Head of Data

Clay Labs•New York, NY

About The Position

Data is a competitive advantage at Clay. We're building a tool that helps thousands of companies grow faster and smarter, and we need data at the heart of everything we do. Not buried in reports or locked in dashboards, but embedded in how we plan, ship, and win. We're hiring a Head of Data to make that happen. Someone who won't just build systems and hire a team, but who will hunt for the problems worth solving and turn data into a language everyone at Clay speaks fluently. This role owns the full data function, from instrumentation to insight to impact. You'll connect product behavior to revenue outcomes. You'll diagnose what's working (and what's not) across our entire GTM motion. When pipeline looks dry, you won't just report it. You'll dig in, find the why, and surface insights that help us move faster. You and your team will hunt for problems that are interesting, valuable, and commercial, then bring those findings back in ways that help the whole company make better decisions. You'll also build the team that makes this all possible. You'll scale our Data function and create a culture where data isn't just for analysts, but for everyone. With your team’s help, every team at Clay will have what they need to think clearly, act decisively, and scale intelligently.

Requirements

You have 5+ years of management experience and 8+ years of overall data science/analytics experience.
You’ve managed and coached 5+ direct reports for growth and success in a fast-paced environment.
You’re a systems thinker. You can naturally zoom out to see how metrics, processes, and incentives interact.
You translate complex analyses into clear, compelling stories that non-technical stakeholders actually understand and act on.
You know how to translate messy reality into simple systems, metrics, and narratives that leaders actually use.
You’re action-oriented. You've led data teams that produced outcomes.
You've taken business problems (like "Why are we losing deals?" or "What drives retention?") and delivered insights that changed strategy.
You thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments where the answer isn't always clear, but you figure it out anyway.
You favor clarity and usefulness over theoretical elegance
You’re strategic and prioritization-obsessed. You know how to say no. You understand that not every question deserves an answer, and you're great at helping teams focus on what matters most.
You can balance short-term firefighting with long-term infrastructure and team building
You’re familiar with our current tech stack or can learn unfamiliar technologies quickly. Tools in our stack today: Snowflake, dbt, Dagster, Hex, Sigma, Eppo, Census

Responsibilities

Build Data Capabilities
Define and own the core metrics, definitions, and mental models that the company runs on
Wwn end-to-end data modeling and how we operationalize data at Clay
Create a shared language across Product, GTM, Ops, Finance, and Leadership
Replace one-off analysis with durable, repeatable systems
Take action instead of theorize
Partner with leadership across GTM, Product, Finance, and Ops to identify the business problems that actually matter
Turn vague questions ("Why is pipeline down?", “How has a new product release impacted our users?”) into concrete analyses with clear recommendations
Prioritize the questions that will drive the most impact
Be a commercial thought partner
Partner closely with leadership to support strategy, pricing, growth, retention, and operational decisions
Help teams reason through tradeoffs using data, not just report outcomes after the fact
Proactively surface insights, risks, and opportunities — especially where intuition is misleading
Scale the team and manage capacity
Build, lead, and mentor a growing team of data scientists and analysts
Manage bandwidth. Decide what not to build as much as what to build.
Set the bar for rigor, speed, and impact in how we approach data work
Build a data-driven culture
Democratize data across Clay by making it accessible, understandable, and actionable for every team
Educate teams on how to use data, where to find it, and how to ask better questions
Create self-service tools, dashboards, and processes that empower people to answer their own questions