Data Acquisition Lead (AI)

Location: San Francisco, CA; New York, NY. The compensation section also references Seattle, WA.

Base salary: $182,400–$228,000 USD per year, plus potential equity and benefits.

Company

Scale AI develops reliable AI systems, high-quality data, and full-stack technologies for leading models and enterprise and government AI applications.

What you will do

• Map the supply side by identifying organizations holding data for domains that AI labs are targeting and develop a thesis for acquisition priorities.
• Work with Legal to invent and define pricing structures for data transactions.
• Own the commercial process from cold outreach through signed agreements.
• Evaluate what makes datasets trainable and valuable while translating between commercial and Research teams.
• Build the acquisition function manually at first, then turn the learning into a repeatable pipeline.

Requirements

• 5+ years across business development, corporate development, commercial strategy, or early-stage go-to-market, with a track record of building a commercial motion that did not previously exist.
• Strong track record of managing important external relationships.
• Strong business judgment and ability to evaluate partnership value quickly.
• Clear communication skills and comfort working with senior stakeholders.
• Ability to operate independently while staying closely connected to cross-functional teams.
• Practical, hands-on approach to building new functions from the ground up.
• Comfort working in fast-moving, ambiguous environments.
• Experience in AI, data infrastructure, marketplaces, platforms, or high-growth technology companies.
• Familiarity with post-training, reinforcement learning, evaluations, or synthetic data.
• Experience with data licensing, intellectual property, or regulated data.
• Experience partnering closely with Legal and Finance on complex agreements.

Culture & Benefits

• Inclusive and equal opportunity workplace with reasonable accommodations available during the application and recruiting process.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage.
• Retirement benefits, learning and development stipend, and generous paid time off.
• Eligible roles may include equity compensation and a commuter stipend.

Hiring process

• Compensation and level are determined during the interview process based on location, skills, experience, qualifications, interview performance, and education or training.
• Applicants must wait 90 days before being reconsidered for the same role.