VP, Data, Analytics & AI

PAY TRANSPARENCY • $200,000 - $225,000 base salary range + annual bonus potential! • 100% remote in the United States Do you hunger for more? Potbelly Sandwich Shop is looking for friendly and outgoing people who enjoy working in a fast-paced, friendly environment. We are where good vibes and great careers are a way of life! What started as a small antique store in 1977 has become a nationally recognized neighborhood sandwich shop with over 400 locations across the United States. But toasty sandwiches are only as good as the people behind them. And yeah, we've got the best. Ready to join our growing Potbelly Nation? What’s In It For You**: • Competitive pay with performance-based annual raises! • Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance • Domestic Partnership Benefits • Paid Parental Leave • FSA and HSA with Employer Contribution • Commuter Benefit Program • Retirement Savings 401(k) WITH company match • Employee Assistance Program • Paid Time Off • Discount Program • Flexible Work Schedule • Career growth opportunities • *If hired, you must meet and maintain all eligibility requirements to qualify** Position Information Job Title: Vice President Data, Analytics & AI Department: Information Technology Location: Support Center (Remote/Hybrid Eligible) Reports to: Chief Information Officer FLSA Status: Exempt Employment Type: Full-Time General Summary We are seeking a strategic, business-savvy Director of Data and Analytics to lead our enterprise data efforts and unlock insights that drive guest satisfaction, operational efficiency, and revenue growth. This role requires a strong communicator and analytical thinker who understands the unique challenges of the restaurant and retail industries and can translate data into impactful business strategies. You'll work cross-functionally to ensure our data capabilities are fully aligned with our brand, customer experience, and financial goals. Responsibilities • Strategic Business Leadership: • Develop and execute a data and analytics roadmap that aligns with organizational goals in guest experience, traffic growth, sales, labor, and food cost optimization. • Partner with senior leadership across Operations, Marketing, Finance, and IT to identify key performance levers and uncover growth opportunities through data. • Drive adoption of a data-driven culture across the organization, ensuring insights are accessible, understandable, and actionable. • Customer and Operational Insights: • Use data to understand customer behavior, loyalty drivers, menu performance, pricing strategies, and regional preferences. • Deliver insights that inform marketing campaigns, guest engagement programs, and personalized customer experiences. • Analyze operational data (e.g., labor scheduling, inventory, throughput, site performance) to improve store-level execution and profitability. • Team Leadership and Development: • Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing team of data analysts, data engineers, and data scientists. • Foster a collaborative, innovative environment that values curiosity, impact, and continuous learning. • Empower team members to work closely with functional stakeholders and become embedded business partners. • Tools and Technology: • Oversee the development of dashboards, reporting tools, and self-service analytics that provide visibility into performance across the business. • Leverage predictive analytics and machine learning to forecast demand, optimize promotions, and reduce waste. • Drive best practices in architecture, data warehousing, and analytics tools, ensuring scalability and resilience. • Cross-Functional Partnership: • Act as a translator between technical teams and business leaders, ensuring mutual understanding and shared goals. • Collaborate with Marketing to optimize media spend and customer segmentation; with Finance to support forecasting and planning; and with Operations to streamline performance reporting. • Present complex analyses and insights through clear storytelling tailored to executive audiences. • Data Governance and Integrity: • Establish strong data governance frameworks to ensure consistency, accuracy, and compliance across all data sources. • Promote responsible data usage and privacy practices, aligned with industry standards and customer trust. Qualifications Education, Experience & Certification: • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business Analytics, Data Science, Statistics, Computer Science, or a related field. • 10+ years in data and analytics roles, including leadership experience within restaurant, retail, or consumer-facing industries. • Deep knowledge of KPIs relevant to restaurant/retail operations, customer behavior, and marketing effectiveness. • Expertise in SQL, Python/R, BI tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau), and cloud data platforms (e.g., Snowflake, AWS, Azure). • Excellent communicator with a track record of influencing cross-functional decisions and executive leadership. • Strong business acumen, with the ability to connect analytics to P&L impact and long-term strategic goals. Soft Skills • Exceptional leadership, team-building, and mentoring skills. • Strong communication and interpersonal abilities across technical and business audiences. • Ability to manage ambiguity and prioritize in a fast-paced environment. • Track record of delivering infrastructure and tools that enable high developer productivity. Physical & Work Requirements • Ability to work 45–55 hours/week as needed. • Remote work is supported with occasional in-person collaboration or travel as required. • Must be able to engage in collaborative communication via phone, video conferencing, and email. Application Deadline: We accept applications for this position until 11/30/2025. We encourage all individuals to submit their applications. Potbelly actively creates and promotes an environment that is inclusive of all people and their unique abilities, strengths, and differences. We respect and embrace diversity in each other, our customers, suppliers, and all others with whom we interact as an essential component in the way we do business. Diversity only strengthens our Potbelly vibe, who we are, and how we work. We’re an equal opportunity employer. Each applicant will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law. Apply tot his job