Vice President, AI & Data Engineering

VP, AI & Data Engineering Who are we, and what do we do?

Edible Brands® was launched in 2022 to bring together powerful, purpose‑led brands under one unified purpose: to enrich everyday life through celebration, nourishment, and wellness. Today, Edible Brands powers three bold and growing concepts across 700+ locations worldwide.

Our portfolio spans Edible Arrangements®, the iconic gifting brand; Rōti®, a Mediterranean‑inspired fast‑casual restaurant; ™, a trusted marketplace for low‑dosage THC & CBD wellness products; and Berry Direct®, our robust supply‑chain infrastructure. Together, these brands are fueled by The Edible Way—a set of employee‑driven values that keep us committed, collaborative, adaptable, results‑driven, and always ready to celebrate.

We are at an inflection point. We have ambitious AI and machine learning goals, a talented but early‑stage team, and data infrastructure that needs to mature in order to fully unlock those ambitions. This role exists to close that gap.

• Define and execute the enterprise AI and data engineering roadmap across our multi‑brand portfolio, translating CEO vision into a concrete, phased build plan.
• Lead the maturation of our data architecture on Azure—including evaluation and implementation of a modern data platform (Snowflake or Databricks)—to create the infrastructure foundation that AI and ML initiatives require.
• Direct and mentor AI engineers, providing technical leadership, structure, and growth opportunities.
• Oversee the data engineering team, setting standards, priorities, and quality expectations.
• Identify, evaluate, and implement AI and ML use cases across customer experience, operations, and revenue— including personalization, demand forecasting, and predictive analytics.
• Own vendor relationships, tool selection, and technology investments for the AI and data engineering stack.
• Champion AI adoption and governance across the enterprise, including stewardship of AI tools such as Claude Enterprise.
• Establish data governance, security, and privacy standards in partnership with IT and Legal leadership, aligned to Azure cloud compliance requirements.
• Serve as a trusted thought partner to the CEO and senior leadership, proactively surfacing high‑value opportunities where AI and data can drive efficiency and growth.

• 10+ years of progressive experience in data engineering, data science, or AI/ML, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.
• Demonstrated track record of standing up AI and ML capability from scratch—ideally within a mid‑market, multi‑brand, or similarly resource‑constrained organization.
• Proven experience managing and growing junior technical talent into high performers.
• Experience leading data architecture modernization, including cloud migrations and modern data platform implementation.
• Background in eCommerce, retail, or consumer brands is a strong plus.

• Deep expertise in Azure cloud data services (required).
• Hands‑on experience with or strong knowledge of Snowflake and/or Databricks—implementation experience preferred.
• Proficiency in Python and SQL for data manipulation, modeling, and automation.
• Working knowledge of ML frameworks, experimentation design, and model deployment.
• Familiarity with BI platforms (Tableau, Power BI) and data pipeline tooling.

• You have done this before in an environment without unlimited resources and you thrived.
• You are as comfortable writing a technical architecture document as you are presenting a strategic roadmap to a CEO.
• You lead by doing—your team sees you as a credible technical leader, not just a manager.
• You are energized by ambiguity and motivated by building, not maintaining.
• You communicate complex technical concepts in plain language and earn trust quickly across functions.
• You are entrepreneurial, adaptable, and excited by the opportunity to shape culture in a fast‑moving, family‑owned business.

• Strong team‑oriented environment, emphasizing cross‑functional partnerships.
• The stability and resources of an industry‑leading company successfully operating for 25 years, with the agility and innovation of a startup,…