# Ascend Learning — Director, Data & AI

- Generated: 2026-09-24 01:54:41 PM EDT
- Original/canonical posting: https://jobright.ai/jobs/info/6a8686ec25fc4e7ae3da9a18
- Provider: Jobright
- Posting time: September 23, 2026 at 5:00 AM ET
- Applicants: Not disclosed
- Work model/location: Remote — United States
- Compensation: $171,000-$244,000 base
- Travel: Not disclosed
- Positioning track: Technical manager
- Fit outcome: PASS — 94%

## Evidence map and direct-match strengths

Direct match for data-platform strategy, data lakes and cloud warehouses, ingestion and orchestration, governance, self-service analytics, production ML/GenAI, MLOps, team development, vendors, platform metrics, and measurable business value.

## Hard or material gaps

Keith has supported Snowflake exposure and deeper hands-on AWS data-lake/Redshift/Spark experience; dbt-specific delivery is not documented. Personalization, content recommendation, churn, and fraud are candidate use cases rather than universal mandatory experience.

## Full normalized job description

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Ascend Learning is a healthcare and learning technology company serving students, educators, and employers with data-driven learning solutions. NASM is seeking a Director of Data and AI to lead its data architecture, Snowflake data platform, AI/ML capabilities, governance, and team while delivering measurable business value through analytics and AI-powered experiences.
Responsibilities
Lead and develop the Data and AI team, including a Data Architect, Data Architects and AI/ML Engineer
Own NASM’s Snowflake estate, including the data model, data contracts with source systems, performance, cost, and security
Establish and continuously evolve the modern data stack: ingestion, transformation (dbt or equivalent), orchestration, semantic layer, and visualization tooling
Define and execute the AI/ML strategy, prioritizing production use cases that deliver measurable business value (personalization, content recommendation, churn, study assistance, fraud)
Establish AI governance for NASM in alignment with Ascend Learning policy: model risk, responsible AI, privacy, model documentation, and AI vendor evaluation
Drive the AI-first business enablement program, equipping product, business analysis, architecture, and operations teams with AI tooling, training, and ways of working
Align data engineering capacity through a blended in-house and MSP model; partner with the Director of Service Delivery to oversee MSP-delivered data work
Partner with Architecture to align the data platform with enterprise architecture standards, integration patterns, and cloud strategy
Establish operational metrics for data quality, pipeline reliability, model performance, analytics adoption, and AI use case ROI; report to executive leadership
Build the self-service analytics capability that empowers business users while maintaining data governance and trust. Empowering team members with AI capabilities to produce measurable improvements
Manage strategic vendor relationships across the data and AI ecosystem (Snowflake, Microsoft, Claude, Azure AI, OpenAI, and others)
Skills
Bachelor's degree in computer science, statistics, mathematics, engineering, or related field required
10+ years of progressive experience in data, analytics, or AI/ML; 4+ years of people management
Hands-on experience building and operating a modern data platform on Snowflake (or equivalent cloud data warehouse)
Proven experience deploying machine learning and generative AI use cases to production, including MLOps practices
Strong understanding of data governance, data privacy (GDPR, CCPA), and AI governance frameworks
Experience with the modern data stack: ingestion (Fivetran, Airbyte), transformation (dbt), orchestration (Airflow, Prefect), and BI (Power BI, Tableau, Looker)
Demonstrated ability to build and lead high-performing data and AI teams in a matrixed, MSP-supported delivery model
Strong executive communication; able to translate complex data and AI concepts for business stakeholders
Experience with responsible AI practices, including model documentation, bias evaluation, and ethical AI considerations
A change agent that delivers measurable outcomes for the business through data and AI
Master's degree preferred
Experience working in Azure cloud environments preferred, including Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI, and Microsoft Fabric
Benefits
Health, dental, and vision insurance
Company paid life Insurance
401(k) with company match
Paid time off and parental leave
Employee assistance program
Other wellness programs such as Headspace and Airvet
Charitable matching program
Most regular, full-time employees are eligible to participate in an Ascend incentive bonus or sales plan.
This position will work a hybrid schedule from our Gilbert, AZ office location. Remote will be considered within the continental United States.
Company Overview
At Ascend develop industry-leading online learning tools that help people enter, sustain and succeed in their careers. It was founded in 2010, and is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, USA, with a workforce of 1001-5000 employees. Its website is http://www.ascendlearning.com.


## Artifact metadata

- Resume: https://bit.ly/3TK6cRE
- Cover letter: https://bit.ly/4dTsVkY
- Validation: PASS — 2-page resume (1001 words), 1-page cover letter (219 words)
- JD/resume keyword overlap: 15/15 significant JD keywords (100.0%)
- Missing significant JD keywords: none
- Google Drive used: No