Head of Data Science

Kindred is a members-only home swapping network that unlocks the ability to live a travel-rich lifestyle through the power of community. By exchanging primary residences with trusted peers, renters and owners alike can match with Kindred spirits and explore new destinations without breaking the bank.

We are on a mission to build a sharing economy that lives up to the name, and we’ve raised significant capital from some of the best investors in Silicon Valley, including Index Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, New Enterprise Associates, Bessemer Venture Partners, Caffeinated Capital, Elad Gil, and the founders of Opendoor, Figma, ClassPass, Clubhouse, Divvy, Gem, and Homebound.

The co-founders are proven leaders from the early team at proptech company Opendoor ($15B+ exit) and have each separately built and scaled products that today do $1B+ annual revenue combined.

We’re looking for the world’s top builders, executors, and believers to join us on this ride.

You can learn more about us in Forbes and TechCrunch.

The Role:

This role offers an exceptional opportunity to shape the future of Kindred by directly influencing our core business strategy—from growth to operations. You will collaborate closely with a top-tier team of executives and engineers to tackle some of Kindred’s most complex challenges, including optimizing the credit economy, balancing inventory, and refining dynamic pricing. We’re looking for someone who thrives both as a hands-on individual contributor and leader, capable of diving deep into complex problems while building a world-class data science team. This role requires a rare combination of technical acumen, strategic foresight, and leadership excellence, with the potential to create a lasting, transformative impact on Kindred’s success.

Some of the challenges you will tackle include:

• Dispatch Priority: In a system without cash exchanges, Kindred requires an innovative “match” system to determine member booking priority based on factors such as home demand, similarity, and user reputation. Think of it similar to dispatch models for ride-sharing apps — ensuring the best possible matches while optimizing the member experience.

• Inventory Balance: Kindred’s unique model, where every guest is also a host, means supply and demand are intrinsically linked — we cannot add a unit of supply without also adding a unit of demand. You will work closely with the marketing team to monitor and balance inventory, deploying various product and credit strategies to optimize the flywheel.

• Dynamic Pricing: You’ll leverage market data to define and implement pricing strategies, ensuring Kindred delivers undeniable value to our members while meeting profitability targets.

• Intelligent Automation: You will lead the development and deployment of AI-driven solutions, such as an AI assisted concierge, to streamline customer support operations and enhance margins—while maintaining an exceptional, best-in-class member experience.
  

You may be a right fit for this role if you:

• Have at least 10+ years of experience in data science, or a related field, with a strong background in leading complex, cross-functional projects and driving data-driven decision-making.

• MS / PhD in a quantitative discipline (e.g., Economics, Statistics, Machine learning)

• Demonstrate strategic foresight and are able to think beyond the immediate challenge. You can balance both short-term tactical priorities with long-term goals and strategically navigate competing demands.

• Have experience building and leading high-performing teams. You are capable of mentoring and growing a world-class data science team while working collaboratively with executives and other teams to drive company-wide impact.

• Are results-oriented and have a proven track record of delivering innovative, data-driven solutions that impact business performance, such as dynamic pricing models, inventory optimization, or customer segmentation.

• Have excellent communication skills and can clearly articulate complex data science concepts to non-technical stakeholders. You can effectively present insights, recommendations, and technical roadmaps to executives and other teams.

• Are customer-centric, with a deep understanding of how data science can enhance the user experience. You have a keen focus on delivering value to members while improving operational efficiency.

• Thrive in an entrepreneurial environment and are excited about the opportunity to build and scale solutions in fast-paced environment.

Our Benefits:

At Kindred, we know that good things happen when we look out for one another. We offer our employees the following benefits:

• Our opening spans more than one career level. The base salary offered depends on many factors, such as work experience, transferable skills, business needs and impact, and market demands.

• A vibrant, inclusive, and highly skilled team that ferociously protects team chemistry

• A culture of championship (vs. just mentorship), feedback, and continual development

• Competitive cash compensation and equity

• Comprehensive health benefits

• Flexible vacation policy

• Unlimited credits to stay at Kindred homes during your time as an employee

• $4,000 annual travel stipend to use toward travel costs to stay at a Kindred home

• Remote-flexible work environment. We encourage team members to travel and adventure, including working from Kindred HQ in San Francisco!

• Regular offsites to co-locate with the team

We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees. Kindred does not discriminate on the basis of any protected characteristic, including race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, creed, age, disability, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, medical condition, genetic information, family care or medical leave status, marital status, domestic partner status, military and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by US federal, state or local laws, or the laws of the country or jurisdiction where you work. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.