Principal Manager, Discovery AI

About Ancestry:
When you join Ancestry, you join a human-centered company where every person’s story is important. Ancestry®, the global leader in family history, empowers journeys of personal discovery to enrich lives. With our unparalleled collection of more than 40 billion records, over 3 million subscribers and over 23 million people in our growing DNA network, customers can discover their family story and gain a new level of understanding about their lives. Over the past 40 years, we’ve built trusted relationships with millions of people who have chosen us as the platform for discovering, preserving and sharing the most important information about themselves and their families.
We are committed to our location flexible work approach, allowing you to choose to work in the nearest office, from your home, or a hybrid of both (subject to location restrictions and roles that are required to be in the office- see the full list of eligible US locations HERE). We will continue to hire and promote beyond the boundaries of our office locations, to enable broadened possibilities for employee diversity.
Together, we work every day to foster a work environment that's inclusive as well as diverse, and where our people can be themselves. Every idea and perspective is valued so that our products and services reflect the global and diverse clients we serve. 
Ancestry encourages applications from minorities, women, the disabled, protected veterans and all other qualified applicants. Passionate about dedicating your work to enriching people’s lives? Join the curious.

The Discovery AI Principal Manager leads the strategy, vision, and execution of AI-driven discovery initiatives within a company, focusing on identifying business opportunities and building AI solutions to address them.

What you will do:

• Develop and implement the AI strategy for family history discovery, ensuring alignment with the company’s vision and objectives.

• Lead and manage a team of data scientists and machine learning engineers to deliver effective and high-quality search and recommendation models.

• Build and execute the technical vision, strategy, and roadmap for integrating Large Language Models (LLM) and Agentic AI frameworks into enterprise solutions.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including engineering, product management, and UX design, to create high-quality, user-centric product experiences.

• Oversee the end-to-end lifecycle of AI projects, ensuring the delivery of impactful and innovative solutions from development to deployment and optimization.

• Monitor trends in the AI industry and drive innovation with emerging techniques such as LLMs and Agentic AI, ensuring that Ancestry remains a pioneer in the genealogy and family history sector.

• Ensure all AI solutions are ethically designed, transparent, and compliant with privacy and regulatory standards.

Who you are:

• Over 5 years of management experience in AI/ML teams, with a demonstrated ability to lead high-performing panels.

• Expertise in search and recommendation technologies.

• Proven experience leading teams focused on AI product solutions, especially LLM.

• Experienced in hiring and mentoring diverse teams while fostering collaboration and innovation.

• Strong collaboration skills with cross-functional teams, including engineering, product management, and UX design, to develop user-centered solutions.

• Proficient in machine learning concepts and familiar with cloud platforms.

• A continuous learner who stays updated on trends in AI, including LLMs and agentic systems.

• Experience with agentic AI frameworks that drive innovation in user-centric applications.

Additional Information:

Ancestry is an Equal Opportunity Employer that makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, mental or physical disability, medical condition, military or veteran status, citizenship, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. In addition, Ancestry will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.

All job offers are contingent on a background check screen that complies with applicable law.  For San Francisco office candidates, pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Ancestry will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.  

Ancestry is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at Ancestry via-email, the Internet or in any form and/or method without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of Ancestry. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by Ancestry as a result of the referral or through other means.