---
title: 'Director, Data Science at DuckDuckGo'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-data-science-duckduckgo-remote-ja84xyrvqhm2'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-16'
---

# Director, Data Science at DuckDuckGo

- **Company:** DuckDuckGo
- **Location:** Remote
- **Compensation:** $263k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-10-16
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-16
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/duck-duck-go/0269aeaa-8d8f-4c8d-b785-57afac67f4ff

## Job description

## Who We Are

Hi, we're DuckDuckGo, the online protection company and remote-first team of 400+ on a mission to raise the standard of trust online. Founded in 2008 and profitable since 2014, our annual revenue is in the hundreds of millions USD and millions use our browser on [Mac](https://spreadprivacy.com/introducing-duckduckgo-for-mac/), [Windows](https://spreadprivacy.com/windows-browser-open-beta/), [iOS](https://spreadprivacy.com/duckduckgo-privacy-browser-ios14/), and [Android](https://spreadprivacy.com/introducing-app-tracking-protection/), our [search engine](https://duckduckgo.com/), and the [DuckDuckGo subscription](https://duckduckgo.com/pro). We also offer private, useful, and optional AI, including [Duck.ai](https://duck.ai/), which lets you chat privately with ChatGPT, Claude, and other AIs, all in one place.

Our [culture](https://duckduckgo.com/how-we-work) of trust, inclusivity, and empowered project management underpins everything we do, where each team member takes full ownership of their projects, from scoping and execution to postmortem. If you're seeking end-to-end ownership of your work, you've come to the right place!

## Your Team and Role

Working on the Data Science Functional Team, you'll drive product and business impact by developing data scientists, setting clear expectations for them, providing hands-on mentorship, and removing blockers.

You will guide and advise multiple data science projects so that they stay on track and have timely delivery with maximum impact. These projects will involve statistical modeling, experiment design, and classifier implementation across our search engine, instant answers, AI, and revenue optimization. You'll collaborate cross-functionally to validate direction through data, build trust in organizational tactics and strategy by consulting on experiments, and become an expert in our core metrics like searches, installs, and revenue. You'll also drive improvement of the data pipeline. Because of our strong privacy policies, you'll need to think creatively and develop strategies for how we can surface more actionable insights in an evidence-first culture where quantitative rigor is the baseline, not the exception.

As a Director, Data Science, you'll help shape our all-in-one privacy solution and join our mission to show the world that protecting your privacy online can be simple.

## About You

- You have 10+ years of experience in data science or ML engineering, with 4+ years leading teams, and a track record of setting multi-team roadmaps and adapting swiftly as priorities shift.
- You've driven organizational culture toward data-driven decision-making and can translate technical tradeoffs and risks clearly for executives and cross-functional stakeholders.
- You enjoy coaching experienced data scientists who are already highly skilled. You give direct, actionable feedback and you've built teams where people do the best work of their careers.
- You can deploy and iterate ML and NLP solutions in production at expert level, with deep knowledge of when to reach for which tools - especially in constrained environments requiring fast responses and strict privacy standards.
- You write production-grade code in Python or a comparable high-level language and stay close to the technical work when it matters most.
- You have advanced SQL and query optimization skills, familiarity with columnar databases like BigQuery, Clickhouse, Redshift, or Druid.
- You have strong LLM/AI experience including fine-tuning, LLM-as-judge evaluation, and AI-assisted development, and can design, implement, and analyze experiments across product surfaces using sparse or privacy-constrained data.
- Preferred: experience at a consumer-facing tech company where data or analytics is core to the product strategy.

## Compensation

This role is paid on a regional pay scale, in local currency, and stock options:

- United States: $263,300 USD annually
- United Kingdom: £183,850 GBP annually
- Canada: C$346,250 CAD annually
- Europe/Rest of World: €214,950 EUR annually

In Spain, pay is expected to transition to the EUR scale on January 1, 2027, and in other Europe/Rest of World countries on February 1, 2027.

Compensation is transparent across the organization, and all team members within the same professional level and global region receive the same compensation.

Our[Team Member Support Guide](https://duckduckgo.com/assets/hiring/team_support_guide.pdf) explains how we prioritize your wellbeing including paid parental leave, office setup, and co-working allowances.

Hiring Process Hiring works best when it's a two-way street. Learn how we help you get to know DuckDuckGo, envision your future role here, and find out more about [how we hire](https://duckduckgo.com/how-we-hire).

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion DuckDuckGo provides equal work opportunities to all team members and applicants, and it prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, caste, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by our policies or federal, state, or local laws.

We want to ensure that our hiring process is accessible. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process because of a medical condition or disability, please send an email to careers@duckduckgo.com to let us know the nature of your request.

Please note that:

- You’ll be required to attend meetings on camera via video conferencing
- Expect to travel at least two times a year: once for our all-hands meetup and again for a team retreat (each around 4-5 days). While extenuating circumstances may impact attendance, everyone is strongly encouraged to attend.
- While we offer a flexible work arrangement with no core hours, expect an average full-time commitment of 40 hours per week.
- A successful candidate must pass a background check as a condition of joining the team.
- By applying for this role, you confirm that all information submitted is accurate and complete. You further acknowledge that providing false or fraudulent information during the application process is cause for denial of an offer, revocation of any existing offer, or other adverse action, up to and including termination after the start of your commencement of work.

Disclosure Statement: Use of AI in Hiring Process As part of our commitment to enhancing our recruitment process, we utilize artificial intelligence (AI) technology to assist in reviewing and summarizing job applications and test projects, including those tools integrated into our recruitment vendor platforms. We use AI to flag potentially fraudulent applications, analyze and summarize applicants’ experience, interviews, and project performance, and help streamline our selection process.

Key Principles:

- Data Privacy: All information provided in your application will be handled in accordance with our [Recruiting Privacy Policy](https://duckduckgo.com/static-assets/files/pages/careers/DuckDuckGo-Recruiting-Privacy-Policy-effective-February-5-2025.pdf). We ensure that your personal information is protected and used solely for recruitment purposes.
- Human Oversight and Accountability: The AI technology is designed to support our hiring team by providing insights and summaries of applications and evaluations of test projects against scoring rubrics. All final evaluations and hiring decisions, however, will be made by our hiring team, who will consider the AI's input alongside other factors.
- Transparency: We believe in transparency regarding our hiring practices. If you have any questions about how AI is used in our recruitment process, please feel free to reach out to us.

By submitting your application, you acknowledge and consent to the use of AI technology in our review process. If you would like to request an alternative selection process, please contact us as at careers@duckduckgo.com. Thank you for your interest in joining DuckDuckGo!

## #LI-DNI

## About DuckDuckGo

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: DuckDuckGo is an independent, free browser and search engine that actively protects users’ personal information by not tracking them.
- **Entity Type**: Private (independently funded, bootstrapped with early angel investment)
- **Headquarters**: Paoli, Pennsylvania, USA
- **Founded**: 2008
- **Founders**: Gabriel Weinberg

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Internet privacy, search engine, web browser
- **Target customers**: B2C (consumers), with a focus on privacy-conscious individuals
- **Mission**: “To show the world that protecting privacy can be simple.”

## Products & Services
- **DuckDuckGo Browser**: A privacy-focused browser available on Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android. It blocks third-party trackers, cookie pop-ups, and invasive ads, and includes a built-in search engine that never tracks searches.
- **DuckDuckGo Search Engine**: A private search engine that does not collect or share personal information.
- **Privacy Protections**: Features include Email Protection (email forwarding that strips trackers), App Tracking Protection (blocks trackers in other apps on Android), and optional AI features (e.g., DuckAssist) that are also privacy-respecting.
- **DuckDuckGo for Business**: An enterprise version? Not explicitly mentioned; primarily consumer-focused.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Over 3 billion monthly searches, 9 million monthly downloads, 335+ team members (as of 2026)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Early investor Union Square Ventures; no major recent funding rounds disclosed
- **Growth Signals**: Team has tripled in size over the past few years while maintaining a 95% annual retention rate; average user rating of 4.8 across app stores; fully distributed team across 27+ countries

## Competitive Advantages
- **Privacy-first positioning**: No tracking, no data collection, and transparent business model (revenue from non-tracking ads and affiliate partnerships)
- **Independent and self-funded**: Not reliant on venture capital or ad-tech revenue, enabling long-term focus on user trust
- **Non-hierarchical culture**: Flat structure with Directly Responsible Individuals (DRIs) instead of project managers; same pay for same level/region regardless of role or background
- **High employee retention**: 95% annual retention since 2012, indicating strong culture and job satisfaction

## Strategic Focus
- **Expand privacy protections**: Continue to develop new features that block tracking and protect user data (e.g., Email Protection, App Tracking Protection)
- **Grow user base**: Increase adoption of the DuckDuckGo browser beyond the search engine
- **Privacy-first AI**: Integrate optional AI features that respect user privacy, distinguishing from competitors that rely on data collection
- **Maintain remote-first culture**: Sustain a fully distributed, asynchronous work environment that values deep work and flexibility

## Why Work Here
- **Fully remote**: Team members work from over 27 countries; no core hours – schedule flexibility for deep work
- **Fair compensation**: Same annual pay for same professional level and global region, regardless of role, gender, or experience
- **High retention and engagement**: 95% annual retention, 86% employee engagement (14% above industry benchmark)
- **Unique culture**: Non-hierarchical, transparent, with DRIs and Career Advisors; no external job titles internally; emphasis on building trust and questioning assumptions
- **Hiring process**: Paid test projects (no live coding or brain teasers), asynchronous, designed to simulate real work; AI used only as a supporting tool with human oversight
- **Perks**: No core hours, flexible time off, focus on work-life balance, and a global community of passionate team members

## Sources
1. [duckduckgo.com/hiring](https://duckduckgo.com/hiring)
2. [duckduckgo.com/how-we-work](https://duckduckgo.com/how-we-work)
3. [duckduckgo.com/about](https://duckduckgo.com/about)
4. [duckduckgo.com/how-we-hire](https://duckduckgo.com/how-we-hire)
5. [duckduckgo.com/](https://duckduckgo.com/)

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