Head of Data in Melbourne

Rome2Rio , our mission is simple

help travellers get from A to any B .

We make it easy to compare flights, trains, buses, ferries, and driving routes - providing everything users need to discover, plan, and book their journey.

Behind the scenes, we tackle complex routing challenges, process massive datasets, and optimise search performance to deliver fast, reliable results.

The role

As Head of Data, you'll own the strategy, architecture and delivery of our data platform — from pipelines and governance through to the analytics capability that lets every part of the business make trusted, data-informed decisions.

You'll lead a team of around 8 data and analytics engineers, and work as a close partner to the VP of Engineering and the wider leadership team in shaping where the company goes next.

This is a hands-on leadership role. You'll be credible enough to review designs, unblock your team, and make the calls yourself — not just manage a roadmap from a distance.

You’ll

• Own the data strategy and roadmap — platform, architecture, governance and AI enablement — and translate company OKRs into a plan the team can execute against.
• Own the design and evolution of our data platform and its medallion (bronze/silver/gold) architecture, ensuring pipelines are reliable, observable, and cost-efficient.
• Set the standard for data modelling, transformation, CI/CD and documentation across the analytics engineering stack.
• Own our event tracking strategy, data quality framework, and governance — cataloguing, lineage, access control, and a single source of truth.
• Structure our data so AI platforms and self-service tools can use it well — clean metric definitions, strong metadata, and the foundations that make LLM querying accurate and trustworthy.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, Marketing, Commercial and Finance to prioritise a shared backlog by business impact.
• Build and lead a high-performing team — hiring, mentoring, and creating a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Own data platform and tooling spend, optimising consumption-based costs as we scale.
• What you’ll bring
• Deep, hands‑on experience in data and analytics engineering — dimensional modelling, medallion architecture, orchestration, quality and governance.
• Strong command of the modern data stack: dbt, Airflow, advanced SQL, Big Query and Looker.
• Experience with event‑level analytics (Snowplow or similar), modelling raw event streams into trusted, analysis‑ready datasets.
• A track record of leading and growing data teams — you know how to build trust, set direction, and get the best out of engineers and analysts alike.
• A practical grasp of how LLMs interact with data — semantic layers, text‑to‑SQL, metadata retrieval — and where they fail.
• Bonus: experience with Python, Snowflake or Databricks, and BI tools like Tableau, Power BI or Metabase.
• Why this one's different

You won’t be inheriting a finished platform to maintain — you'll be shaping it.

You'll have a direct line to a VP of Engineering who's actively investing in this function, a company where data drives the actual product experience for millions of users, and a genuine opportunity to help define what "AI-native" means for a business built on data at scale.

Why Join Us?

• Innovate & Impact: Work on a product that millions of travellers rely on.
• Inclusive & Supportive Team: We welcome all backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.
• Career Growth: Develop your skills with mentorship, knowledge‑sharing, and leadership opportunities.
• Flexible Work: Hybrid setup with a great work‑life balance.
• Explore Fund: Travel perks to help you experience the journeys you help create!

Rome2Rio is committed to building a diverse, inclusive team. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences.

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