Director of Research, DataLab
Company Overview: We are building Protege to solve the biggest unmet need in AI — getting access to the right training data. The Protege platform facilitates the secure, efficient, and privacy-centric exchange of AI training data. We are a lean, fast-moving, high-trust team of builders obsessed with velocity and impact.
About Protege
Protege is focused on solving AI's data problem by enabling access to high-quality training data. Backed by world-class investors, Protege partners with ambitious teams in AI and emphasizes speed, ownership, and shaping the future of data and AI.
DataLab
DataLab is Protege's research arm—a team of research scientists tackling fundamental challenges and open questions about data for AI. The team bridges research theory and data deployment, publishing and building evaluation datasets and quality-control methodologies that reflect real-world needs.
The Role
The Director of Research will lead Protege's DataLab as a strategic research function focused on answering the hardest questions about data for AI. This person will define the research agenda, build rigorous systems for experimentation and evaluation, and ensure DataLab's work informs product direction, customer strategy, and platform capabilities. This is both a leadership and builder role that requires setting a research roadmap, scaling a team, and translating ambiguous technical questions into practical frameworks and experiments.
What You'll Do
- Define and lead the research strategy for Protege's Data Lab, aligning experimentation with company priorities and product direction.
- Partner closely with Product, Engineering, and GTM teams to identify high-value research opportunities tied to AI data quality, evaluation, and marketplace performance.
- Design and oversee experiments that evaluate dataset quality, model performance, synthetic data workflows, and privacy-preserving methodologies.
- Build scalable systems for benchmarking, labeling quality analysis, and training data evaluation across multiple AI modalities.
- Serve as a customer-facing research partner to GTM, representing DataLab in sales, technical discovery, delivery, and customer strategy conversations.
- Translate ambiguous technical questions into clear research frameworks, measurable hypotheses, and actionable recommendations.
- Publish internal research findings that directly influence product decisions, customer strategy, and platform capabilities.
- Lead, manage, and scale a high-performing team of researchers and data scientists, driving execution, technical excellence, and career development.
- Establish operational rigor around experimentation, reproducibility, and research documentation.
- Represent Protege externally through technical conversations with customers, partners, and the broader AI ecosystem.
- Stay at the forefront of advancements in foundation models, evaluation methodologies, data infrastructure, and AI alignment research.
What Success Looks Like
30 Days: Learn and Assess
- Build a deep understanding of Protege's platform, customer workflows, and current research priorities.
- Meet cross-functional stakeholders across Product, Engineering, GTM, and Leadership.
- Audit current Data Lab workflows, experimentation infrastructure, and evaluation methodologies.
- Identify immediate opportunities to improve research velocity, rigor, and cross-functional communication.
60 Days: Establish Direction and Build Momentum
- Deliver a clear research roadmap aligned to company priorities and platform differentiation.
- Launch initial experiments focused on data quality, evaluation systems, or marketplace optimization.
- Introduce standardized processes for experiment tracking, documentation, and reproducibility.
- Develop hiring plans and organizational structure for scaling the Data Lab function.
90 Days: Drive Measurable Impact
- Deliver research insights that directly influence product roadmap decisions or customer outcomes.
- Demonstrate measurable improvements in experimentation speed, evaluation quality, or data performance metrics.
- Establish Protege's Data Lab as a trusted strategic partner across Engineering, Product, and GTM.
- Recruit, onboard, and effectively lead key technical talent to support long-term research initiatives and company growth.
What We're Looking For
You have:
- Led impactful research initiatives in AI, machine learning, data infrastructure, or applied research environments with product or business impact.
- Built and managed high-performing research teams operating with autonomy and technical rigor.
- Experience partnering directly with customers, GTM teams, or external stakeholders in applied technical settings.
- Developed frameworks for evaluating model performance, dataset quality, synthetic data, or large-scale experimentation systems.
- Experience in ambiguous, fast-moving environments with strong communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences.
- Track record of translating research into practical systems or customer-facing impact and experience with modern AI systems, foundation models, and privacy-centric methodologies.
- High judgment, strong prioritization skills, and motivation to solve foundational problems in AI infrastructure.
Protege's Values
Pass the Loved Ones' Test: We act with integrity and do the right thing.
Always Find a Way: We are resourceful, resilient builders who solve hard problems.
Go Fast and Grow Fast: Velocity matters — we move with urgency and learn quickly.
Practice Kindness and Candor: We communicate directly and respectfully.
Deliver Together: Collaboration, accountability, and shared ownership drive our success.
Own the Outcome. Hone the Craft.: We take pride in our work and continuously raise the bar for excellence.
How to Apply
Please apply through the Protege application page for this role.
Application Link
Visit: https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/protege/fcfea80e-3412-478d-a8af-e200cd0aa9a9/application and click "Apply for this Job" to submit your application.