Head of Operations

David AI • San Francisco, CA

11d

About The Position

David AI is the first audio data research company. We bring an R&D approach to data–developing datasets with the same rigor AI labs bring to models. Our mission is to bring AI into the real world, and we believe audio is the gateway. Speech is versatile, accessible, and human—it fits naturally into everyday life. As audio AI advances and new use cases emerge, high-quality training data is the bottleneck. This is where David AI comes in.
David AI was founded in 2024 by a team of former Scale AI engineers and operators. In less than a year, we’ve brought on most FAANG companies and AI labs as customers. We recently raised a $50M Series B from Meritech, NVIDIA, Jack Altman (Alt Capital), Amplify Partners, First Round Capital and other Tier 1 investors.
Our team is sharp, humble, ambitious, and tight-knit. We’re looking for the best research, engineering, product, and operations minds to join us on our mission to push the frontier of audio AI.
About our Data Operations team
Our Data Operations team is responsible for transforming raw audio into high-quality training datasets for leading AI labs. Our mandate is to build new data pipelines and run them at scale.
This means starting with the capability we want models to unlock, experimenting with different data shapes and collection strategies, and validating them with researchers. Once an approach works, we industrialize it by building pipelines that process audio reliably, with high quality and efficiency. We are relentless operators who thrive in ambiguity, equally comfortable prototyping novel workflows as we are managing large-scale production systems.
About this role
As the Head of Operations, you will lead our data product operations function - the engine that powers high-quality, scalable audio data production. You will lead a broad team of operators responsible for building and scaling pipelines, whether those are 0-to-1 experiments that push the model frontier or 1-to-N industrialization that reliably and efficiently produces proven datasets. As the unifying leader, you will set strategy, resolve trade-offs, and align an organization of XX people around company-level priorities.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in high-ownership roles (e.g., Founder, GM, COO, etc.) with 3+ years leading managers-of-managers or similarly complex organizations.
• Prior experience scaling large-scale operational efforts at high-growth startups or fast-paced companies.
• Track record of owning outcomes across cost, quality, and delivery under real constraints.
• Clear, direct communicator who sets expectations and holds teams accountable.
• Strong understanding of metrics, forecasting, and operational health indicators.
• Ability to design repeatable systems rather than relying on heroics.
• Low-ego, collaborative, and mission-driven, focused on team and company success.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in data, ML, or large-scale operations.
• Background in fast-growing startups or scale-ups.
• Familiarity with technical tooling (e.g., SQL, Python, or analytics platforms).

Responsibilities

• Lead a multi-business unit organization, each owned by a GM and each responsible for large-scale audio data pipelines that support strategic, high-value customers.
• Own end-to-end execution across delivery, quality and budget for all audio data operations, including outcomes for mission-critical initiatives.
• Partner closely with our CEO and other senior leadership to define business priorities, translate strategy into execution, and ensure alignment across business units.
• Drive cross-functional execution across Product, GTM, and Engineering to design pipelines, implement collections, and partner on quality evaluations.
• Leverage analytics and data to guide prioritization, resource investment decisions, and capacity planning.
• Design and continuously improve scalable planning, reporting, and feedback systems, while building and leading an operations leadership team capable of scaling with the business.
• Mission-driven and hands-on when needed, balancing strategic leadership with a willingness to dive into execution.

Benefits

• Unlimited PTO.
• Top-notch health, dental, and vision coverage with 100% coverage for most plans.
• FSA & HSA access.
• 401k access.
• Meals 2x daily through DoorDash + snacks and beverages available at the office.
• Unlimited company-sponsored Barry’s classes.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: No Education Listed