Head Data Science AI (Director)

📋 Description

• • CloudZero is at the forefront of revolutionizing cloud cost management, establishing the world's first Cloud Economics Operating System. We empower cloud-driven businesses to dynamically link engineering decisions with tangible business outcomes in real-time. This is a pivotal, strategic role designed for significant impact during our scale-up phase. As our Head of Data Science & AI (Director), you will be instrumental in elevating our AI research and experimentation initiatives to unprecedented levels. Your mission will be to transform nascent prototypes into robust, production-ready systems that not only meet but define market standards in cloud cost intelligence.
• • We have already established a strong foundation with promising early-stage experiments in critical areas such as time series anomaly detection, the application of Generative AI (GenAI), and sophisticated cost attribution methodologies. Now, we are seeking a hands-on, visionary leader to guide the evolution of these innovations into customer-facing products that deliver exceptional value. You will be tasked with tackling genuinely complex and challenging problems that will shape the future trajectory of FinOps, real-time unit economics, and autonomous cloud optimization.
• • Your responsibilities will span across several key domains, beginning with Technical Leadership and Hands-On Development. You will lead by example, dedicating a significant portion of your time – approximately 60-70% – to the practical aspects of building, architecting, and solving intricate technical challenges. This includes prototyping novel Machine Learning (ML) and AI research ideas, and crucially, facilitating their transition into scalable, enterprise-grade production systems. You will collaborate closely with our product engineering teams to develop and integrate AI-powered features focused on enhancing cost optimization, enabling proactive anomaly detection, and delivering advanced predictive analytics capabilities. Furthermore, you will be responsible for establishing and upholding rigorous technical standards and efficient development processes for all AI/ML systems within the organization.
• • In parallel, you will drive People Leadership and Foster Cross-Functional Collaboration. This involves hiring, mentoring, and developing a high-performing, albeit initially small, team of AI/ML specialists. You will provide direct, hands-on coaching and in-depth technical guidance to your team members, nurturing an environment that champions innovation, encourages continuous learning, and maintains an unwavering focus on customer needs. Your leadership style will be one of setting the standard in technical decision-making and problem-solving approaches. You will work in lockstep with our broader engineering teams to seamlessly embed AI capabilities throughout the entire CloudZero platform. A key aspect of your role will be translating complex AI concepts into clear, understandable business value propositions for both executive leadership and our diverse customer base. You will also represent CloudZero's cutting-edge AI capabilities in crucial customer conversations and prominent industry events, solidifying our position as a thought leader.
• • The technical challenges you will address are at the heart of our product's value proposition. This includes developing solutions for Real-time Unit Economics, where you'll architect systems capable of calculating per-unit costs across millions of transactions, incorporating dynamic efficiency management. You will build out our Predictive Cost Intelligence capabilities, creating models that can forecast and proactively prevent cost efficiency breaches before they negatively impact business operations. Our Multi-Cloud Attribution efforts will require your expertise in accurately attributing cloud spend across intricate, multi-cloud systems, potentially leveraging probabilistic modeling techniques. Finally, you will spearhead the development of Autonomous Optimization features, creating intelligent AI agents designed to execute safe infrastructure changes within defined business constraints, thereby automating and optimizing cloud resource utilization.
• • This role offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of cloud cost intelligence, working with a talented team on technically demanding problems that have a direct and significant impact on our customers' bottom line. You will be empowered to innovate, lead, and build solutions that are truly groundbreaking in the FinOps space.