Director, Data Engineering

Ready to lead a major data transformation?

We are seeking a Director of Data Engineering for our client in Des Moines, Iowa. This is an opportunity to lead a data engineering team, shape the future of an enterprise data platform, and help drive the modernization of a legacy data environment into a modern cloud and Lakehouse architecture.

We’re looking for someone who brings the best of both worlds: deep, hands-on data engineering experience and proven people leadership.

What You Must Bring

• 8+ years of hands-on data engineering experience
• 5+ years of formal people leadership experience
• Must have previously held a formal leadership title with responsibility for leading a team
• Strong hands-on experience with Databricks and/or Snowflake (Preferably Databricks)
• Experience leading significant data modernization or cloud data platform initiatives
• Strong experience with Microsoft Azure data technologies
• Strong background in data modeling, ETL/ELT, data pipelines, data warehousing, and modern Lakehouse architecture
• Experience with streaming/real-time data ingestion, such as Kafka or Azure Event Hubs
• Insurance or financial services experience
• Experience working with PII and/or PHI data in a regulated environment

What You'll Lead

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of data engineers
• Set the strategy and technical roadmap for the enterprise data platform
• Drive modernization from legacy data environments to a modern cloud/Lakehouse architecture
• Own and drive adoption of the Databricks platform
• Partner across architecture, analytics, data science, governance, and business teams
• Build scalable, reliable data solutions that support reporting, analytics, AI/ML, and self-service data
• Champion modern engineering practices across ETL/ELT, DevOps, CI/CD, automation, observability, performance, and cloud optimization
• Help create a trusted enterprise source of data across the organization
• Manage platform priorities, resources, vendors, and investments

Additional Experience We'd Love to See

Experience with technologies and practices such as PySpark, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Azure Data Factory, Azure Data Lake, Azure Synapse, Azure DevOps, Terraform, GitHub Actions, AI/ML workloads, and DAMA/DMBOK is a plus.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, Management Information Systems, Business/Data Analytics, or a related field preferred. Relevant professional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.