Senior Director of Data

**This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Senior Director of Data based in United States.** The Senior Director of Data will lead the development of a modern, scalable data foundation that enables smarter business decisions and AI-driven innovation. This executive role will own the strategy, architecture, governance, and operational excellence of the organization’s data platform. You will drive the transformation from fragmented data environments into a trusted, governed ecosystem that powers reporting, automation, and advanced analytics. Working closely with technology, business, and operational leaders, you will define data standards and create capabilities that support critical initiatives. The role combines strategic leadership with hands-on technical depth across data engineering, governance, and analytics platforms. You will have the opportunity to build a high-performing data organization and influence the future of enterprise technology transformation. ### Accountabilities: The Senior Director of Data will be responsible for building and scaling the organization’s data capabilities, ensuring reliable, secure, and accessible information assets that support business growth and innovation. - Design, implement, and oversee a modern lakehouse data platform, including ingestion pipelines, transformation workflows, orchestration, storage architecture, and cost optimization. - Establish data engineering best practices, including version-controlled pipelines, CI/CD processes, automated testing, documentation standards, and data quality frameworks. - Lead the creation of trusted data models for key business entities, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and usability across teams. - Develop and implement practical data governance practices, including ownership models, access controls, business glossaries, change management processes, and quality monitoring. - Deliver a certified semantic data layer that supports business intelligence reporting and enables the transition to modern analytics platforms. - Provide reliable data foundations for AI initiatives, automation programs, contract intelligence, and operational improvement projects. - Partner with technology, finance, operations, and business teams to align data strategy with organizational priorities. - Lead internal data teams and external delivery partners, establishing clear milestones, accountability, and successful execution. - Build organizational capability through hiring, coaching, mentoring, and creating a culture of ownership and continuous improvement. ## Requirements: The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise in data platforms with strong leadership, communication, and strategic execution skills. - 8+ years of experience in data engineering, data platforms, analytics engineering, or related fields, with at least 3+ years leading teams or large-scale programs. - Bachelor’s degree in business, information systems, data science, or a related discipline preferred; equivalent experience considered. - Strong hands-on experience with modern data platforms, including Databricks, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Spark, SQL, and Python. - Proven experience building and operating production-grade lakehouse or enterprise data platforms, preferably in cloud environments. - Demonstrated ability to establish enterprise-wide data governance, quality programs, and scalable data management practices. - Experience with dimensional modeling, semantic layers, and BI solutions such as Power BI. - Ability to manage vendors and delivery partners while driving execution against defined goals and timelines. - Strong understanding of business data domains such as billing, contracts, customer operations, or order-to-cash processes is a plus. - Familiarity with AI/ML data preparation, document extraction, or automation initiatives is preferred. - Excellent executive communication skills, with the abil…