Director of Data and AI

As a key leader in our digital transformation journey, the Director of Data and AI will be responsible for shaping and executing the organization's data and artificial intelligence strategy. Reporting to the VP of Digital, this role will lead enterprise-wide initiatives to harness data as a strategic asset, build scalable AI/ML capabilities, and drive data-informed decision-making across the business. The Director will oversee data governance, data engineering, and AI innovation, ensuring alignment with business objectives and ethical standards. A central focus will be the design and optimization of modern data Lakehouse architecture using Microsoft Fabric, leveraging Delta Lake and Parquet file formats, and structured through the Medallion Architecture (Bronze, Silver, and Gold layers). This platform will serve as the foundation for both analytics, AI, and machine learning initiatives, enabling seamless integration for business automation, intelligence, and maintaining compatibility with advanced AI/ML platforms.

Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Vision:

• Define and execute a unified roadmap that integrates software platforms, data infrastructure, and AI capabilities in alignment with business goals and the broader digital strategy.
• Champion the adoption of emerging technologies—including AI, machine learning, and cloud-native solutions—to accelerate digital transformation and innovation.
• Collaborate with business, support functions, and IT leadership to shape the vision for enterprise architecture, establish direction for technology practices, and prioritize strategic investments.
• Architect, develop, and maintain a secure, scalable, and high-performance data Lakehouse using Microsoft Fabric, built on Medallion Architecture principles (Bronze, Silver, Gold layers).
• Establish data modeling standards, practices, and governance for both structured and unstructured data.
• Define strategies for metadata management, master data management, and data quality frameworks.
• Utilize Microsoft Purview for comprehensive data governance and compliance.

Solutions Development and Innovation:

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of AI-powered tools, platforms, and solutions for customer/user experience, workflow optimization, and product innovation.
• Oversee the design and implementation of modern data architectures (e.g., data lakes, data warehouses, real-time pipelines).
• Lead initiatives across data platforms, analytics, machine learning, and AI engineering to unlock new capabilities and insights.
• Establish and enforce architecture standards, governance frameworks, and best practices to ensure consistency, security, and scalability.
• Translate evolving business requirements into robust technical solutions that align with organizational goals and deliver measurable value.

Digital Experience and Customer Focus:

• Partner with Digital/IT, Business Intelligence, Continuous Improvement, and key business stakeholders to ensure digital solutions deliver intuitive, high-impact user and customer experiences.
• Design and implement solutions that enhance digital service delivery, decision-making, and engagement across all digital touchpoints.
• Leverage data and AI to personalize user experiences, optimize operations, and drive customer satisfaction.

Data Architecture and Strategy:

• Define and implement data architecture standards, models, and frameworks to support enterprise analytics and AI initiatives.
• Promote the use of data science and advanced analytics to inform strategic decisions across business units and departments.
• Oversee data governance, analytics, data engineering, and AI innovation, ensuring best practices for data quality, security, and regulatory compliance are embedded in all initiatives and aligned with business goals and ethical standards.

Team Leadership and Development:

• Build, inspire, lead, and mentor a high-performing, cross-functional team of engineers, data scientists, and AI specialists.
• Foster a culture of experimentation, continuous learning, and cross-functional collaboration by providing technical guidance, coaching, and career development that drives innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Manage project delivery, resource planning, and budgets across software, data, and AI portfolios.

Collaboration and Governance:

• Collaborate across the enterprise—including Digital/IT leadership, Business Intelligence, Continuous Improvement, infrastructure, security, and compliance teams—to ensure alignment and integration of technology initiatives.
• Articulate the value of data and AI to executive leadership, internal stakeholders, and customers.
• Influence and educate senior leadership and business partners on AI potential, risks, and ROI.
• Establish and maintain enterprise-wide architecture standards and governance practices.
• Ensure all solutions comply with regulatory frameworks, cybersecurity protocols, and internal risk management policies.
• Establish and enforce data governance policies, including data quality, privacy, and compliance (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).
• Promote responsible AI practices, including fairness, transparency, and accountability in model development and deployment.

Qualifications

Education/Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, Information Systems, or a related technical field is required. An MBA or equivalent advanced degree is strongly preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years in a data and/or AI leadership role (Data Architecture, Data Engineering, Analytics, Machine Learning, AI Engineer, AI Product Manager, etc.).
• Extensive experience in solutions architecture, software engineering, and AI systems design, with a proven track record in technical leadership roles. Experience should include leading cross-functional teams and delivering enterprise-grade solutions at scale.

Skills and Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to architect and implement complex, scalable solutions using modern technologies such as cloud-native platforms (e.g., Azure, AWS, GCP), microservices, and containerized environments (low-code/no-code platforms).
• Deep understanding of software development methodologies including Agile, Scrum, and DevOps practices.
• Hands-on experience with agentic AI modeling, machine learning pipelines, and generative AI technologies, with a focus on business applications (N8N, Flowise, Langflow, LangChain, LangGraph).
• Strong capability to align technical solutions with business strategy, balancing innovation with operational efficiency.
• Deep understanding of Delta Lake's ACID transaction capabilities and schema evolution for maintaining data quality and auditability.
• Experience with Parquet file format optimization for analytical workloads and columnar storage.
• Proficiency in SQL, Python, and data transformation frameworks.
• Proven problem-solving skills with the ability to navigate ambiguity and drive clarity in complex environments.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders, mentor technical teams, and foster cross-functional collaboration.
• Experience presenting technical concepts to executive audiences and translating business needs into actionable technical roadmaps.
• Experience with data warehouse tools and Lakehouse platforms beyond Microsoft (e.g., Databricks, Snowflake, Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery) is a plus.

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Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR c).