Head of production

About LILT

AI is changing how the world communicates — and LILT is leading that transformation.

We're on a mission to make the world's information accessible to everyone , regardless of the language they speak. We use cutting-edge AI, machine translation, and human-in-the-loop expertise to translate content faster, more accurately, and more cost-effectively without compromising on brand, voice, or quality.

At LILT, we empower our teammates with leading tools, global collaboration, and growth opportunities to do their best work. Our company virtues— Work together, win together; Find a way or make one; Quicker than they expect; Quality is Job 1—guide everything we do. We are trusted by Intel Corporation, Canva, the United States Department of Defense, the United States Air Force, ASICS, and hundreds of global Enterprises. Backed by Sequoia, Intel Capital, and Redpoint, we’re building a category-defining company in a $50B+ global translation market being redefined by AI.

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Head of Applied AI Production to lead and scale our multilingual Applied AI production operations. This strategic leadership role will be responsible for executing complex programs, building robust data operations, and scaling production operations. The ideal candidate will bridge the gap between technical requirements and operational excellence, ensuring high-quality multilingual data production at scale.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

• Define and execute the vision and strategy for Applied AI production operations

• Translate business objectives into actionable data production strategies and roadmaps

• Build scalable frameworks that balance speed-to-market with rigorous quality standards

• Communicate value, progress, and strategic initiatives effectively to executive stakeholders

Operational Excellence

• Lead end-to-end production operations for Applied AI, ensuring on-time, high-quality delivery

• Design and implement standardized processes, workflows, and quality frameworks across production teams

• Optimize resource allocation, prioritization, and capacity planning to maximize team productivity

• Establish metrics and KPIs to measure operational efficiency, quality, and business impact

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives and identify opportunities for innovation

Team Leadership & Development

• Build, mentor, and scale a high-performing production team, including project managers, data specialists, and quality assurance professionals

• Foster a culture of excellence, accountability, and collaboration

• Partner with cross-functional leaders in Research, Engineering, and GTM to ensure alignment and effective collaboration

Technical & Quality Oversight

• Ensure rigorous quality assurance processes are in place

• Make strategic tooling and technology decisions to support scalability and efficiency

• Implement risk management frameworks to minimize rework and delivery delays

• Stay current with industry best practices and emerging trends in AI

Required Qualifications:

Experience

• 10+ years of experience in ML Data production operations, program management, or related roles

• 5+ years leading complex ML/AI Data delivery programs at scale

• Proven track record of scaling operations from small teams (5-10) to enterprise-level (50+)

• Experience managing multi-million dollar budgets and P&L responsibility

• History of successfully delivering complex, multi-stakeholder programs on time and within budget

Technical Knowledge

• Deep understanding of AI/ML workflows, training data requirements, and quality standards

• Expertise in data annotation, labelling, model benchmarking and evaluation, and data pipeline operations

• Knowledge of data science, engineering principles, and linguistics as they apply to AI production

• Experience with production tooling, platforms, and technologies for Applied AI operations

Leadership & Skills

• Exceptional leadership abilities with experience building and scaling high-performing teams

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven decision-making approach

• Outstanding communication skills with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels

• Expertise in process optimization, change management, and operational excellence methodologies

• Strategic thinking combined with hands-on execution capabilities

• Ability to thrive in ambiguous, fast-paced, dynamic environments with competing priorities

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in multilingual AI operations

• Background in AI-native companies

• Degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or related field

• Certifications in project management (PMP), process improvement (Lean Six Sigma), or related areas

• Experience with global, distributed teams and offshore operations

Our Story

Our founders, Spence and John met at Google working on Google Translate. As researchers at Stanford and Berkeley, they both worked on language technology to make information accessible to everyone. While together at Google, they were amazed to learn that Google Translate wasn’t used for enterprise products and services inside the company.The quality just wasn’t there. So they set out to build something better. LILT was born.

LILT has been a machine learning company since its founding in 2015. At the time, machine translation didn’t meet the quality standard for enterprise translations, so LILT assembled a cutting-edge research team tasked with closing that gap. While meeting customer demand for translation services, LILT has prioritized investments in Large Language Models, human-in-the-loop systems, and now agentic AI.

With AI innovation accelerating and enterprise demand growing, the next phase of LILT’s journey is just beginning.

Our Tech

What sets our platform apart:

• Brand-aware AI that learns your voice, tone, and terminology to ensure every translation is accurate and consistent

• Agentic AI workflows that automate the entire translation process from content ingestion to quality review to publishing

• 100+ native integrations with systems like Adobe Experience Manager, Webflow, Salesforce, GitHub, and Google Drive to simplify content translation

• Human-in-the-loop reviews via our global network of professional linguists, for high-impact content that requires expert review

LILT in the News

• Featured in The Software Report’s Top 100 Software Companies!

• LILT makes it onto the Inc. 5000 List.

• LILT’s continues to be an intellectual powerhouse, holding numerous patents that help power the most efficient and sophisticated AI and language models in the industry.

• Check out all our news on our website.

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At LILT, we are committed to a fair, inclusive, and transparent hiring process. As part of our recruitment efforts, we may use artificial intelligence (AI) and automated tools to assist in the evaluation of applications, including résumé screening, assessment scoring, and interview analysis. These tools are designed to support human decision-making and help us identify qualified candidates efficiently and objectively. All final hiring decisions are made by people. If you have any concerns, require accommodations, or would like to opt-out of the use of AI in our hiring process, please let us know at [email protected].

LILT is an equal opportunity employer. We extend equal opportunity to all individuals without regard to an individual’s race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic characteristics, veteran or marital status, pregnancy, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state or federal laws. We are committed to the principles of fair employment and the elimination of all discriminatory practices.