Senior Manager, AI & Machine Learning

AI at Zapier

At Zapier, we build and use automation every day to make work more efficient, creative, and human. We encourage the responsible and transparent use of AI tools during our hiring process. Please refer to our guidance on How to Collaborate with AI During Zapier’s Hiring Process for details on using tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or others.

About the Opportunity

Are you ready to lead a dynamic and innovative team at the forefront of AI and Machine Learning? We’re thrilled to invite you to join the Data team at Zapier as a Senior Manager, AI & Machine Learning.

In this critical role, you will shape Zapier's AI & ML strategy, guiding the development and deployment of cutting-edge models, platforms, and tools. You will empower teams across Zapier to leverage AI & ML effectively, scaling our capabilities and outcomes by balancing platform enablement work with applied delivery work that ships high-impact AI/ML solutions. This role involves close partnership with senior leaders across Product and Engineering to ensure AI/ML investments deliver tangible business value and align with overall company goals.

About You

• You have 8+ years of experience in Machine Learning and AI, with a proven track record of leading teams and projects to deliver high-impact solutions.
• You have experience leading the end-to-end lifecycle of ML projects, from ideation to deployment and monitoring, and are familiar with the challenges and opportunities in scaling ML/AI systems.
• You possess strong leadership and strategic planning skills, having successfully led technical teams (engineers and managers) through ambiguity, setting clear goals, and driving your organization to meet them.
• You have a knack for aligning AI/ML strategies with business objectives and can effectively communicate the value of these technologies to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• You have deep technical expertise in ML/AI, including a strong understanding of model development, evaluation, data pipeline optimization, and deployment strategies.
• You are well-versed in AI/ML frameworks and tools, guiding teams in selecting the right technologies and methodologies, especially when balancing speed, safety, reliability, and cost.
• You have a solid foundation in data and software engineering, understanding the importance of clean, reproducible code and best practices in data engineering, MLOps/LLMOps, and CI/CD pipelines.
• You operate at a portfolio level with strong product and business thinking, proactively identifying high-leverage opportunities for AI/ML and translating them into a clear roadmap with measurable outcomes.
• You understand that "perfect is the enemy of good," defaulting to action by shipping solutions that simply work and iterating as needed.
• You are a coach at heart, mentoring people on stakeholder management, communication, and other soft skills, and comfortable redirecting them gracefully.
• You have helped people develop their career plans, understanding how to find strengths and provide growth opportunities.

Things You’ll Do

• Lead and manage teams of AI & Machine Learning Engineers to deliver high-impact AI/ML initiatives that drive business value and align with company goals.
• Own, execute, and iteratively evolve Zapier’s AI/ML strategy, ensuring models, platforms, and tooling are scalable, reliable, and aligned with business needs, while continuously refining direction based on learnings and stakeholder input.
• Coach and guide your teams in the development and deployment of machine learning models and AI-enabled systems, providing technical expertise and strategic direction while maintaining a high bar for safety, reliability, and cost-effectiveness.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify opportunities for AI/ML to enhance our products and services, and to drive the integration of AI capabilities across the organization—whether through direct engagements with product teams or by enabling product teams via shared platforms and tools.
• Foster a culture of innovation within the AI/ML organization, encouraging experimentation and the adoption of new technologies and methodologies, while keeping delivery pragmatic and value-focused.
• Communicate AI/ML strategy, tradeoffs, and results with clarity—aligning stakeholders, accelerating decisions, and making measurable progress visible across the company.
• Design and continuously run operating rhythms that keep AI/ML execution predictable, including regular prioritization and roadmap alignment, clear quality and launch bars, and tight cross-team coordination—so we consistently ship near-term wins while compounding long-term leverage through reuse and enablement.

Our Technology Stack

Our stack includes: Databricks, AWS (S3), Python/Typescript, Kafka.

How To Apply at Zapier

Zapier champions diverse perspectives and experiences through a non-standard application process designed for inclusion and equity. We encourage you to apply even if your skills don’t exactly match, by answering a few in-depth questions instead of focusing solely on your resume/CV. Education is not a requirement, but recent educational experience will be part of a background check if an offer is extended. We commit to keeping you informed of your application status within seven days and will provide reasonable accommodations for disabilities; contact jobs@zapier.com for assistance.

Key skills/competency

• AI Strategy
• Machine Learning Leadership
• MLOps/LLMOps
• Data Engineering
• Technical Leadership
• Cross-functional Collaboration
• Product Thinking
• Scalable ML Systems
• Python
• AWS