Sr. Director of Engineering, AI & ML

At PitchBook, we are always looking forward. We continue to innovate, evolve, and invest in ourselves to bring out the best in everyone. We're deeply collaborative and thrive on the excitement, energy, and fun that reverberates throughout the company.

Our extensive learning programs and mentorship opportunities help us create a culture of curiosity that pushes us to always find new solutions and better ways of doing things. The combination of a rapidly evolving industry and our high ambitions means there's going to be some ambiguity along the way, but we excel when we challenge ourselves. We're willing to take risks, fail fast, and do it all over again in the pursuit of excellence.

If you have a good attitude and are willing to roll up your sleeves to get things done, PitchBook is the place for you.

About the Role:

As a member of the Product and Engineering team at PitchBook, you will be part of a team of big thinkers, innovators, and problem solvers who strive to deepen the positive impact we have on our customers and our company every day. We value curiosity and the drive to find better ways of doing things. We thrive on customer empathy, which remains our focus when creating excellent customer experiences through product innovation.

As the Sr. Director of Engineering, AI & ML, you will lead the company's global AI and machine learning initiatives, guiding distributed teams across multiple regions to build robust, scalable AI/ML solutions that power our products and critical business functions. Your primary focus will be on backend and data-intensive areas, ensuring our AI/ML systems are designed and deployed with the highest standards of technical excellence, performance, and scalability. This role offers a unique opportunity to blend deep technical expertise with leadership skills, driving impactful change in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.

This role demands a high degree of technical expertise, particularly in machine learning engineering, data science, and data platforms, along with strong leadership skills in managing and coordinating teams across different geographies and time zones. You will leverage your deep knowledge in areas such as advanced natural language processing (NLP), generative AI (GenAI) and large language models (LLMs), ML Operations (MLOps), data architecture, data pipelines, and cloud-managed services.

You will build and lead a team of talented data scientists (applied AI) and machine learning engineers responsible for developing all of our AI/ML capabilities. You will train and mentor team members, identify and resolve technical challenges, oversee the integrity of our solutions, establish and drive delivery targets, and ensure that our ML teams are optimized for performance, reliability, and security.

Your ability to collaborate with cross-departmental stakeholders, provide leadership across multiple locations, set high standards for the team, and hire, train, and retain exceptional talent is foundational to your success.

Primary Job Responsibilities:

• AI & ML Leadership: Shape the strategic vision and roadmap for AI and ML initiatives, ensuring global alignment with business goals and cutting-edge technology trends.
• Technical Oversight: Provide strong technical leadership in AI and ML engineering globally, particularly in areas like NLP, semantic search, summarization, and data-driven product development.
• Team Leadership & Development: Lead and mentor a high-performing, globally distributed team of AI/ML engineers and data scientists.
• System Architecture & Integration: Oversee the design and integration of complex AI and ML systems within our global software architecture.
• MLOps & Data Platform Collaboration: Collaborate closely with MLOps, Platform Engineering, and Enterprise Data Platform teams.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to align AI and ML initiatives with broader global company objectives.
• Innovation & Continuous Improvement: Drive innovation in AI and ML practices on a global scale.
• System Integrity & Security: Ensure the integrity, performance, and security of AI/ML systems globally.
• Talent Acquisition & Retention: Play a key role in hiring, training, and retaining top engineering talent worldwide.
• Culture & Collaboration: Foster a culture of belonging, psychological safety, and open communication within your global team.
• Process: Apply Agile, Lean, and principles of fast flow to enhance team efficiency and productivity.
• Support the vision and values of the company through role modeling and encouraging desired behaviors.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Data Science, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in software engineering, with a focus on AI and ML technologies.
• 10+ years of experience in engineering leadership roles.
• Deep expertise in machine learning, with a strong focus on NLP, semantic search, and other advanced natural language processing techniques.
• Proven experience with MLOps, data platforms, data pipelines, and messaging platforms.
• Strong background in data architecture, software architecture, and distributed systems.
• Proficient in Python, Java, SQL, and other relevant programming languages and tools.
• Experience in cloud-native delivery, with a deep understanding of containerization technologies.
• Excellent problem-solving skills with a focus on innovation, efficiency, and scalability in a global context.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.

Benefits + Compensation at PitchBook:

Physical Health

• Comprehensive health benefits.
• Additional medical wellness incentives.
• STD, LTD, AD&D, and life insurance.

Emotional Health

• Paid sabbatical program after four years.
• Paid family and paternity leave.
• Annual educational stipend.
• Ability to apply for tuition reimbursement.
• CFA exam stipend.
• Robust training programs on industry and soft skills.
• Employee assistance program.
• Generous allotment of vacation days, sick days, and volunteer days.

Social Health

• Matching gifts program.
• Employee resource groups.
• Subsidized emergency childcare.
• Dependent Care FSA.
• Company-wide events.
• Employee referral bonus program.
• Quarterly team building events.

Financial Health

• 401k match.
• Shared ownership employee stock program.
• Monthly transportation stipend.

*Please be aware the above PitchBook benefit and perk offerings are subject to corresponding plan and policy documents and may change during the course of your employment.

Compensation

• Annual base salary: $310,000-$340,000.
• Target annual bonus percentage: 30%.

*Starting pay will be based on several factors and commensurate with qualifications & experience.

Working Conditions:

We believe our business and our culture are strongest when we work together in person. Most roles work in the office 3+ days/week, and some are expected to work in the office 4-5 days/week.

The job conditions for this position are in a standard office setting. Employees in this position use PC and phone on an ongoing basis throughout the day.

Life At PB:

We are consistently recognized as a Best Place to Work and our culture is at the heart of our success.

We are excited to get to know you and your background. Concerned that you might not meet every requirement? We encourage you to still apply as you might be the right candidate for the role or other roles at PitchBook.

#LI-RS1