Director of Data Engineering

Overview
Brightway is a data-rich insurance franchise with over $1 billion in premium and hundreds of thousands of customers on a significant growth trajectory. As we scale our data capabilities to meet enterprise-grade requirements, we need an experienced Director of Data Engineering to lead our comprehensive data strategy across all platforms and systems. This role goes beyond building pipelines: it requires expertise in financial data accuracy, complex data modeling, and creating enterprise-grade, auditable data infrastructure that will withstand regulatory scrutiny and audit requirements.

The ideal candidate will have proven experience leading data organizations through significant growth phases, preferably including experience with public company data requirements or regulated environments. You will oversee our entire data ecosystem including Azure Data Lake, Power BI platform, legacy data systems, and emerging data sources while ensuring absolute accuracy in financial reporting and transforming complex insurance data structures into intuitive business models that executives can trust and act upon.

This is a critical leadership role with high visibility to our executive team, board, and investors at GrowthCurve Capital, a private equity firm focused on accelerating growth through AI, digital transformation, and human capital.

Scope
As the Director of Data Engineering, you will lead a small but highly capable team of data engineers and data analysts (onshore and offshore, FTE and contractors) responsible for designing, building, and maintaining enterprise-grade data platforms and solutions. You will serve as the strategic data leader, working directly with C-level executives and the Executive Leadership Team to understand business objectives and translate them into robust, scalable data solutions.

Your responsibilities span the entire data ecosystem: modernizing legacy systems, architecting our Azure-based Data Lake, managing and evolving our Power BI analytics platform, ensuring financial data accuracy across multiple source systems, and establishing the documentation, governance, and audit controls required for public company readiness. You will be responsible for complex data modeling efforts that bridge technical insurance data structures with business-friendly representations, enabling leaders to make data-driven decisions with confidence.

This role requires someone who has "been there before": you must have demonstrable experience building enterprise data platforms in regulated industries, preferably with experience navigating public company data requirements or similar compliance-driven environments.

Job Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Platform Management

• Develop and execute a comprehensive data strategy aligned with public company readiness, partnering directly with C-level executives and ELT to deliver solutions that drive business growth
• Own the end-to-end data ecosystem including Azure Data Lake, Azure Synapse, Data Factory, Power BI platform, and legacy data systems
• Evolve and enhance existing data architecture to enterprise-grade standards that are scalable, well-documented, auditable, and built to public company standards
• Lead sophisticated data modeling efforts that transform complex insurance business definitions and technical data structures into intuitive, business-aligned models that executives can trust and act upon
• Ensure absolute accuracy in financial data across all source systems and partner with Finance to re-engineer manual processes into automated, auditable workflows with robust controls and reconciliation
• Establish and enforce data governance policies, standards, and comprehensive documentation to meet regulatory and audit requirements
• Identify new data sources and business use cases, then architect and deliver solutions to integrate and leverage that data effectively

Team Leadership & Execution

• Build, manage, and mentor a lean, high-performing team of data engineers and data analysts (onshore and offshore, FTE and contractors)
• Balance strategic long-term platform development with urgent short-term business needs, effectively prioritizing a complex backlog
• Modernize and migrate legacy data platforms while ensuring zero disruption to critical business operations
• Establish SLAs, monitoring, and operational excellence practices to maintain platform reliability and data freshness

Skills And Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, or related technical field; Master's degree preferred
• 10+ years of experience in data engineering, data architecture, or analytics engineering, with at least 5 years in leadership roles managing onshore and offshore teams
• Proven experience preparing data platforms for public company standards, managing SOX-compliant data systems, or building enterprise data platforms in regulated industries (must be able to speak to specific examples)
• Expert-level knowledge of Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Factory, Azure Data Lake Storage, and Power BI
• Strong experience with enterprise data modeling methodologies and demonstrated success managing complex financial data consolidation across multiple source systems
• Advanced SQL skills, proficiency in ETL/ELT design patterns, and hands-on technical ability (can review code, write SQL, debug pipelines)
• Knowledge of data governance, metadata management, and compliance requirements (SOX, GDPR, etc.)
• Exceptional communication skills with ability to present complex technical concepts to C-level executives and board members
• Strong documentation skills and strategic mindset with ability to balance big-picture thinking with granular execution
• Prior experience in startups, high-growth companies, or companies that have become public preferred
• Background in property & casualty insurance or insurance technology strongly preferred

Equal Employment Opportunity:
Brightway Insurance is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace that values and respects the contributions of all individuals. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
We believe that a diverse workforce is essential to our success and fosters innovation, creativity, and collaboration. We are dedicated to ensuring that our hiring, promotion, and training practices reflect this commitment. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and experiences and look forward to building a diverse team that reflects the communities we serve.