Head of Data

About the role

You will own the end to end lifecycle of data operations at Zocks, defining how information moves from raw input to strategic asset. You will build a high performing data organization that is tightly embedded within our product teams rather than operating as a detached support function. You will set the technical and cultural direction for analytics, ensuring that every data decision serves the needs of our AI driven financial platform. You will act as the primary architect of our data infrastructure, translating ambiguous product needs into clear technical specifications. You will mentor analysts while actively shaping the hiring strategy for data scientists and engineers to secure top talent. You will establish the guardrails and documentation that keep our insights reliable, consistent, and aligned with compliance expectations. You will partner with product and engineering leadership to embed data thinking into every major initiative. You will ensure that data governance, metric definitions, and quality standards are followed consistently across the company.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Lead the recruitment, development, and daily management of a growing data team, including analysts, data scientists, and data engineers.
• Design the structure, workflows, and hiring roadmap of the data function to support rapid scaling and operational efficiency.
• Partner with product and engineering leadership to define data priorities that directly support our AI native product strategy.
• Integrate data insights and evidence based recommendations into core product features to improve customer outcomes and retention.
• Create and maintain data governance standards, including metric ownership, documentation, and data quality frameworks.
• Own the development of data models, ETL pipelines, and data warehousing architecture to ensure scalability and performance.
• Translate complex technical requirements into clear business strategies that resonate with both technical and non technical stakeholders.
• Establish semantic layers, data dictionaries, and governance practices to create a single source of truth for company metrics.
• Mentor team members through coaching, career development, and hands on technical guidance to elevate overall capability.
• Evaluate and adopt modern data tools and best practices that align with our cloud first, AI focused roadmap.
• Coordinate cross functional projects where data plays a central role, ensuring alignment on goals, timelines, and success metrics.
• Monitor data quality and reliability, implementing processes and alerts that prevent issues before they impact customers or decisions.
• Represent the data function in company wide discussions, providing clear narratives backed by evidence and visualization.
• Continuously assess the maturity of our data operations and propose improvements that increase speed, trust, and impact.

Requirements

• Bring 7 or more years of professional experience in Data, Analytics, or Business Intelligence roles.
• Demonstrate at least 2 years of experience leading data teams within a B2B SaaS environment.
• Show a proven track record of recruiting, coaching, and developing technical professionals in data disciplines.
• Exhibit strong proficiency in data modeling, ETL pipelines, data warehousing, and modern data architecture patterns.
• Have hands on experience with data governance, semantic layers, and the maintenance of data dictionaries.
• Display a consistent ability to bridge the gap between technical engineering teams and non technical business stakeholders.
• Communicate fluently in both English and Hungarian to ensure clear collaboration across all teams.
• Understand the demands of working in a regulated financial services context and the importance of data integrity.
• Be comfortable making decisions in a fast moving startup environment where priorities can shift quickly.
• Take ownership of complex problems and follow through on commitments even when working under pressure.
• Demonstrate intellectual curiosity and a willingness to learn new tools, frameworks, and methodologies.
• Show respect for collaborative work styles and a commitment to lifting the performance of the whole team.
• Align with a product first mindset where data work is judged by its impact on real customer problems.

Nice to have

• Experience scaling a data department from a small team into a larger, structured function.
• Background working with stakeholders or customers based in the United States.
• Familiarity with AI driven or data intensive product environments and related challenges.
• Working knowledge of AWS, SQL, and Python as core tools in your daily workflow.
• Experience supporting or managing Data Science and Machine Learning teams with modern tooling.
• Exposure to financial services, fintech, or other heavily regulated industries.
• Use of modern Business Intelligence tools to build dashboards, reports, and self serve analytics.
• Participation in open source projects, data communities, or public speaking in the data field.
• Contributions to data platform reliability, observability, and monitoring practices.
• Familiarity with data security best practices, including authentication, authorization, and privacy considerations.

Practical notes

The role is based in Budapest, with an on site schedule Monday through Thursday and remote work on Fridays. Full time engagement is required. The compensation package includes a competitive base salary, an employee equity program, premium health insurance, an SZÉP card, an AYCM package, and learning and development contributions. Additional benefits include extra paid time off, support for home office setup, daily snacks in the office, and lunch on in office days. Zocks is committed to equal opportunity employment and welcomes diverse candidates.