Head of Data Science

about 1 month ago
Full time role
Hybrid · Remote · San Francisco, CA, US... more
What We Are Looking For:

We are seeking a dynamic and visionary individual to lead Data Science at Arable Labs, reporting directly to the CEO. Data is the core of our business, and we are scaling a unique global network that provides unprecedented access to high-quality data in agriculture and beyond. This is a rare opportunity to join a great team, help lead a growing startup, and become an industry leader. You will be tackling real-world problems with the potential for a significant positive impact on the world. This is a hands-on leadership role where you will actively contribute to the technical work while guiding the team. If you are excited by these challenges, this might be the role for you.

What We Do:
At Arable, our mission is to connect all the world’s farms and provide the highest-quality data to power predictive analytics, optimizing the global food system. The need to rethink how we feed an ever-growing population and manage our natural resources has never been greater. We believe the heart of the solution lies in digitizing the analog world with high-fidelity data to help food producers optimize their operations. If successful, our work will improve the lives of farmers, address greenhouse gas emissions, and contribute significantly to securing the global food supply for decades to come.


Example of work

  • Helping farmers in Nebraska in managing water more efficiently and sustainably to protect our water supply.
  • Building agricultural climate data networks in Africa to help farmers be more resilient and adapt to climate change.
  • Providing farmers in California with tools to save water, reduce risk and minimize waste.

What You Will Do:

  • Solve complex, real-world problems that directly impact the agriculture industry and beyond.
  • Actively participate in hands-on technical work, including Modeling, developing, and deploying ML solutions.
  • Lead the end-to-end lifecycle from concept to production of critical predictive services and products.
  • Develop and implement a robust data science roadmap in cooperation with product management.
  • Provide ongoing insights and improvements in data quality.
  • Leverage ML solutions to enhance the quality and value of sensor data streams.
  • Build and manage a high-performing data science team.
  • Report to the CEO and work closely across the management team to optimize organizational collaboration.

Experience and Skills:

  • Proven track record of continuous development and staying current in a rapidly changing field.
  • Strong experience and interest in growing and leading teams.
  • Proven ability to balance hands-on technical work with leadership responsibilities.
  • Practical experience with Machine Learning methods and common cloud-based data analysis tools and frameworks (Hadoop, Redshift, SageMaker, Spark, SQL, R, etc.).
  • Extensive experience with Machine Learning development in Python.
  • Experience with modern Machine Learning frameworks such as TensorFlow or Torch.
  • Experience with Machine Learning cloud services on Google, AWS, or Azure.
  • Practical understanding of building, cleaning, and operationalizing data sets.
  • Strong mathematical and statistical background.
  • Domain knowledge of agronomics, plant biology, weather, environmental, and spatial data is a plus.
  • Experience with startups is a plus.
  • Ability to achieve operational excellence by instilling a data-driven mentality across the organization.
  • Developing operational metrics and KPIs that are meaningful to the business and ensure successful outcomes.
  • Advanced Degree in Agronomy, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, or another scientific field.

What We Offer:

At Arable, you will be joining a company of dedicated team players who bring together diverse expertise and a passion for building a more sustainable future. You’ll find no shortage of lively conversation around the lunch table about the food we eat and how it is produced. We are a fast-moving startup committed to providing a rewarding employee experience through the work we do, the team, compensation, and benefits, including:

Excellent medical, dental, vision, life, disability benefits, and a 401k Program. Ability to work closely with customers who are hungry for our product and where we can make a positive impact on their livelihood and the world.  A focus on community involvement and career development. We are an equal-opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.