Director of Data Science, Performance Marketing

The Opportunity

We 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 Impact

• Advance Root’s performance marketing capabilities through improvements in bidding systems, automation, and applied machine learning
• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary team responsible for the deployment, optimization, and performance of a nine-figure annual marketing budget
• Drive fast, disciplined experimentation across channels and partners, with clear measurement of incremental impact on growth and profit
• Develop strategic relationships with marketing and technology partners to unlock new capabilities and improve business performance
• Align priorities across Marketing, Analytics, Engineering, and Product to deliver critical growth initiatives
• Establish the long-term strategy for Root’s performance marketing ecosystem, including channel portfolio, partner strategy, measurement capabilities, and supporting data infrastructure
• Maintain a high standard of operational excellence across the team

What You Will Need to Succeed

• Advanced degree in a quantitative discipline (PhD preferred) and 8+ years applying advanced quantitative methods to drive significant business impact
• 4+ years leading technical organizations, with a track record of developing leaders, scaling organizational impact, and delivering strategic outcomes
• Experience building and deploying statistical and machine learning systems in production environments
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to drive alignment and influence decisions across executive and technical stakeholders
• Proficient with AWS (or analogous) platforms and the infrastructure required to deploy and operate machine learning systems at scale
• Ability to lead complex initiatives that span multiple teams, aligning priorities and driving execution toward shared business objectives
• Demonstrated ability to identify high-value opportunities, establish direction, and drive execution through others

• Ability to evaluate complex problems from first principles and develop practical solutions in unfamiliar domains
• Preferred but not required:
• • Insurance industry experience
  • Experience driving performance in large-scale customer acquisition programs
  • Full funnel marketing experience: developing, executing, and measuring the impact of targeted, data-driven marketing strategies

As 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.

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