Lead, Finance Analytics & Enablement AI/ML

About the Role

Hopper is looking for a Lead, Finance Analytics & Enablement AI/ML to own our data warehouse, business intelligence, GCP/AI optimization, and Finance AI enablement strategy. You will be a key business partner across the organization, managing partner relationships across a broad range of commercial arrangements, reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer.

What would your day‑to‑day look like:

• Provide actionable insights to drive business decisions based on finance and data analytics.
• Own the data warehouse strategy, governance and execution of the finance ledger.
• Build and lead a Center of Excellence for reporting including owning infrastructure and metrics across finance and the business units.
• Create, own, implement and track success of the Finance AI automation roadmap in partnership with FP&A, accounting and data.
• Establish data pipeline and AI model foundation.
• Understand and optimize our GCP infrastructure costs in partnership with engineering and Financial Operations.
• Establish Finance as the single source of truth for financial and business performance and create self‑service analytics for key stakeholders.
• Manage a team of 4 engineers and 1 finance and strategy manager.
• Establish internal controls and support external audits related to data governance.

An ideal candidate has:

• Work experience 15+ years in travel and/or SaaS.
• Bachelor’s Degree, with a strong preference for a Master’s degree or equivalent experience.
• Engineering background preferred.
• Fluency in SQL, Python, GCP and Data Science, hands‑on coding ability.
• Understanding of LLM‑based systems, prompt design, and AI model evaluation frameworks.
• Familiarity with automation frameworks and observability tools (Amplitude, Datadog, Looker) to assess reliability and performance.
• Strong data reconciliation skills across large, multi‑source datasets.
• A bias toward first‑principles thinking — questioning assumptions, stress‑testing processes, and always asking why something works the way it does.
• Clear communicator with senior leadership and external partners.
• Comfort with ambiguity and ground‑zero building.

Nice to Have

• Background at a high‑growth technology or marketplace company.
• Experience working cross‑functionally with data engineering or warehouse teams.

Benefits

• Well‑funded and proven startup with large ambitions, competitive salary and the upsides of pre‑IPO equity packages.
• Unlimited PTO.
• Carrot Cash travel stipend.
• Access to co‑working space on demand through FlexDesk AND Work‑from‑home stipend.
• Generous parental leave, much above industry standards.
• Entrepreneurial culture where pushing limits and taking risks is everyday business.
• Open communication with management and company leadership.
• Small, dynamic teams = massive impact.
• 100% employer paid Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage for employees.
• Access to Disability & Life insurance.
• Health Reimbursement Account (HRA).
• DCA/FSA and access to 401k plan.