VP of Engineering, Data Science

About Upwork

Upwork ($UPWK) is the world’s work marketplace, connecting companies with top independent talent globally. Our mission is to create economic opportunities for people to have better lives. Each year, over $2 billion of work is done through Upwork by skilled independent professionals.

The Opportunity

Are you an experienced Data, Machine Learning, and Engineering leader ready to run the core of a work marketplace central to the professional lives of millions of freelancers and clients? Do you enjoy leading teams to solve complex problems, identify scalability issues, and develop creative solutions? Do you thrive in multi-functional teams addressing grand challenges across Product, Analytics, Data, Machine Learning, and Application Engineering? If so, we want to hear from you!

As a leader in our Data Science organization, you will optimize conversion funnels across marketplace delivery models and manage the core marketplace for freelancers and clients. Key areas of focus include improving marketplace matching (search applications and recommender systems), optimizing acquisition funnels and marketing budgets, automating operations with AI-assistance, and steering marketplace dynamics (supply, demand, pricing).

Your Responsibilities

• Lead multiple Data Science teams through the entire Data Science product lifecycle, from building data pipelines to developing Machine Learning based proof-of-concepts.
• Identify new opportunities and set strategic directions for collaboration with Product, Marketing, and Operations teams.
• Manage the team’s technical strategy, planning, and execution, establishing rituals for partner alignment.
• Advise, mentor, and learn from team members across Product Engineering, Analytics, Data, and Machine Learning.
• Drive high standards of excellence for Machine Learning Researchers, Data Scientists, and Engineers to achieve innovations while ensuring scalability and availability of current product systems.
• Demonstrate a proven ability to work in a fast-paced, iterative environment and lead the parallel development and delivery of features across multiple related product areas.
• Maintain a strong focus on the customer and business, coupled with a desire to learn, respond to feedback, and grow.
• Exhibit excellent written and verbal communication skills, essential for communicating with technical and non-technical audiences across distributed teams and cultures.

What It Takes To Catch Our Eye

• Proven leadership experience leading Data, Machine Learning, and Engineering teams.
• Experience working with high-performing distributed teams.
• Strong technical expertise in all aspects of Data Science product development, including Product Thinking, Machine Learning, Analytics, Experimentation, and Application & Platform Engineering.
• Strong background in working across team boundaries to deliver exceptional customer experiences across the full Data Science stack.
• Strong background in delivering ML-based innovations and validated products.
• Experience managing a platform running on technologies such as Spark, Databricks, MLlib, Tensorflow, and a microservice architecture.