Root was founded on the belief that car insurance is broken, and we set out to change it. We’re harnessing the power of technology to revolutionize this archaic, complicated industry. Using machine learning and mobile telematic platforms, we’ve built one of the most innovative insurtech companies in the world.The OpportunityWe believe that a disruptive insurance company must have a principled quantitative framework at its foundation. At Root, we are committed to the rigorous development and effective deployment of modern statistical machine learning methods to problems in the insurance industry.At Root, the Data Science team owns the majority of all marketing capital allocation, using quantitative methods to test, maintain, and enhance our marketing strategies across numerous distribution channels. As a Director of Data Science, Performance Marketing, you will drive continuous improvement of marketing strategies, channels, and operational processes while supporting the exploration of novel opportunities.You will lead a team of data scientists, machine learning engineers, and marketing specialists who design, deploy, and evolve the systems that power Root’s performance marketing engine. This includes optimizing bidding strategies, accelerating model iteration and deployment, and advancing applied R&D to improve how we capture and convert demand at scale. You will own the end-to-end measurement framework for performance marketing, ensuring rigorous measurement of business impact as media mix, partners, and tactics evolve. In this role, you will continuously raise the ceiling on how effectively Root turns marketing spend into value, while exploring new, deeper ways of engaging with marketing partners to unlock incremental performance.Root is a “work where it works best” company, meaning we will support you working in whatever location that works best for you across the US. We will continue to have our headquarters in Columbus to give more flexibility and more choice about how we live and work.Salary Range: $250,000 - $300,000 (Eligible for competitive bonus and equity offering)How You Will Make an ImpactAdvance Root’s performance marketing capabilities through improvements in bidding systems, automation, and applied machine learningLead and develop a multidisciplinary team responsible for the deployment, optimization, and performance of a nine-figure annual marketing budgetDrive fast, disciplined experimentation across channels and partners, with clear measurement of incremental impact on growth and profitDevelop strategic relationships with marketing and technology partners to unlock new capabilities and improve business performanceAlign priorities across Marketing, Analytics, Engineering, and Product to deliver critical growth initiativesEstablish the long-term strategy for Root’s performance marketing ecosystem, including channel portfolio, partner strategy, measurement capabilities, and supporting data infrastructureMaintain a high standard of operational excellence across the teamWhat You Will Need to SucceedAdvanced degree in a quantitative discipline (PhD preferred) and 8+ years applying advanced quantitative methods to drive significant business impact4+ years leading technical organizations, with a track record of developing leaders, scaling organizational impact, and delivering strategic outcomesExperience building and deploying statistical and machine learning systems in production environmentsExcellent communication skills, with the ability to drive alignment and influence decisions across executive and technical stakeholdersProficient with AWS (or analogous) platforms and the infrastructure required to deploy and operate machine learning systems at scaleAbility to lead complex initiatives that span multiple teams, aligning priorities and driving execution toward shared business objectivesDemonstrated ability to identify high-value opportunities, establish direction, and drive execution through othersAbility to evaluate complex problems from first principles and develop practical solutions in unfamiliar domainsPreferred but not required:Insurance industry experienceExperience driving performance in large-scale customer acquisition programsFull funnel marketing experience: developing, executing, and measuring the impact of targeted, data-driven marketing strategiesAs part of Root's interview process, we kindly ask that all candidates be on camera for virtual interviews. This helps us create a more personal and engaging experience for both you and our interviewers. Being on camera is a standard requirement for our process and part of how we assess fit and communication style, so we do require it to move forward with any applicant's candidacy. If you have any concerns, feel free to let us know once you are contacted. We’re happy to talk it through.Please see our Privacy Notice available
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