Head of Data Science & AI

As the Head of Data Science & AI and Implementation at Buyers Edge Platform, you will lead our Data Science & AI transformation and shape the future of our business through innovative AI solutions. This is an exciting opportunity to develop and execute a forward-thinking AI strategy that aligns with our global objectives, driving operational excellence, enhancing data capabilities, and delivering actionable insights.

You'll achieve this by collaborating cross-functionally across our platform of brands to integrate AI technologies into our operations, ensuring they deliver measurable value while upholding the highest standards of responsibility and ethics.

Buyers Edge Platform stands at the forefront of revolutionizing the food service industry through technology, purchasing power and partnerships. We are dedicated to empowering stakeholders across the entire food service ecosystem (operators, distributors, manufacturers) with efficiency and unprecedented visibility. With a diverse portfolio of over a dozen brands, our mission is clear: to reduce costs, streamline the food service supply chain, and propel the industry from manual to automated.

Today, we are one of the largest players in food service, with over 200K operator locations across North America and over $50 billion of aggregated spend volume. Our commitment to food service excellence is proven in four distinct areas of value:
Digital Procurement Network, Fresh Solutions, Supply Chain Management, and Software. Buyers Edge Platform is not just a provider – we are a strategic partner on the journey towards a more efficient, connected, and automated future for the food service industry.

This position is ideally based out of our Lake Worth, FL office with anticipated travel up to 15%, but open to remote candidates with anticipated travel of once per month. We are unable to offer work sponsorship for this role.

• Own technical direction, hiring, performance, and career development for a ~20-person org spanning product management, data science, ML engineering, and applied AI.
• Oversee the operating model, from project inception to evaluation and maintenance
• Mentor leaders and technical teams while creating scalable operating models.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and translate highly technical concepts into actionable business strategy.

• Partner with product and engineering teams across the Buyers Edge Platform organization to determine and deploy data science and AI applications that deliver value, automation, and efficiency. This will likely require managing the direct embedding of resources within other engineering or business units.
• Direct build-vs-buy calls when it comes to software, tools, data and other assets required for Buyers Edge to succeed in its data science & AI mandates.

• Use proprietary and external data sources to build forecasting, anomaly detection, and decision-support capabilities for internal ops, brand presidents, and customers.
• Champion KPI frameworks that make model impact tangible for business leaders.

• Establish governance, evaluation, and monitoring standards appropriate for a regulated B2B environment.
• Partner with legal, IT and security to ensure compliance and security across the team’s implementations as well as AI tools used by other teams.
• Develop policies addressing data privacy, compliance, explainability, model bias mitigation, and responsible AI practices.

• Clarify operating model and roadmap for Data Science & AI team, ensuring team buy-in and efficient allocation of resources.
• Direct deployment of at least two AI- or ML-powered capabilities into Buyers Edge products with measurable business impact.
• Architect and retrofit evaluation and monitor infrastructure for new and existing products.
• Develop and execute a company-wide AI strategy that supports Buyers Edge Platform’s long-term growth strategy across our portfolio of brands and solutions.

Technical Expertise:

• Expert-level proficiency in Python and SQL.
• Advanced knowledge of database architecture and schema…