Head of Travel & Expense

Databricks•San Francisco, CA

10d•$167,600 - $288,100•Remote

About The Position

We are seeking a strategic, operationally strong Head of Travel & Expense to lead and modernize our global travel, expense, and corporate spend ecosystem. This leader will drive a digital-first, highly scalable program that improves the employee experience while strengthening governance, compliance, and financial discipline across a fast-growing global organization. This role is ideal for a builder who can define future-state strategy while also leading hands-on execution, operational rigor, and measurable outcomes. The successful candidate will partner closely across Finance, Procurement, IT, HR, Security, and Operations to create a seamless and future-ready T&E model.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, Supply Chain, Hospitality, Information Systems, or a related field.
10+ years of progressive leadership experience in Travel, Expense, Procurement, Finance Operations, Shared Services, or related functions.
Proven success leading T&E transformation, automation, or digital modernization initiatives in high-growth or fast-paced organizations.
Experience leading global or multinational T&E programs and managing regional operations and cross-border transformation efforts.
Strong operational leadership with the ability to translate strategy into scalable execution.
Deep expertise in T&E platforms, workflow automation, corporate card programs, and expense technologies.
Strong understanding of AI-enabled operations, process redesign, and scalable service delivery models.
Exceptional stakeholder management, communication, and change leadership skills, with the ability to lead through ambiguity and evolving business priorities.
Experience leading global or multinational T&E programs.

Nice To Haves

MBA, CPA, CTP, or related certification preferred.
Lean Six Sigma, automation, or digital transformation experience strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the transformation of the T&E program into a modern, automated, digital-first experience, including AI-enabled workflows, touchless expense processing, automated audit controls, and intelligent policy enforcement.
Create a frictionless employee experience across booking, expense submission, approvals, reimbursements, and support while simplifying processes and reducing manual work.
Build a scalable global T&E roadmap that balances agility, governance, employee experience, and operational efficiency, with clear KPIs, dashboards, and change management to support adoption.
Oversee global business travel operations across air, hotel, ground transportation, meetings, and traveler support, while shaping regional travel strategies for a distributed workforce.
Manage travel partners and supplier relationships to improve service levels, optimize spend, and support evolving business needs.
Partner with Security and HR to strengthen traveler safety, duty of care, and crisis response capabilities.
Lead enterprise expense reimbursement and corporate card programs with a focus on automation, compliance, scalability, and employee experience.
Implement intelligent expense capabilities such as auto-generated reports, AI auditing, receipt automation, and policy-driven workflows, while simplifying approvals and accelerating reimbursement cycles.
Partner closely with AP, Payroll, and Finance Operations to streamline end-to-end financial processes.
Own the T&E technology ecosystem, including platforms such as Emburse, Egencia, AppZen, and corporate card integrations; partner with IT and Finance Systems on integrations, APIs, and analytics.
Ensure strong policy governance, financial controls, audit readiness, and compliance with global tax, regulatory, data privacy, and regional travel requirements.
Build and lead a high-performing global team, develop leadership bench strength, and influence cross-functional stakeholders in a complex, fast-moving environment.