Senior Director of Product, Next Gen Search

Upwork ($UPWK) is the world’s work marketplace. We serve everyone from one-person startups to large, Fortune 100 enterprises with a powerful, trust-driven platform that enables companies and talent to work together in new ways that unlock their potential.

Last year, more than $3.8 billion of work was done through Upwork by skilled professionals who are gaining more control by finding work they are passionate about and innovating their careers.

The Sr Director of Next Gen Search at Upwork will bring to life the future of search capabilities at Upwork, enhancing how we connect talent with opportunities and clients. By leveraging syntactic, semantic, contextual, and structural search dimensions, and incorporating voice, text, and video integrations, this role is critical to enabling transformational product experiences.. 
Collaborating closely with our multi-disciplinary teams, the ideal candidate will possess a robust technical understanding of search algorithms, rankings, and relevance, guiding us towards our mission of creating the most efficient and rewarding work marketplace.

Your Responsibilities:

• Drive the evolution of search experiences in our marketplace, ensuring optimized user experience for both talents and hiring managers.
• Remain at the forefront of search technology by integrating the latest advancements, including:
  
  • Neural-based retrieval methods for deeper contextual understanding.
  • Multimodal search capabilities, encompassing voice, text, and video search.
  • Semantic search techniques for improved relevance and comprehension.
  • AI-driven predictive search for proactive recommendation systems.
  • Real-time indexing for faster, up-to-date search results.
  • Enhanced natural language processing (NLP) for better query understanding and response.
• Responsible for both the strategy and execution of this function, overseeing PMs, ontologists, and the expansive ontology utilized across Upwork’s platform.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including designers, engineers, machine learning and AI scientists, analysts, ontologists, and product marketers, ensuring the successful rollout of cross-product initiatives.
• Establish, monitor, and refine key search metrics, continuously utilizing quantitative tests to gain insights and improve search efficiency across the Upwork ecosystem.
• Remain updated on the latest advancements in search technologies, ensuring Upwork remains at the forefront of next-gen search capabilities.
• Mentor and nurture a team of product managers, enhancing their skills in product management and emphasizing the creation of high-performing search experiences.

What it takes to catch our eye:

• Proven experience in leading innovative search teams and delivering state-of-the-art search and recommendation experiences.
• Demonstrated knowledge in developing and/or leading taxonomy, ontology, or standardization initiatives.
• Strong command over the technicalities of search, including ontology, taxonomy, and data models, to engage effectively in discussions with tech-savvy team members.
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex topics clearly, align various stakeholders, and maintain a strong executive presence.
• A proven track record of understanding customer requirements and ensuring effective collaboration across multifaceted teams.
• An unwavering passion for Upwork’s mission and a genuine appreciation for our platform's transformative potential.
  

The annual base salary for this position in California and Washington ranges from $218,000 - $310,000. The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum salary for this position in California and Washington, and individual base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location. Additionally, this position is eligible for the annual bonus plan or sales incentive plan and eligibility to participate in our long term equity incentive program.

Come change how the world works.

At Upwork, you’ll shape talent solutions for how the world works today. We are a remote-first organization working together to create exciting remote work opportunities for a global community of professionals.  While we have physical offices in San Francisco and Chicago, currently we also support hiring of corporate full-time employees in 19 states in the United States. Please speak with a member of our recruitment team to determine whether you are located in a state in which we are hiring corporate full-time employees. 

Our vibrant culture is built on shared values and our mission to create economic opportunities so that people have better lives. We foster amazing teams, put our community first, and have a bias toward action. We encourage ev