Job Title : Sr Director , Data Engineering
Location : Irving, Texas, United States
Job Type : Full Time
Our client is looking for a seasoned Director of Data Engineering to lead the strategy, design, and delivery of enterprise-scale data solutions within a high-impact Decision Intelligence function supporting pharmaceutical distribution operations.
This leadership role is responsible for shaping the data engineering vision, guiding large technical teams, and ensuring data platforms effectively support business priorities. The ideal candidate will blend strong technical depth with strategic thinking to deliver scalable, secure, and intelligent data products built on modern cloud technologies.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
- Partner with senior leadership and cross-functional teams to define and execute the enterprise data architecture roadmap
- Champion innovation by adopting emerging technologies and evolving engineering practices
- Establish and enforce standards, governance models, and best practices across the data ecosystem
Technical Leadership
- Architect and deliver scalable, AI-enabled data solutions leveraging Azure-based technologies
- Drive adoption of Databricks for advanced data processing, real-time analytics, and machine learning use cases
- Build optimized data pipelines supporting high-volume ingestion, transformation, and analytics at scale
People & Organizational Leadership
- Lead, coach, and grow a team of data engineering leaders and specialists
- Promote collaboration across analytics, data science, IT, and business teams
- Develop career frameworks, upskilling programs, and a culture of continuous innovation and excellence
Operational Excellence
- Oversee end-to-end delivery of critical data products, ensuring reliability, performance, and scalability
- Implement monitoring, alerting, and incident management processes for data platforms
- Drive DevOps practices, automation, and AI-enabled accelerators for improved efficiency
- Manage budgets, vendor partnerships, and cost optimization initiatives
Data & AI Innovation
- Build and maintain modern lakehouse architectures with scalable design patterns
- Enable AI-driven data observability, quality automation, and drift detection
- Incorporate generative AI into data engineering workflows and establish RAG-ready data platforms
- Ensure robust data security, governance, and compliance across environments
Required Qualifications
- 12+ years of experience in data engineering or related IT roles
- Minimum 4+ years in leadership roles managing teams and strategic initiatives
- Deep expertise in Azure data services (ADF, Synapse, Data Lake, Event Hubs, Cosmos DB)
- Strong hands-on experience with Databricks and modern data platforms
- Proficiency in Python, SQL, Scala, or .NET-based ecosystems
- Solid understanding of modern architectures (lakehouse, streaming, event-driven systems)
- Proven ability to lead enterprise BI and data platform implementations
Preferred Skills
- Experience building AI-first data platforms and implementing generative AI use cases
- Familiarity with data governance, metadata management, and observability frameworks
- Strong stakeholder communication and cross-functional collaboration skills
- Background in regulated industries such as healthcare, finance, or manufacturing
- Relevant certifications in Azure or Databricks are a plus
- Ability to assess and adopt new tools quickly with a forward-thinking mindset
Education
- Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field preferred