Director, Customer Insights

SymphonyAI•Austin, TX

About The Position

SymphonyAI Retail is a leading provider of advanced AI-driven solutions and services specifically designed for the retail industry. We empower retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies with innovative technology to enhance their operations, optimize decision-making, and deliver exceptional customer experiences. We are now hiring a Director, Customer Insights to join our team! We are looking for a high-impact Director of Customer Insights who is equally at home in the boardroom and in the data. This is a senior client-facing leadership role embedded in one of our largest grocery retail accounts — a trusted advisor to executive stakeholders, a hands-on problem solver who rolls up their sleeves, and a builder of high-performing consulting teams. You will lead a team of Senior Managers and Managers across multiple stakeholder groups while personally owning the insights relationship in one Merchandising Pod. You will drive the customer-centric retailing agenda — translating loyalty data, behavioral analytics, and AI-driven signals into decisions that move the needle on merchandising (assortment & space), pricing, and promotions. The ideal candidate blends executive presence with genuine analytical curiosity, is energized by AI and what unlocks for retailers, and thrives in fast-moving, client-embedded consulting environments.

Requirements

10+ years in consulting, merchandising, category management, or insights roles
Direct client leadership in grocery retail accounts
Proven success leading and developing consulting teams
Deep expertise with customer/loyalty data and behavioral analytics
Track record influencing senior executives
Excellent executive storytelling and presentation skills
Bachelor's degree in Business, Analytics, or related field
Proven ability as both strategic leader and individual contributor

Nice To Haves

MBA or Master's degree
Background at a top-tier management consulting firm
Hands-on SQL, Power BI, or Tableau capability
Experience with AI/ML-driven insights platforms
Demonstrated experimentation with generative AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.)
Commercialization experience with analytic products or SaaS
CPG or multi-banner retail environment experience

Responsibilities

Serve as the senior thought partner and trusted advisor to grocery retail executives across multiple Categories/Lines of Business (LOBs).
Translate complex behavioral, loyalty, and merchandising data into clear narratives that drive executive decision-making.
Present insights and recommendations confidently to C-suite and senior retail stakeholders.
Build and sustain deep, durable client relationships that expand the scope and impact of our engagement.
Lead, coach, and inspire a team of Senior Managers and Managers embedded across client Categories/Lines of Business (LOBs).
Set a high bar for consulting quality; modeling best-in-class work through your own Pod ownership.
Develop team capabilities in insight delivery, executive engagement, and commercial impact.
Foster a culture of ownership, innovation, and continuous improvement.
Personally conduct deep-dive analyses into loyalty, customer, and merchandising data to uncover high-value opportunities.
Lead end-to-end analytical projects: from data acquisition and validation through synthesis and recommendation.
Apply structured problem-solving to ambiguous business questions — with a bias toward action and measurable outcome.
Champion the Identify–Activate–Realize (IAR) framework to ensure insights are activated and value is tracked.
Guide clients along their analytics and AI transformation journey, helping them move from data to decisions at speed.
Actively champion adoption of AI-powered platforms and tools within client organizations.
Bring genuine curiosity about emerging AI capabilities, experimenting with tools and sharing what you learn.
Identify opportunities where AI and automation can unlock new insight or operational efficiency for the team and the client.
Ensure insights are linked to measurable business outcomes; not just delivered, but activated.
Partner with internal teams to drive adoption of SymphonyAI tools and expand our solution footprint.
Contribute to account strategy and growth through deep client understanding and trusted executive relationships.