Upwork ($UPWK) is the world’s largest work marketplace, connecting businesses with highly skilled professionals worldwide. From entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 enterprises, companies trust Upwork’s platform to access expert talent, leverage AI-powered work solutions, and drive meaningful business outcomes.
Upwork’s AI-powered platform has facilitated over $20 billion in economic opportunity for professionals worldwide. With professionals spanning 10,000+ skills, including AI and machine learning, software development, sales and marketing, customer support, finance and accounting, and more, Upwork empowers businesses of all sizes to scale, innovate, and build agile teams.
The Analytics, Data Science, and Economics team is looking for an experienced Director of Data Science to guide strategy and decision-making across the company across a variety of teams and levels. Data Scientists at Upwork work to uncover insights through machine learning techniques and turn them into relevant recommendations, driving decisions for all areas of the organization. This is a unique opportunity to build a function from an early stage.
Your Responsibilities:
- Scale and Lead: Hire, mentor, and scale a world-class data and decisioning science team.
- Communicate Clearly: Present insights with conviction, translating model explanation to key business drivers and results.
- Collaborate & Partner: Work closely with data engineering to enhance and maintain shared feature stores.
- Build Ways of Working: Reinforce rigorous processes for model selection, validation, and retraining across the MDS team.
- Business Acumen & Problem Solving: Guide strategic decisions in partnership with business leaders with a keen eye on business impact.
What it takes to catch our eye:
- A degree in Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science or a related field.
- Leadership experience in Data Science or Econometrics with causal inference / predictive modeling in Python, SQL & Sagemaker etc.
- Demonstrated Impact: Proven success with supply-demand models, econometric modelling, market mix, segmentation, and other optimization tools.
- Structured Thinker: Ability to tackle ambiguity through a hypothesis-driven, data-centric mindset.
- Clarity & Empathy: Keen attention to detail coupled with the ability to articulate ideas succinctly and in an empathetic manner.
- Sound Judgement: Balance of the art and science of Data Science while staying objective and pragmatic.
- Effective Relationships: Build and gain trust with relationships to drive decisions in a consensus manner.
- Startup Mindset: Own, operate, lead and influence in an agile startup environment and high-performing team.
At Upwork, you’ll shape the future of work for a global, remote-first workforce, creating economic opportunities for professionals worldwide. While we have a physical office in Palo Alto, we currently hire full-time employees in 21 U.S. states, making it easier than ever to join our mission from wherever you call home.
Our culture is built on trust, risk-taking, customer focus, and excellence, all in service of our core mission: to create economic opportunities so people have better lives. We embrace authenticity and inclusion, encouraging everyone to bring their whole selves to work. Personal and professional growth is a priority here, supported through development programs, mentorship, and our Upwork Belonging Communities.
We’re proud to offer benefits that go beyond the basics, including comprehensive medical coverage for you and your family, unlimited PTO, a 401(k) plan with matching, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Visit our Life at Upwork page to learn more about our values, working principles, and the overall employee experience.
Ready to help shape the future of work? Check out our Careers page and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X. to learn more about life at Upwork.
Upwork is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or other legally protected characteristics under federal, state, or local law.
Please note that a criminal background check may be required once a conditional job offer is made. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered in accordance with applicable law, including the California Fair Chance Act and local Fair Chance ordinances.
The annual base salary range for this position is displayed below. The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum salary for this position, and individual base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location. Additionally, this position is eligible for the annual bonus plan or sales incentive plan and eligibility to participate in our long term equity incentive program.
Annual Base Compensation
$195,000—$308,000 USD
To learn more about how Upwork processes and protects your personal information as part of the application process, please review our Global Job Applicant Privacy Notice
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