Head of Data and AI

The Minnesota Star Tribune is an innovative modern media organization building on an extraordinary 159-year legacy. With seven Pulitzer Prizes and numerous other accolades, we stand as a beacon of journalistic excellence in Minnesota. We are the heart and voice of the North.

The Head of Data and AI at our headquarters in Minneapolis MN leads the enterprise data and artificial intelligence function and is accountable for the data platform, the Custom AI team, and the governance surrounding both. The role reports to the Chief Product and Technology Officer, manages the data and AI team across data engineering, analytics, and applied AI, owns the function's technology and vendor budget, and sets long-term data architecture, technology stack, and standard operating procedures for the corporation rather than for Product and Technology alone.

The role owns enterprise-wide AI accountability and strategic alignment applying AI principles to AI Accelerator efforts across all departments. Owns governance standards, and partners with Legal, Editorial, and Product and Technology on responsible AI governance and the handling of sensitive data.

Our platform spans Next.js, NestJS, Apollo GraphQL with Stellate, AWS, Vercel, Snowflake, Domo, Piano, Sailthru, Datadog, VictorOps, GitHub, Slack, and Jira.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise data architecture, platform strategy, and modernization initiatives, including Snowflake, dbt, and AI/data technology frameworks.
• Ensure data platform reliability, governance, performance, and cost management, including pipeline operations, incident response, and budget oversight.
• Lead the development and deployment of custom AI solutions and establish standards for production AI, including model governance, deployment, monitoring, and ownership.
• Develop and maintain the enterprise AI roadmap, ensuring alignment across Product, Technology, and business functions.
• Establish and oversee AI governance frameworks, responsible AI practices, bias mitigation, risk management, and compliance for sensitive data usage.
• Create and manage data governance programs, including data stewardship, quality standards, lineage, retention policies, and Data as a Product initiatives.
• Partner with Legal, Editorial, Product, Engineering, and IT teams to ensure compliance, data security, and enterprise AI accountability.
• Lead data security efforts, access controls, incident response, and remediation processes related to sensitive data exposures.
• Manage, mentor, and grow data and AI teams, including hiring, performance management, workforce planning, and employee development.
• Drive AI adoption across the organization through training, change management, and enablement programs.
• Build and optimize AI-driven personalization, recommendation, and subscriber intelligence solutions to improve engagement, retention, and business outcomes.
• Monitor and balance AI model performance, operational costs, fairness, and bias mitigation across production systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Engineering, or related technical field; advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in data, analytics, AI, or machine learning, including a minimum of 3 years in leadership roles.
• Deep expertise in enterprise data architecture, modern data platforms, Snowflake, data modeling, cost governance, and transformation frameworks such as dbt.
• Proven experience building and leading AI/ML functions and scaling solutions from prototype to enterprise production environments.
• Strong knowledge of AI governance, responsible AI practices, bias mitigation, risk management, and handling sensitive data.
• Experience with data privacy, compliance reporting, data security controls, and incident response management.
• Hands-on experience developing recommendation engines, personalization systems, predictive models, or subscriber/customer intelligence solutions.
• Practitioner-level expertise with AI-powered tools and agentic workflows (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Cursor, AI agents).
• Strong business acumen with experience managing budgets, vendor relationships, and aligning technology investments with organizational goals.
• Excellent communication and executive-level stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated success leading teams, developing talent, and driving organizational change and technology adoption.
• Experience within media, publishing, subscription, or consumer-focused businesses preferred.
• Experience partnering with Legal, Editorial, Product, Revenue, and Technology stakeholders preferred.
• Must be currently legally authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H1B status, 0-1, TM, CPT, OPT, etc.). We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

Compensation & Benefits

The compensation range for this position is $137,300-$225,000/year.

Compensation for the role will depend on several factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies and experience and may fall outside of the range shown.

The Minnesota Star Tribune offers a competitive total rewards package, which includes a 401(K) match, healthcare coverage – medical, dental, and vision, life, disability, paid time off, and a broad range of other benefits. Learn more at benefits.startribunecompany.com .

More about The Minnesota Star Tribune

At The Minnesota Star Tribune, we recognize that our employees are our greatest asset, and we are committed to their happiness, growth, and well-being. Here’s a snapshot of the exceptional benefits we offer:

• Modern Downtown Office: Enjoy a state-of-the-art workspace with a free fitness center, collaborative center, golf simulator, and a rooftop patio.
• Comprehensive Benefits: Includes commuting subsidy, medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Wellness & Work-Life Balance: Participate in our wellness program with financial incentives, generous paid time off, flexible holidays, one volunteer day, and two wellness days.
• Financial & Family Support: Benefit from a 401(k) with company match, paid parental and caregiving leave, hybrid work arrangements, and tuition reimbursement.
• Additional Perks: Access to an employee assistance program, pet insurance, flexible spending accounts, and health savings accounts.

2025 award winner of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in Media and News and proud recipient of Newsweek’s Greatest Midsize Workplaces 2025 recognition.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Even if you don't meet every single requirement for this role, we encourage you to apply. At The Minnesota Star Tribune, we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.