Chief Data & Automation Officer

This is a leadership opportunity to define how a forward-thinking public SaaS company operates in the age of AI. You’ll report directly to the CTO, partner across every function in the business, and own the data and automation strategy for a company serving the $20T+ real estate industry. The Data Science & Analytics team is established and strong. The AI and automation mandate is largely in your hands to envision and build. If you’ve spent your career at the intersection of product and engineering, defining what to build and evaluating how it’s built, and you’re ready to apply that at enterprise scale with real organizational authority, this is the role. The CDAO is responsible for unlocking measurable efficiency and scalability across AppFolio’s operations through enterprise data strategy and intelligent automation. This leader builds the data foundation, semantic layer, and automation platforms that enable every function to operate faster and smarter, replacing manual workflows with scalable, instrumented processes. The CDAO is a critical member of AppFolio’s data governance program led by the Trust organization, and partners closely with Security and Compliance to ensure all capabilities meet AppFolio’s standards by design.

Your impact AppFolio is becoming an AI-native operating company. We’ve taken meaningful first steps and are excited about what’s possible when AI agents and automation are applied across every operational function: Finance, HR, Revenue Operations, Customer Success, and beyond. This role owns the strategy that converts that potential into real operational improvement. Success requires deep partnership across the entire organization. The CDAO must be equally effective partnering with the CFO on financial operations, the CLO on data governance and compliance, the CRO on revenue workflows, and the CHRO on employee systems.

* Drive Operational Efficiency Through Automation. Identify, prioritize, and deliver automation across operational workflows that produce measurable efficiency gains, measured by delivered outcomes, not plans. Continuously assess and rationalize the enterprise technology portfolio” to reduce complexity

• Build the Enterprise Data Platform. Architect and operate a governed semantic layer and data infrastructure that makes AppFolio’s internal data trusted, queryable, and accessible to both humans and AI agents, with source lineage, quality standards, and access controls.
• Lead Data Science & Analytics. Lead an established Data Science & Analytics team, delivering trusted data products, applied AI/ML models, and analytical capabilities that power decision-making and automation across the enterprise.
• Scale AI-Native Operations. Define the enterprise operating model for agentic systems and automation: decision rights, ownership, intake, and measurement. Make sure automation scales consistently across functions without fragmenting accountability. This is largely greenfield. You’ll be the architect.
• Champion Data Governance. Serve as a critical contributor to AppFolio’s data governance program, partnering with the Trust organization to ensure data classification, access policies, retention standards, and compliance requirements are embedded into every capability you build.
• Partner Across the Business. Translate operational needs from every function into executable data and automation roadmaps. Drive change management and adoption so that delivered capabilities are actually used and scaled.

• Hybrid product and engineering leader. You’ve spent your career spanning both sides, defining what to build and evaluating how it’s built. You have deep technical judgment across data platforms, AI/ML, and enterprise systems, and you’ve shipped real things with that judgment.
• Builder-operator mindset. You design systems and operating models that connect people, process, data, and technology, and you personally ensure they ship. You own architecture and delivery, not just strategy.
• Modern data architecture expert. You know semantic layers, cloud data platforms (ownership of Snowflake in particular), and data governance deeply. Not as buzzwords, but as infrastructure you’ve built or led teams to build.
• AI/ML practitioner. You have hands-on experience with LLMs, agentic frameworks, and automation platforms that solve real business problems. You understand how governance and quality enable safe, reliable AI-powered workflows.
• Cross-functional operator. You build trust with senior leaders across Finance, HR, Revenue, Legal, and other functions. You’re a genuine partner to stakeholders whose workflows are being transformed, not a service provider.
• Enterprise integrator. You’ve architected integrations across enterprise systems (Salesforce, Workday, Snowflake) and automation platforms to enable reliable cross-functional workflows.
• Security and compliance aware. You’ve operated in environments with strong privacy, security, and compliance requirements, and you embed governance into systems by design.
• Resilient communicator. You translate complex technical concepts into clear business outcomes for audiences from operators to the C-suite. You navigate ambiguity with steady judgment and keep teams focused during rapid transformation.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Statistics, MIS, or related field (advanced degree a plus).
• 10-15+ years senior leadership experience
• 5+ years experience leading data strategy at a scaling SaaS company
• Familiarity with property management or real estate technology are pluses.

The compensation that we reasonably expect to pay for this role is: $240,000 - $300,000 (base pay). The actual compensation for this role will be determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s skills, education, experience, and internal equity.

Please note that compensation is just one aspect of a comprehensive Total Rewards package. The compensation range listed here does not include additional benefits or any discretionary bonuses you may be eligible for based on your role and/or employment type.

AppFolio is more than a company. We’re a community of dreamers, big thinkers, problem solvers, active listeners, and multipliers. At every opportunity, we set the pace while delivering innovation built to carry real estate into the future. One in which every experience feels effortless, yet meaningful. Where customers are empowered to take on any opportunity. We show up as one team, connected by our values to be a force for good. Because together, we have the power to create extraordinary outcomes for our customers, our communities, and ourselves.