Director of Research, DataLab

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Brazil.

📋 Description

• Define and spearhead the research strategy for Protege's Data Lab, ensuring alignment of experimentation with company priorities and product direction.

• Collaborate closely with Product, Engineering, and GTM teams to pinpoint high-impact research opportunities related to AI data quality, evaluation, and marketplace performance.

• Design and manage experiments that assess dataset quality, model performance, synthetic data workflows, and privacy-preserving methodologies.

• Develop scalable systems for benchmarking, quality analysis of labeling, and evaluation of training data across various AI modalities.

• Act as a customer-facing research partner for GTM, representing DataLab in sales, technical discovery, delivery, and customer strategy discussions, translating research insights into practical guidance that adds value for Protege's partners and customers.

• Convert ambiguous technical inquiries into clear research frameworks, measurable hypotheses, and actionable recommendations.

• Publish internal research results that directly shape product decisions, customer strategy, and platform capabilities.

• Lead, manage, and expand a high-performing team of researchers and data scientists, fostering execution, technical excellence, and career development within the Data Lab organization.

• Establish operational rigor around experimentation, reproducibility, and research documentation.

• Represent Protege in external technical discussions with customers, partners, and the broader AI ecosystem.

• Remain at the cutting edge of advancements in foundation models, evaluation methodologies, data infrastructure, and AI alignment research.

⛳️ Requirements

• Proven experience leading impactful research initiatives in AI, machine learning, data infrastructure, or applied research environments that have influenced product or business strategies.

• Experience in building and managing high-performing research teams that operate with autonomy, technical rigor, and rapid execution cycles.

• Demonstrated experience partnering directly with customers, GTM teams, or external stakeholders in applied technical settings, with the ability to clearly and credibly represent both the research and business value of complex AI/data projects.

• Developed frameworks for assessing model performance, dataset quality, synthetic data, or large-scale experimentation systems.

• Proven ability to thrive in ambiguous, fast-paced environments where priorities shift rapidly and execution is critical.

• Strong capability to communicate complex technical findings to both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Demonstrated ownership of cross-functional initiatives involving research, engineering, product, and go-to-market teams.

• A successful track record of translating research into practical systems, tools, or customer-facing outcomes.

• Experience with modern AI systems, foundation models, LLM evaluation workflows, or privacy-centric data methodologies.

• High judgment, strong prioritization skills, and the ability to make decisions with incomplete information.

• Driven by the desire to build from first principles and address foundational challenges in AI infrastructure.

🏝️ Benefits

• Health insurance

• Flexible work arrangements

• Professional development