Director of Data Science & Engineering
About the role
WHO WE ARE:
ActBlue is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating cutting-edge technology that fuels Democratic victories and enables progressive causes to thrive.
Our vision is simple: building change through the power of people. Since our founding, we’ve been building innovative solutions to revolutionize grassroots fundraising – if you’ve donated to a Democratic campaign or a progressive organization online, you’ve probably used our platform! We believe in putting power in the hands of small-dollar donors by helping thousands of groups — from local candidates to national movements — mobilize their communities and create a lasting impact. Every member of our team is deeply committed to advancing our shared mission and core values. Together, we are shaping the future of democracy.
THE OPPORTUNITY:
ActBlue is seeking a Director to lead our Data Science & Engineering department in order to foster a data-centric culture through building teams, infrastructure, systems, and services that facilitate organizational insights and power data driven product experiences.
The Data Science & Engineering department encompasses ActBlue’s entire data function - from providing data analytics and reporting services to building and maintaining our data warehouse and ETL infrastructure. The Data Science & Engineering department is central to ActBlue’s ability to turn our data into a critical advantage for Democratic and progressive grass-roots fundraising.
WHAT YOU WILL DO:
- Collaborate with leaders across the organization to develop and execute on a data strategy inline with ActBlue's near and long term goals, including supporting organizational growth through acquisitions and partnerships
- Foster a data centric culture by upleveling our ability to make data-informed decisions and build best in class data products that meet rigorous performance and reliability standards
- Enable and advocate for AI/ML driven products and features across the ActBlue Platform through building scalable machine learning infrastructure that serves production environments and identifying new opportunities to deploy data science and analytics capacity in service of our mission
- Oversee our Data Science, Data Analytics, Data Engineering, and Data Platform teams in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment
- Guide the evolution of our data systems, tools, and architecture to meet the organization's needs, including data consolidation, governance frameworks, and unified data models across multiple entities
- Ensure high-quality communication and a stakeholder-centric approach between our data teams and their internal customers, with an emphasis on responsiveness and partnership during high-stakes moments
WHAT YOU BRING:
- 8+ years or equivalent in successfully managing and leading Data teams
- 2+ years of leading Data organizations of size 20 or more
- Expertise in the use of data science in strategic and operational decision-making
- Expertise in statistics and quantitative analysis
- Expertise in data security and compliance
- Strong familiarity with Data Engineering, Data platforms, and tools for high performance big data infrastructure
- Experience building production-grade ML/AI systems, including feature engineering pipelines, model deployment, and performance monitoring
- Track record of driving technical excellence and pushing engineering teams to deliver at a higher level
- Effective cross-functional collaborator who can effectively partner across business functions to understand needs, manage expectations, and oversee joint projects in dynamic, sometimes ambiguous environments
- Outstanding stakeholder orientation with a strong desire to be of service, particularly during critical deadlines