Director, Customer Data Platforms

At 2U, we are all in on purpose. We are motivated by our mission – to make learning limitless– and connected by our shared passion to deliver world-class higher education at scale. As the parent company of edX, a leading online learning platform, 2U powers thousands of  higher education offerings – from free courses to full degrees. Together with our college, university, and corporate partners, we are helping accelerate careers and transform lives. 

What We’re Looking For:

2U is seeking a transformational Director to lead the vision, development, and continuous evolution of our Customer Data Platform (CDP) — the central engine powering the teams responsible for driving revenue and growth.

Reporting into the Marketing Technology Product organization, this leader will play a pivotal role in shaping how 2U connects data, technology, marketing strategy, and customer insights to create a truly customer-centric product experience and cohesive multi-channel engagement strategy.

We are looking for an ambitious, outcomes-driven leader who can turn complex data ecosystems into competitive advantage — accelerating our ability to deliver personalized, consistent, and high-impact interactions across every digital and ecommerce touchpoint. This role is not only about managing systems, but about driving measurable business results, influencing strategy, and enabling the next generation of data-powered marketing at scale.

Responsibilities Include, But Are Not Limited To:

• Provide strategic leadership and senior level oversight to drive development of our CDP capabilities, based on the needs of our internal customers and the expectations of our learners around the use of data for experience personalization
• Contribute to the creation of robust segmentation and testing strategies aimed at personalizing the customer experience (revenue teams such as marketplace and marketing will own the customer journey and segmentation criteria)
• Partner with engineering, data science, marketing, product, and other cross-functional teams to define data structures, general product requirements and user acceptance testing models for customer data models and CDP functionality
• Ensure that business goals and objectives surrounding CDP are met and allow the organization to leverage powerful insights that drive strategic decision-making for our customer data strategies
• Own the customer data platform and be an evangelist for its value proposition, including promoting new features, being the SME for CDP best practices, providing documentation for end users, and solving for the normalization of customer data across multiple, siloed lines of businesses.
• Understand privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA and work with our privacy, engineering, and security teams to ensure consent and permissions are updated and upheld when needed

Things That Should Be In Your Background:

• Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree preferred
• Minimum 8-10 years industry experience in a product management or marketing technology
• Minimum 8-10 years experience with customer data platforms (CDPs) and best practices. Twilio Engage (formerly Segment Personas) and/or Salesforce CDP preferred.
• Experience in the education and/or ecommerce industry preferred
• Comfortable learning and discussing technical concepts
• Strong planning, communication and organizational skills
• Experience working on cross functional teams with multiple stakeholders
• Project management experience a plus

While this position is open to remote candidates across the U.S., we will prioritize those who live in the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area and who are available to come into our Headquarters in Arlington, VA two days a week.

Benefits & Culture

Our global employee base is a diverse collection of innovators, dreamers, and doers working together to transform lives through higher education. We believe that every employee can advance our shared purpose, and that life at 2U should be fun and meaningful. If you’re excited by the opportunity to provide millions of learners and counting with access to world-class higher education, then join us – and do work that makes a difference. 

We offer comprehensive benefits (unique per country) and excellent work/life balance.
Full-time, U.S.benefits include: 

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Life insurance, disability, and 401(k) employer match
• Free snacks and drinks in-office
• Generous paid holidays and leave policies, including unlimited PTO
• Additional time off benefits include: volunteer days, parental leave, and a company-wide winter break

The anticipated base salary range for this role is ($168,000 - $193,000), with potential bonus eligibility.  Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, budget for the position and cost of labor in the market in which the candidate will be hired.

2U Diversity and Inclusion Statement

At 2U, we are committed to building and sustaining a culture of belonging, respect, and inclusion. We are proud of the steps we’ve taken to bring together an employee base that embodies diverse walks of life, ideas, genders, ages, races, cultures, sexual orientations, abilities and other unique qualities. We strive to offer a workplace where every employee feels empowered by what makes us different, as well as by how we are alike. 

2U is committed to providing reasonable accommodations during our recruitment process. If you need assistance or accommodations, please reach out to us at: recruitingaccommodations@2u.com. 

About 2U

2U partners with the world's top universities and companies to develop and deliver education programs that accelerate careers and transform lives. Through partnerships with the world’s leading colleges, universities, and companies, 2U delivers thousands of online programs to millions of learners worldwide on edX, its global learning platform. From executive education and professional credentialing to master’s degree programs and free, open courses, 2U transforms how top institutions deliver workforce-aligned online education, enabling professionals to advance without pausing their careers. Learn more at 2U.com.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by individuals assigned to this position, and are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required. All employees may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

2U is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate against applicants or employees and ensures equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of their race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, age, marital status, disability, citizenship, military or veterans’ status, or any other classifications protected by applicable federal, state or local laws. 2U’s equal opportunity policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including but not limited to recruiting, hiring, training, promotion, job benefits and pay.