online protection company and remote-first team of 300+ focused on raising the standard of trust online. Founded in 2008 and profitable since 2014, the company has annual revenue exceeding $100m USD and offers products including a privacy-focused browser on multiple platforms, a search engine, a subscription service, and private AI tools such as Duck.ai.

• 10+ years experience in data science or ML engineering.
• 4+ years experience leading teams and setting multi-team roadmaps.
• Proven success in driving organizational data-driven culture and communicating technical tradeoffs and risks to executives and stakeholders.
• Experience coaching highly skilled data scientists and providing actionable feedback.
• Expert in deploying and iterating ML and NLP solutions in production, especially under constrained environments requiring fast responses and strict privacy.
• Proficient in writing production-grade code in Python or comparable high-level languages.
• Advanced SQL and query optimization skills; familiarity with columnar databases like BigQuery, Clickhouse, Redshift, or Druid.
• Strong experience with LLM/AI including fine-tuning, LLM-as-judge evaluation, AI-assisted development, and designing experiments with sparse or privacy-constrained data.
• Preferred: experience at a consumer-facing tech company where data or analytics are central to product strategy.

• Develop data scientists through setting clear expectations, providing hands-on mentorship, and removing blockers.
• Guide and advise multiple data science projects to ensure timely delivery and maximum impact.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to validate direction through data and consult on experiments.
• Become an expert in core metrics like searches, installs, and revenue.
• Drive improvements of the data pipeline.
• Develop strategies for actionable insights under strong privacy policies and quantitative rigor.

• Remote role with presence expected via video conferencing.
• Travel required twice yearly for all-hands meetup and team retreat.
• Flexible work arrangement with no core hours; average 40 hours/week expected.
• Successful candidate must pass a background check.
• Applicants must provide accurate and complete information or risk offer denial or termination.
• Use of AI technology in recruitment process with human oversight and transparency.
• Equal opportunity employment and accommodation for disabilities in hiring process.