Director, Data Management

Job Title: Director of Data Management

Work Arrangement: Des Moines, IA (Hybrid)

Job Summary

We are seeking a Director of Data Management to lead the design, delivery, and modernization of our enterprise data platform. Reporting to the Chief Data & Analytics Officer, this role will oversee the migration from legacy Azure SQL Server systems to an Azure Databricks Lakehouse using the medallion architecture, establishing a scalable, high-performance single source of truth that powers analytics, reporting, and AI/ML across the insurance value chain. As a senior leader, you will guide onsite and remote data engineering teams, set data platform strategy, and ensure delivery of cloud-native, reliable, and business-ready data assets. You will partner with architecture, analytics, governance, and business leaders to align the enterprise data platform with business objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and own the enterprise data platform strategy, ensuring scalability, performance, and cloud optimization.
• Oversee data modernization efforts, including migration from legacy Azure SQL Server to Azure Databricks Lakehouse.
• Lead and mentor data engineers, fostering technical excellence and delivery accountability.
• Partner with enterprise data and solution architects to ensure data models, pipelines, and platform design meet business needs.
• Transform a fragmented data ecosystem to deliver a single source of truth for insurance domains.
• Drive cloud-native engineering best practices including ETL/ELT optimization, CI/CD, DevOps, cost efficiency, and observability.
• Ensure data availability, scalability, and reliability for analytics, reporting, and digital initiatives.
• Collaborate with analytics and data science teams to enable advanced analytics, AI/ML, and self-service data access.
• Prioritize and manage the enterprise data portfolio, aligning data investments with business value, strategic initiatives, and operational outcomes.
• Manage budget, resourcing, and vendor relationships to scale platform capabilities.
• Stay current on emerging technologies including Databricks, streaming, and AI/ML enablement to evolve the platform roadmap.
• Own the Databricks platform and guide business users on adoption of the Lakehouse architecture.
  
  

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Business/Data Analytics, Management Information Systems, Information Technology, or a related field. Equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
• 10 years of experience in data engineering, architecture, or platform leadership, with at least 5 years in team management.
• Insurance or financial services experience required.
• Expertise with Azure Data Services including Data Lake, Data Factory, Synapse, Event Hub, and Key Vault.
• Proven success leading large-scale data modernization programs in Azure, Databricks, or Snowflake.
• Hands-on experience with Databricks Lakehouse including PySpark, Delta Lake, and Unity Catalog.
• Strong background in data modeling, ETL/ELT frameworks, and data warehousing.
• Familiarity with streaming and real-time ingestion technologies such as Kafka and Event Hub (required).
• Experience with compliance regulations and handling of PHI/PII data.
• Exposure to AI/ML and data science workloads in Databricks or Snowflake.
• Experience with DevOps and automation frameworks including Azure DevOps, Terraform, and GitHub Actions.
• Familiarity with DAMA/DMBOK practices and standards.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills with the ability to influence both technical and business stakeholders.