---
title: 'Director of Data at Passage'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-data-passage-passage-hq-apdmc8ym2w47'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-12'
---

# Director of Data at Passage

- **Company:** Passage
- **Location:** Passage HQ
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-03-10
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/passage/8bcea956-6c5f-49ea-ad39-c88a87d2d9e0

## Job description

## Who we are

Who we are: We build technology that removes barriers blocking talent from opportunity, combining the latest advancements in AI with human judgment. How we expand access: Access isn't real if it's unaffordable. Through our sister company, Passage Funding, we provide financing for international students. What we believe: Access to opportunity should not be determined by geography, gender, or wealth. We reinvest a portion of our profits to support those cut off from education - including our Afghan program. Access is the product: We build AI that turns paperwork into decisions, and decisions into real outcomes. Our mission is bold but simple: by 2030, we aim to dismantle the barriers preventing brilliant minds from accessing the opportunities they deserve.

## The role

We are looking for a Director of Data to build and own the data foundation at Passage. This is a foundational role. You will design the systems that turn our operational data into reliable infrastructure the entire company can trust. You are both a technical builder and a strategic thinker. You enjoy designing data systems from the ground up, turning messy operational data into structured platforms that enable better decisions across the business. From day one, you will work closely with leadership across engineering, growth, credit, finance, product, and operations. You will design the company’s data architecture, build pipelines and analytical models, and create the metrics that guide how Passage operates. We are a lean, high-ownership team that moves quickly. There is no fixed hierarchy and no ceiling on growth. We are looking for someone excited to build the data brain of the company, establish best practices, and eventually help grow the data team as Passage scales.

## What you will do

Build the data foundation

- Design and own the analytics layer of Passage’s data platform
- Develop scalable data models and transformation layers that power analytics across the company
- Define the company’s canonical metrics and ensure consistency across teams
- Build dashboards and analytical frameworks used by leadership to evaluate performance and make business decisions
- Work with data engineering to ensure reliable pipelines and data availability
- Unify data across growth, product, lending, finance, and operations into a consistent analytics layer
- Establish standards for data quality, monitoring, and metric governance

Power analytics and decision-making

- Define and maintain the company’s core metrics and analytical frameworks
- Build dashboards used by leadership to monitor lending, product, and operational performance
- Analyze loan portfolio performance, borrower behavior, underwriting outcomes, and operational workflows
- Translate complex datasets into clear insights that drive better decisions

Partner across the company

- Work closely with teams across credit, finance, product, and operations
- Translate business questions into structured analytical solutions
- Help teams adopt a data-driven approach to decision-making

Shape Passage’s data strategy

- Define the long-term architecture of Passage’s data platform
- Implement best practices for modeling, documentation, and analytics workflows
- Lay the foundation for the future data team, including tooling and infrastructure

## Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, statistics, mathematics, or a related technical field
- 6–10 years of experience in analytics engineering, data engineering, or advanced analytics roles
- Deep expertise in SQL and experience working with large operational datasets
- Experience designing and maintaining data warehouses and analytical data models
- Strong experience building data pipelines and transformation workflows
- Proficiency in Python for data processing and analysis
- Experience working directly with business stakeholders to translate business problems into analytical solutions
- Ability to operate independently in a startup environment where systems are still being built

## Nice to have

- Experience working in fintech, lending, financial services, or international education
- Experience analyzing loan or credit datasets
- Experience with GraphQL-based systems or API-driven data pipelines
- Experience with Metabase or other BI tools for dashboards and operational reporting
- Experience building a data platform from scratch at a startup
- Experience mentoring analysts or helping build a data function

Location Passage operates with an in-office working model. Candidates must be based in Toronto or open to relocating and working five days per week in our Toronto office.

Ready to join us? We are building a company designed to expand access to life-changing opportunities around the world. If you are excited about building systems, solving complex problems, and shaping how a company makes decisions, we would love to meet you. Note: Artificial intelligence may be used in the screening or assessment of applicants. If your experience does not match every requirement but you believe you can thrive in this role, we encourage you to apply.

## Compensation

C$150K to C$200K + Offers Equity

## About Passage

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Passage is a Talent Success Platform that matches international students with PGWP-eligible Canadian programs aligned with labour-market shortages, finances tuition and living costs, and supports students through graduation and employment.
- **Entity Type**: Private (funding stage not disclosed)
- **Headquarters**: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Martin Basiri (CEO), Saif Iqbal (CTO) [ca.linkedin.com](https://ca.linkedin.com/company/passagehq)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Education technology and student finance
- **Target customers**: International students from 100+ countries seeking Canadian education and post-graduation work pathways; Canadian public colleges and universities (DLIs)
- **Mission**: "A public commitment to change one million lives by the start of 2030" [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/)

## Products & Services
- **Match**: AI-guided intake platform that routes international talent into Canadian programs aligned with verified Government of Canada labour shortages, screened for PGWP eligibility [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/)
- **Finance**: Loans up to C$65,000 at 11.95% fixed APR for tuition and first-year living costs, underwritten using program, profile, and outcome signals rather than traditional credit history [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/)
- **Stay**: End-to-end support from pre-arrival study-permit guidance through on-the-ground academic and settlement help, job search, and PGWP-eligible placement [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/)
- **Afghan Program**: A dedicated initiative launched in 2024 to fund and admit up to 100 Afghan women through Canadian university and college programs [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly available
- **Key Metric**: Total funding not disclosed; team size of ~16 employees (as of early 2026) [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/passage-passagecom)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not listed in available sources
- **Growth Signals**: Launched in 2023 with first cohorts arriving in 2024; active hiring across operations, finance, and engineering globally; expansion into onshore and offshore pathways for students from Africa, Asia, Middle East, and Latin America [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Integrated model**: Combines matching, financing, and post-graduation support in one platform – unlike loan-only or recruitment-only alternatives.
- **Alternative underwriting**: Uses education and outcome signals instead of cross-border credit history, enabling financing for students traditionally priced out.
- **Labour-market alignment**: Programs selected based on verified Canadian shortages, increasing employability and PGWP success.
- **AI-driven consistency**: Policy enforcement, document validation, and audit trails ensure every applicant receives the same care [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/).

## Strategic Focus
- Scale the platform to serve more international talent and expand the network of Canadian partner institutions.
- Grow the lending book while maintaining low default rates via outcome-linked financial model.
- Build technology infrastructure (data platform, engineering) to support automated intake and policy application.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven**: Direct, measurable impact on access to education and career opportunities for underserved international talent.
- **Small, ambitious team**: 16 employees in Toronto with a flat structure; roles in product, operations, finance, and law [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/passage-passagecom).
- **Work policy**: Hybrid/on-site at Toronto HQ for most roles; some remote positions available for global acquisition coordinators and growth leads in specific regions [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/).
- **Open roles**: Currently hiring for Business Operations Associate, Credit Strategy Analyst, Director of Data, Principal/Senior/Staff Software Engineer, Staff Analytics Engineer, and global growth/acquisition roles [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/passage-passagecom/jobs).
- **Engineering culture**: Emphasis on using AI to automate repetitive tasks so the team focuses on human-centric support; modern stack with data-driven decision-making.

## Sources
1. [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/)
2. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/passage-passagecom)
3. [ca.linkedin.com](https://ca.linkedin.com/company/passagehq)

## Other roles at Passage

- [Senior Marketing Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-marketing-engineer-passage-toronto-c1xjtwedtdpx) — Toronto, Canada
- [Senior Analytics Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-analytics-engineer-passage-toronto-30tb82f8adh7) — Toronto, Canada
- [Global Growth Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/global-growth-lead-passage-india-pkf2abavmkw2) — India
- [Senior Accountant / Finance Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-accountant-finance-manager-passage-passage-hq-7as3n1v5dc33) — Passage HQ
- [Director of Finance](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-finance-passage-passage-hq-n7mg1fdt7196) — Passage HQ
- [Principal Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-software-engineer-passage-passage-hq-h7ywwarrefd0) — Passage HQ
- [Staff Analytics Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-analytics-engineer-passage-passage-hq-8gdmbfyccxvb) — Passage HQ
- [Senior Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-passage-passage-hq-wj2v9pmg2cp4) — Passage HQ
- [Global Acquisition Coordinator](https://feeny.ai/job/global-acquisition-coordinator-passage-india-3tm3gt5fe30b) — India
- [Global Acquisition Coordinator](https://feeny.ai/job/global-acquisition-coordinator-passage-nigeria-sm4mdx5df6bj) — Nigeria