Data Acquisition Lead

Profound•New York, NY

1d•$200,000 - $275,000•Onsite

About The Position

Profound is hiring a Data Acquisition Lead to own the sourcing, evaluation, and commercial management of its data sources. The role will develop a reliable portfolio of suppliers and partners and work closely with Engineering, which owns production integrations and data collection infrastructure, as well as Product, Partnerships, Finance, and Legal. The successful candidate will help establish and scale this function as Profound grows.

Requirements

At least 5 years of hands-on experience with external data or web data providers and partners, on either the vendor or customer side, such as sourcing and managing providers, solutions engineering, or technical account management.
Strong commercial judgment, with examples of negotiations and measurable operating improvements.
Familiarity with data contract terms such as DPAs, usage rights, and indemnification.
Ability to use SQL and/or Python to inspect results, run evaluations, and challenge vendor claims.
Practical understanding of various data provider types, web data APIs, data collection schemes, and common failure modes.
Evidence of introducing a working alternative provider or improving coverage, reliability, or effective cost.
Comfort working in a fast-moving culture with autonomy and trust.

Nice To Haves

Experience with unique data sets.
Excitement about owning and shaping a new function at an early stage.

Responsibilities

Find and qualify providers and partners against coverage, quality, capacity, and cost requirements.
Structure vendor trials, run benchmarks using internal tooling, and analyze results by source, geography, and workload.
Compare effective costs across pricing models, including retries, failures, minimum commitments, and overages.
Negotiate pricing, service commitments, support arrangements, renewals, and exit terms.
Maintain qualified alternatives and identify overlapping infrastructure or correlated failure risks across suppliers.
Lead vendor performance reviews and recommend expansion, replacement, or changes in allocation.
Coordinate onboarding and sourcing documentation with Engineering, Finance, and Legal.
Own vendor contracts and spend, and maintain clear records of vendor status, pricing, and decisions.
Partner cross-functionally to resolve provider issues quickly.
Help build and scale the data acquisition team as Profound grows.