Role Description
UP.Labs is seeking a proven Head of Data with a track record of scaling technical teams to architect and develop a transformative large market model (LMM) for the travel industry. This ambitious AI platform aims to set new standards in how the travel ecosystem operates, delivering unprecedented value through advanced modeling and deep industry insights. Unlike general-purpose large language models, our LMM is specifically engineered to understand and optimize the complex dynamics of the global travel industry. As our Head of Data within this portfolio organization, you'll lead the development of our groundbreaking Travel Large Market Model, bridging traditional mathematical optimization with cutting-edge AI. You’ll also have access to the
UP.Partners ecosystem - an expansive team across product, engineering, design, analytics, marketing, legal, talent, finance, and venture capital available to help advise & scale the portfolio organization quickly.
In this role you will:
Architect and lead the development of the travel industry's first Large Market Model
Transform our current mathematical optimization platform into an AI-powered system that can process and learn from the entire travel ecosystem
Build and lead a world-class data science team that combines traditional statistical modeling with cutting-edge AI/ML capabilities
Drive the technical vision for how AI can revolutionize the travel industry's decision-making
Collaborate with major travel brands to understand their needs and incorporate their domain expertise into our AI platform
Design and implement novel approaches for processing real-time market intelligence across airlines, hotels, and rental cars
Create natural language interfaces that make complex travel data accessible to business users
You should have:
Deep expertise in both traditional statistical modeling and modern AI/ML systems
Experience with large-scale data platforms (Databricks, Snowflake) and distributed computing
Track record of leading data science teams and delivering production ML systems
Strong understanding of deep learning architectures and their practical applications
Familiarity with travel industry data structures and systems is a plus
Based in or willing to relocate to key tech hubs (Minneapolis, Dallas, Denver, Chicago preferred)
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or related field; advanced degree preferred
Why Join Us?
Be the architect of an entirely new category of AI application
Work with cutting-edge AI technology while solving real business problems
Partner directly with major travel brands who are eager to adopt innovative solutions
Join a well-funded startup led by experienced travel tech entrepreneurs
Competitive salary, equity, and benefits
Shape the future of a $1.4T industry
UP.Labs Summary:
We build high-growth technology startups that enable faster, cleaner, and safer movement of people and goods. Our vision is to transform the moving world by pairing leading corporations and entrepreneurs with a proven methodology for launching and scaling software and hardware companies.
Our platform is unique in three ways:
- Risk: We reward our entire team and ecosystem of partners with meaningful equity
- Technology: We build and launch scalable technology products that form the basis for each venture
- Industry Focus: We stay focused on the underlying fabric of retail mobility
We work with corporate investors over a multi-year period to launch a portfolio of ventures. Our team is dedicated to the first year of a new venture’s life cycle: from ideation to minimum viable product build - and beyond.