Director, Data Platform & Architecture

Company: Innovative Food Holdings, Inc. (IVFH)

Location: Chicago, IL (Hybrid or On-Site Preferred; Remote considered for outstanding candidates)

Employment Type: Full-time

Experience Level: Senior (7 years)

Industry: Food & Beverage Distribution / Digital Transformation

Innovative Food Holdings (IVFH) connects chefs, foodservice professionals, and consumers with the finest specialty ingredients. Through our subsidiaries and digital platforms, we’re modernizing how premium food products reach customers nationwide.

As IVFH continues to grow, we’re seeking a technology leader to elevate our platforms, systems, and data capabilities across the enterprise.

The Data Platform Director will shape and execute our technology strategy — driving modernization, integration, and performance improvements that make our systems smarter, faster, and more reliable.

This role bridges strategy and execution, ensuring our digital infrastructure scales efficiently to support growth and innovation across all business units.

The Data Platform Director builds the backbone of IVFH’s digital enterprise — ensuring our technology and data work seamlessly to power decisions, automation, and growth.

You’ll directly impact:

• Data quality, accessibility, and automation readiness
• Long-term technology strategy and scalability
• Operational efficiency across systems and data environments

modernization and integration

Platform & Systems Modernization

• Lead design and implementation of modern cloud-based infrastructure (Azure, AWS, or GCP)
• Migrate from legacy SQL to scalable, secure, cloud-native platforms
• Streamline system integrations and eliminate redundancies

Data Architecture & Engineering

• Build and manage ETL/ELT pipelines across APIs, files, and third-party systems
• Architect a unified data lakehouse integrating ERP (Dynamics GP), vendor, and operational data
• Enable analytics, automation, and AI workflows

Governance & Quality

• Establish data governance frameworks and validation tools
• Maintain centralized data catalog and business glossary
• Ensure compliance with security and privacy standards

Analytics & AI Enablement

• Lead Power BI dashboard and reporting initiatives
• Build infrastructure for machine learning and advanced analytics (MLOps)
• Partner with business leaders to operationalize AI use cases

Leadership & Collaboration

• Build and mentor a high-performing data and technology team
• Translate complex technical concepts into actionable strategies
• Champion data literacy and continuous improvement across the company
  

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, or related field
• 7 years in data architecture, engineering, or technology leadership
• Expertise with SQL Server and cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP)
• Strong skills in ETL/ELT, SQL, Python or C#, and data modeling
• Experience with ERP and supply chain data (Dynamics GP preferred)
• Proven success improving system performance and scalability

Bonus Points For:

• Experience with MLOps or predictive analytics infrastructure
• Familiarity with Azure Synapse, Databricks, or Snowflake
• Understanding of food distribution or e-commerce data flows
• Azure Data Engineering or Architecture certification
  

Base Salary: $145,000 – $175,000

Bonus: Up to 5% of base

Benefits: Comprehensive health, dental, and vision

401(k): With company match

Paid Time Off: Generous PTO and holidays

At IVFH, we’re building the future of food distribution — powered by innovation, collaboration, and data-driven thinking. If you’re ready to lead transformation at the intersection of technology, systems, and data, we’d love to meet you.