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David AI is the first audio data research company, founded in 2024 by former Scale AI engineers. The company develops high-quality audio datasets for AI training with the same rigor that AI labs bring to models. David AI recently raised a $50M Series B from top-tier investors including NVIDIA, Meritech, and First Round Capital, and has already onboarded most FAANG companies and leading AI labs as customers.
The Marketplace team operates the supply side of a two-sided marketplace that connects voice actors, speakers, transcribers, and annotators across 20+ languages to David AI's data production work. The team manages the full contributor lifecycle: acquisition through paid channels, partnerships, and referrals; application and approval workflows; activation to first task; and ongoing engagement and retention.
As General Manager of Marketplace, you will own contributor supply end-to-end and serve as the single accountable owner for every production ramp's supply plan. You will lead a small, high-output team and scale the marketplace across new languages, modalities, and customer segments each quarter.
Key responsibilities include:
- Build and lead a team of Marketplace Leads focused on contributor growth (applications, approvals, activations) and engagement (daily active contributors, hours per contributor, retention)
- Own supply for every production ramp, working with Data Operations GMs to set budgets, build ramp plans, and agree weekly targets
- Run weekly operating rhythms with project teams, pacing reviews, and escalation protocols
- Partner with executive leadership on marketplace scaling strategy: which contributor segments to build, where to invest, and supply needs for upcoming quarters
- Own marketplace metrics and unit economics: pool size, activation, retention, productivity, and cost per contributor by project and cohort
- Allocate project budgets between growth (recruiting) and supply (activation/retention); optimize spend across languages and channels (paid social, search, job boards, partnerships, referrals)
- Improve contributor experience through controlled experiments on the activation path and recurring feedback loops
- Partner across product, engineering, QA, and payments to remove bottlenecks in review queues, project access, and payouts
You will work in a fast-paced, scrappy environment where the team launches new acquisition channels in a day and manages 20-language production ramps simultaneously. The role requires weekly target accountability and fixed budget discipline, with a focus on treating contributor supply as a driver of data quality, not just a cost line.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 7–10 years of experience in high-ownership roles (GM, founder, COO, or strategy/ops at venture-backed startups)
- Direct experience running the supply side of a marketplace
- Proven track record owning a gig or flexible-labor supply pool (e.g., drivers, dashers, shoppers, freelancers) at companies like DoorDash, Uber, Instacart, or comparable marketplaces, with accountability for acquisition, activation, and retention
- Prior experience owning a supply funnel end-to-end from first touch to first completed job against weekly targets and budget
- Prior experience building budgets and capacity plans with finance and operating partners, then executing against them
- Prior experience balancing supply against demand across multiple markets simultaneously (cities, languages, or segments), knowing when to throttle and when to scale
- Experience leading a team of operators or growth leads and working as a peer to delivery GMs
- Relentless operator with high standards, bias to action, and strong attention to detail
- Comfortable with ambiguity and rapid pace; thrives in "build while flying" environments
- Low-ego, collaborative, and mission-driven
BONUS:
- Experience in AI training data, data labeling, or crowd-work and freelance marketplaces
- Experience recruiting a global, multilingual workforce across many countries
- Hands-on experience running paid acquisition (paid social, search, job boards) or referral programs
- Experience with voice talent, creator, or other creative communities
