Director, Data Engineering

About the Role

We’re seeking a Director of Data Engineering to define the vision and execute the long-term strategy for our global data ecosystem. This is a foundational leadership role responsible for the re-architecture of our data warehouse into a world-class platform. You will not only oversee the migration to modern infrastructure but will also be the primary architect of our data governance framework and cross-functional data democratization strategy. We are looking for a visionary leader who can balance technical depth in the modern data stack (Snowflake, Airflow, dbt) with the executive presence to influence our product and business roadmaps.

Your Mission

As a key leader within the Engine team, you will move beyond project management to organizational leadership. Your core responsibilities include:

• Strategic Vision & Roadmap: Define the 2–3 year vision for the data platform. Align data engineering initiatives with overarching company goals to ensure data is a primary driver of business growth.
• Organizational Leadership: Build and scale a multi-tiered engineering organization. Foster a culture of technical excellence, mentorship, and high accountability, ensuring a robust leadership pipeline within your team.
• Data Governance & Compliance: Establish and enforce global standards for data quality, security, and privacy (GDPR/CCPA). Own the framework for data cataloging and lineage to ensure "one source of truth" across the enterprise.
• Operational Excellence & ROI: Optimize the total cost of ownership (TCO) for our data infrastructure. Manage vendor relationships (Snowflake, etc.) and budgets while ensuring the stack scales efficiently with company growth.
• Executive Stakeholder Management: Serve as the primary liaison between Engineering and the C-suite. Translate technical debt and infrastructure needs into business value, and turn business requirements into scalable technical architectures.
• Innovation & Architecture: Drive the adoption of cutting-edge technologies (AI/ML integration, real-time streaming) to keep Engine at the forefront of the industry.

What You’ll Bring to Engine

We are looking for an executive-minded leader who thrives at the intersection of deep technical "know-how" and high-level business strategy:

• Experience: 10+ years in Data Engineering/Software Engineering, with at least 5+ years in senior leadership roles (managing managers or leading large-scale departments).
• Strategic Technical Expertise: Deep architectural knowledge of the modern data stack (Snowflake, Airflow, dbt, Airbyte). Experience leading large-scale cloud migrations and designing systems that support both BI and Machine Learning workflows.
• Change Management: Proven ability to lead organizations through significant technical shifts and cultural changes, specifically moving from legacy systems to agile, modern architectures.
• Business Acumen: Exceptional ability to communicate the "Why" behind technical investments to non-technical partners. You should have a track record of using data to solve complex business problems.
• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related quantitative field.
• Mindset: A high-level thinker who isn't afraid to dive into the weeds when necessary, but consistently operates with an eye toward scalability, sustainability, and competitive advantage.