Sr. Director, Data Science - 11572

Job Description

Job Description

Coupa makes margins multiply through its community-generated AI and industry-leading total spend management platform for businesses large and small. Coupa AI is informed by trillions of dollars of direct and indirect spend data across a global network of 10M+ buyers and suppliers. We empower you with the ability to predict, prescribe, and automate smarter, more profitable business decisions to improve operating margins.

Why join Coupa?

\uD83D\uDD39 Pioneering Technology: At Coupa, we're at the forefront of innovation, leveraging the latest technology to empower our customers with greater efficiency and visibility in their spend.

\uD83D\uDD39 Collaborative Culture: We value collaboration and teamwork, and our culture is driven by transparency, openness, and a shared commitment to excellence.

\uD83D\uDD39 Global Impact: Join a company where your work has a global, measurable impact on our clients, the business, and each other. 

Learn more on Life at Coupa blog and hear from our employees about their experiences working at Coupa. 

What You’ll Do

• Lead the strategy, design, and delivery of AI/ML models (including Generative AI use cases) across multiple product domains.
• Establish and scale MLOps practices to enable reliable, reproducible, and efficient model development and deployment.
• Define and operationalize golden datasets, including data curation, labeling standards, and evaluation frameworks.
• Own model performance: define KPIs, implement continuous evaluation, and drive ongoing improvements in accuracy, robustness, and latency.
• Build and advance AI observability, monitoring, and feedback loops to ensure model transparency and trust.
• Partner cross-functionally with Engineering, Product, Data, and Platform teams to integrate AI into production systems and user experiences.
• Establish and enforce Responsible AI practices, including fairness, bias mitigation, explainability, and compliance.
• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing global team of data scientists and ML engineers.
• Influence executive stakeholders by translating complex AI concepts into clear business impact and strategy.

What You Will Bring to Coupa

• 10+ years of experience in Data Science, Machine Learning, or AI, with 3–5+ years in leadership roles managing high-performing teams.
• Strong expertise in machine learning, deep learning, and statistical modeling, with experience in production environments.
• Proven track record of delivering scalable, production-grade AI systems that drive measurable business impact.
• Hands-on experience with modern MLOps ecosystems (e.g., SageMaker, Vertex AI, Databricks, Kubeflow, MLflow).
• Deep experience with data strategy, including dataset creation, labeling, governance, and evaluation methodologies.
• Familiarity with Generative AI / LLMs, prompt engineering, fine-tuning, and evaluation techniques.
• Strong programming skills in Python and experience with frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, or similar.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or a related field (PhD preferred).

At Coupa, we are 100% committed to creating and nurturing an environment that supports your physical, mental, and community well-being . We offer a comprehensive suite of benefits designed to help you and your family thrive:

Global Well-Being Perks (For All Employees Globally)

• Global Wellness Days: Enjoy two designated, company-wide paid wellness days off each year (typically the first Friday in March and the last Friday in September) so the entire global team can unplug, step away, and recharge together .
• Birthday Time-Off: Celebrate your day! Coupa provides a paid day off on your birthday or another day of your choice within your birthday month .
• Volunteer Time Off (VTO): Giving back is in our DNA. We offer 40 hours of paid VTO annually to support the community initiatives and volunteer programs you are passionate about .
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Access free, confidential, 24/7/365 counseling and resources for emotional support, work-life solutions, financial advice, legal guidance, and support for new parents .
• Business Travel Protection: Travel with peace of mind. Zurich Travel Assist provides medical, safety, pre-trip planning, and emergency support during any business travel .
• Referral Bonus Program: Share the Coupa experience! Receive generous monetary referral bonuses when you successfully refer talented friends or acquaintances who are hired into open roles .

Please note: In addition to these global well-being perks, Coupa offers highly competitive, location-specific benefits packages (which include comprehensive medical/dental insurance, retirement/pension plans, and life or accident protection) tailored to your primary work location. Your recruiter will walk you through the specific regional benefits package for this role during the interview process.

Coupa complies with relevant laws and regulations regarding equal opportunity and offers a welcoming and inclusive work environment. Decisions related to hiring, compensation, training, or evaluating performance are made fairly, and we provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified candidates and employees. 

Please be advised that inquiries or resumes from recruiters will not be accepted.

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We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.