Senior Director - Machine Learning and AI - Denver

About Auror

At Auror, we’re empowering the retail industry to tackle theft and Organised Retail Crime, a $150 Billion problem globally. It’s high volume crime that’s increasingly organised in nature and is putting people, retailers, and communities at risk every day.

Founded in New Zealand 12 years ago, we’re working with some of the best and largest retailers in the world across the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.

Auror is connecting people and intelligence to reduce crime. We’re using technology for good.

In partnership with our leading retail partners, we need people with the passion, determination, and innovation required to overcome one of the world's largest problems. If you’re looking to make a difference with and for the people dedicated to stopping crime, for good, then we want you on our team.

We're also embracing the potential of AI to supercharge our impact, whether that's enhancing the way we detect trends, support our customers, or improve internal workflows. As a company, we're committed to responsibly incorporating AI into how we work and what we build, and we encourage all Aurors to be curious about how AI can elevate their work, regardless of role or function.

About The Role

{Location : This role works closely with our Product and Engineering teams, who are based in New Zealand. To enable strong collaboration, we will prioritise candidates who are open to relocating to New Zealand. Auror will provide relocation support. We review every application carefully and encourage you to apply, even if relocation is something you’re still considering.}

As the Senior Director - Machine Learning and AI, you are the driving force for how Auror harnesses ML and AI to accelerate our mission of reducing retail crime. This role goes beyond model development, it’s about visionary leadership, product innovation, and shaping how responsible AI unlocks transformative value for our customers, our business, and the communities we serve that help us achieve our mission of 50 in 5.

You will lead our Data Science organisation and partner closely with Product, Engineering, Customer, and our Executive Team to define how AI becomes a core strategic lever for Auror. You’ll push the boundaries of what’s possible today while shaping the horizon for tomorrow, identifying new opportunities, new product verticals, and new ways AI can strengthen our impact.

Vision & Strategy

• Define and deliver Auror’s 3 year AI & ML strategy, ensuring it strengthens customer value, business growth, and our position as the global leader in responsible AI for retail crime intelligence.
• Partner with the CPO and Mission Control to shape strategic investment in AI, bringing deep expertise and pragmatic decision-making to the table.
• Set a clear vision for how ML / AI accelerates our mission today, while scanning the horizon for what comes next, this includes new technologies, new product directions, and new opportunities for impact.

Innovation & Product Impact

Governance & Responsible AI

Adoption & Influence

Leadership & Delivery

This role reports to Tanya Johnson, Chief Product Officer

Founder of Women in Tech NZ's Slack community and the Auckland Women in Tech Meetup, I'm really motivated by doing work that makes a meaningful difference in the world, and with supporting people in all the different ways they need to work well. "Context, Collaboration, and Cake" pretty accurately sums up my approach not only to work but to life in general. I'm enthusiastic about Taekwondo (which teaches me how to fail repeatedly and still persevere), love reading sci-fi and fantasy, and consider baking a good form of meditation. I'm excited to work with people who are curious about how things work, enjoy solving problems, think strategically, and are good at digging into details. Check out my LinkedIn here.

Requirements

About you

You are energised by the possibilities ML and AI create and you bring others along with that excitement. You’re a visionary and a builder, someone who loves shaping the future while delivering impact today.

Technical expertise

Leadership and influence

We are looking for people who demonstrate a strong alignment to our Guiding Principles (you can find these on our Careers page ). Auror is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible application process to all candidates and we are actively working to improve diversity within the tech industry. We celebrate diversity and inclusiveness at Auror, regardless of (but not limited to) race, gender, sexual orientation, family status, religion, ethnicity, national origin, physical disability, veteran status, or age.

If you need adjustments to any part of our recruitment process because of accessibility reasons, please do not hesitate to let us know during the application process. We will work with you to identify adjustments that will allow you to perform at your best.

Benefits

Next steps :

If you’re excited about our mission and you have the experience and a passion for this role, please hit “Apply”.

If you’re not sure that you tick all the boxes but feel you’re close to what we’re looking for, please apply anyway! We’re proud that Auror is a place where everyone can learn and grow so we’d love to hear from you.

You'll be asked to submit a cover letter as part of your application. While this is optional we do encourage it, as we find cover letters can tell a story that resumes alone often cannot. Our hiring team love to understand what attracted you to this role and why you are excited about the opportunity to join Auror.

Once you apply, you’ll hear from us to acknowledge your application. If you have questions about any of the above, or if you have any accessibility requirements, we’ll be able to help you from there.