Head of Applied Machine Learning - Attentive

Job Title: Head of Applied Machine Learning
Job Location: San Francisco, CA
Job Listing URL: https://jobs.lever.co/attentive/1a3bd633-4c1e-49ff-aa99-cba3ab51de5e
Job Description: Attentive® is the AI-powered mobile marketing platform transforming the way brands personalize consumer engagement. Attentive enables marketers to craft tailored journeys for every subscriber, driving higher recurring revenue and maximizing campaign performance. Activating real-time data from multiple channels and advanced AI, the platform personalizes content, tone, and timing to deliver 1:1 messages that truly resonate.

With a top-rated customer success team recognized on G2, Attentive partners with marketers to provide strategic guidance and optimize SMS and email campaigns. Trusted by leading global brands like Neiman Marcus, Samsung, Wayfair, and Dyson, Attentive ensures enterprise-grade compliance and deliverability, supporting trillions of interactions across more than 70 industries. To learn more or request a demo, visit www.attentive.com or follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), or Instagram.

Attentive’s growth has been recognized by Deloitte’s Fast 500, Linkedin’s Top Startups and Forbes Cloud 100 all thanks to the hard work from our global employees!

About the Role
Attentive’s Data Science & Machine Learning organization unites data scientists, applied scientists, and applied ML engineers who design, build, and operate the models behind our AI‑powered marketing platform. We own the company’s data‑driven decision‑making and conversational‑AI efforts end‑to‑end, turning real‑time data into production ML systems that reach hundreds of millions of consumers every day. Partnering closely with Product, Engineering, and Go‑to‑Market, we transform data into revenue‑driving capabilities while fostering a high‑performance, high‑impact culture. Joining this group offers a rare, high‑growth opportunity to lead and learn from some of the world’s most talented ML and data professionals.

This role requires someone able to operate strategically within the organization to elevate machine learning from technical execution to applied product and market impact. With a dedicated Machine Learning Platform organization now supplying robust infrastructure and MLOps, your mandate is squarely on the applied and product side: discovering the highest‑value opportunities in our data, crafting the applied‑ML strategy that turns those insights into shipped features, and shaping the teams, processes, and models that scale them—from zero‑to‑one prototypes and pragmatic heuristics to enterprise‑grade systems. Operating at the intersection of data, product, and go‑to‑market, you will guide multiple squads of ML engineers and scientists, serve as the executive point of contact for all product‑facing ML work, set vision, influence company‑wide roadmaps, and serve as a magnet for world-class talent who want to do the best work of their careers.
What You’ll Accomplish
Define the applied ML strategy that drives measurable gains in subscriber LTV and brand revenue/earnings
Lead and scale high-impact teams of applied ML engineers and (potentially) applied scientists embedded across product squads
Prioritize value, not complexity—identify where pragmatic modeling, heuristics, or zero-to-one systems unlock outsized business returns
Drive cross-functional alignment with Product, Engineering, and GTM to ensure ML work is sequenced, scoped, and shipped with impact
Establish accountability for outcomes through clear success metrics, experimentation standards, and model-to-KPI frameworks
Your Expertise
8+ Years of proven experience leading applied ML and potentially data/applied science teams in a fast-paced, product-led environment
Deep technical fluency across ML modeling, experimentation, and production systems, with strong product and business judgment
Track record of turning ambiguous opportunities into shippable ML systems that deliver business resultsEffective at influencing executive/senior stakeholders and guiding cross-functional strategy
Leadership presence that draws in, develops, and inspires world-class talent
Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Statistics, Economics, Operations Research, or a related quantitative field preferred