Director of Data Engineering

SoTalent

Irving, TX

Job Title : Sr Director , Data Engineering

Location : Irving, Texas, United States

Job Type : Full Time

Our Client is seeking an exceptional Senior Director of Data Engineering to lead enterprise‑scale data strategy and execution within a highly complex, mission‑critical distribution and decision intelligence environment.

This role is responsible for defining and driving the vision for data engineering, overseeing the design, development, and optimization of modern data platforms and products that power high‑impact business decisions. The ideal candidate brings deep technical expertise, strong people leadership, and the ability to align data capabilities with strategic business objectives at scale.

What You’ll Do

Strategic Leadership

Define and execute a comprehensive data engineering strategy aligned with business priorities and digital transformation initiatives
Partner with executive, business, and technology leaders to shape data architecture vision and long‑term roadmap
Drive innovation across data platforms, tools, and practices to maintain competitive advantage
Establish and enforce enterprise data engineering standards, governance frameworks, and best practices

Technical Excellence

Architect and manage scalable, secure data platforms leveraging the Microsoft Azure ecosystem
Lead advanced implementations of Databricks for large‑scale data processing, real‑time analytics, and ML workflows
Design and operate high‑volume data pipelines supporting petabyte‑scale ingestion, transformation, and distribution
Ensure best‑in‑class performance, security, and regulatory compliance across data environments

Organizational Leadership

Build, mentor, and lead a high‑performing data engineering leadership team
Collaborate across Data Science, Analytics, IT, BI, and Operations to deliver integrated enterprise solutions
Establish talent development programs, career paths, and engineering excellence initiatives
Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous learning

Operational Excellence

Ensure reliable delivery and operational stability of data products, aligned with uptime, performance, and cost targets
Implement robust monitoring, alerting, and incident response for mission‑critical systems
Partner with enterprise platform teams to implement DevOps and automation practices
Manage budgets, vendor relationships, and strategic partnerships to optimize technology ROI

Domain Expertise

Apply strong understanding of pharmaceutical distribution, including buy‑side/sell‑side models, contracts, pricing, and customer operations
Leverage knowledge of supply chain, manufacturer, and enterprise data products to inform platform strategy

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

Master’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field (or equivalent experience)
15+ years of professional experience, including 10+ years in people leadership roles

Business Experience

Proven success leading enterprise‑scale digital transformation initiatives
Demonstrated ability to build and scale high‑impact data engineering organizations
Experience with budget ownership, P&L considerations, and technology investment optimization
Strong understanding of data governance, regulatory compliance, and privacy requirements
Ability to clearly communicate complex technical concepts to executive and non‑technical audiences

Technical Skills

Deep expertise in Microsoft Azure data services (ADF, Synapse, ADLS, Event Hubs, Cosmos DB)
Advanced experience with Databricks and large‑scale analytics platforms
Strong grounding in modern data architectures (data lakes, warehouses, streaming, event‑driven systems)
Proficiency in Python, Scala, SQL, and .NET, with experience in infrastructure‑as‑code practices
Experience with enterprise BI development and deployment

Preferred Qualifications