Director of Data & Machine Learning

Director of Data & Machine Learning 

We grow the world’s BEST Strawberries and that wouldn’t be possible without our incredible engineers!

As part of our Engineering Team, our Director of Data & Machine Learning drives some of the most cutting edge engineering projects Oishii has to offer. 

We are developing advanced farm systems that leverage robotic harvesting, artificial intelligence, forecasting, and automation technologies to grow and harvest the world’s best strawberries. We are studying every aspect of strawberry production and finding ways to beat the status quo. 

On the plant science front we are creating smarter farms that can automatically harvest fruit, measure and analyze plant health, monitor environmental conditions, fine-tune nutrient levels, understand and control the micro-organism ecosystems, and much more.

What you’ll be responsible for:

• Oversee Oishii’s current machine learning approach and strategy and continue building a world class AI pipeline.  Specific focus on harvesting automation edge models and plant yield forecasting
• Deliver amazing data products, developing creative solutions while leveraging our extensive data lake and data collection capabilities
• Build machine learning infrastructure and models (e.g. recommendation engines, statistical models, NLP engines) that drive activity on our platform, scale our business, and enhance the farm and user experiences.
• Work closely with business and technical teams to gather, analyze, and understand business requirements, translate activities and objectives into analytical models and algorithm codes for application in production scale environment
• Perform analysis on existing data and suggest and implement new potential data sets (leveraging our automated collection) to identify and develop innovative advanced analytics opportunities
• Manage, mentor, and develop a data and machine learning team
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship, train and mentor junior colleagues on other teams
• Work with multi-functional teams to access data elements, understand the data being analyzed, and identify improvement opportunities for data ingestion process
• Facilitate and identify repeatable testing strategies for measuring results produced by analytics models
• Communicate complex machine learning ideas, designs, and processes to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Provide vision and solutions regarding data storage and optimization
• Own all phases of the data lifecycle (exploratory data analysis, model development, model productionizing, rollout, and evaluation)

Who will love this job: Individuals who identify with our Core Values and exhibit skills within those values will thrive at Oishii. 

• One Team, One Fight!
  • Ability to quickly shift priorities to meet deadlines and effectively communicate, both verbally and in writing, clearly, concisely and with purpose with technical and non technical business partners. 
  • Ability to work cross functionally at all levels and collaborate at various levels of the organization.
• Focus
  • Ability to remove obstacles in order to prioritize which could include problem solving, working through ambiguity and using fact based or sound judgment.
• GSD (Get Sh** Done!)
  • Capable of prioritizing tasks and always considering the resources available when doing so.
  • Track record of delivering engineering solutions on time, on budget, and in accordance with project requirements.
  • A bias for action! Ability to hold yourself accountable and take ownership of driving results that impact company outcomes. 

What we look for in a Director of Data & Machine Learning:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Analytical Sciences (biology, ecology, etc.), Statistics, or related field.
• 7+ years experience in a similar engineering leadership role, with at least 3 years leading a team hands-on.
• 3+ years of experience in data science, data engineering, machine learning, and API-based solution architecture. Experience with Tensorflow, pytorch, ONXX a plus!
• 2+ years of hands-on experience in architecting, developing and implementing advanced analytics models and machine learning algorithms for scalable production environments.
• Highly proficient skills in statistical languages (e.g. Python/R) and querying languages (e.g. SQL).
• Demonstrated track record of leading the delivery of successful and innovative machine learning products, working independently and with key stakeholders.
• Expert level understanding of core ML/Statistics/CS principles.
• Experience with AWS preferred.
• Front end web knowledge is a plus.
• Startup experience is a major plus!
• We have 2 locations in NJ; Jersey City & Philipsburg, NJ. This role may be remote or hybrid depending on the candidate location.  

Perks at Oishii:

• Competitive salary and equity package
• Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance
• 100% Employer Paid Life Insurance + Long Term Disability Insurance
• EAP Access
• Pet Insurance
• 401(k) Retirement Plan (Roth & Traditional)
• Paid Parental leave
• Office social events including happy hours, parties, and community service projects
• Employee activity groups for basketball players, Yoga Enthusiasts, runners…

About Oishii: 

At Oishii, we grow the best fruit in the world by deploying ground-breaking vertical farming technology that pushes the boundaries of agriculture. We’re the first in the WORLD to grow fruit in an indoor vertical farm at commercial scale. We started with strawberries, which we debuted at Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare, the three star Michelin restaurant considered by critics to be among the best in the world. Since then, we have supplied our strawberries to food-loving consumers, world-class restaurants, and specialty retailers across NYC. Our proprietary technology enables us to grow the very best produce year-round, at the same high level of quality, all without using any pesticides. 

Oishii has been profiled in Eater, NPR, Time Magazine, and Fortune. Oishi was also one of the Fast Companies Most Innovative Companies of 2022. 

At Oishii, everything we do works toward accomplishing our mission of transforming agriculture sustainably while bringing produce that truly delights people everywhere. This requires farmers, engineers, scientists, product managers, and members of many other backgrounds to work together day-in and day-out to innovate, while operating increasingly large farms. We have an amazing mission-driven team of highly motivated and engaged members. Learn More https://oishii.com/