Data Product & Governance Lead

Centuri Group, Inc.•Phoenix, AZ

3d•Remote

About The Position

As the Data Product & Governance Lead, you will own the business definitions, master data, and reusable data products that Centuri runs on, setting the standards that both our people and our AI systems rely on to get the same trusted answer. In this role, you will decide what our core business terms mean and hold the organization to them. You will govern our master data domains and the Master Data Management platform, define the guardrails that new data products and automations are built against, own the validation practice that proves changes are safe before they reach the business, and grow adoption of shared, reusable data products across our operating companies. You will partner with business data owners, stewards, and technology teams — and you will have the authority to say no when a custom build would fracture a standard that already exists. This position offers the flexibility to work remotely.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Data Management, Business, Supply Chain, Finance, or a related field; equivalent practical experience may be considered
6+ years of experience and 2 years of leadership.
Progressive experience in data governance, master data management, analytics engineering, or data product ownership within an enterprise environment, including a track record of setting standards that other teams adopted and followed
Hands-on experience governing master data domains and working with an MDM platform and connected ERP systems, including stewardship models, matching and survivorship logic, and data quality remediation
Practical experience with a modern cloud data platform and semantic modeling — Microsoft Fabric, semantic models, data contracts — with enough depth to be credible with engineers and to be the authoritative voice on what a definition means.
Working understanding of how AI and agent-based tools consume enterprise data, why shared business context and definitions determine whether they are trustworthy, and how to evaluate AI-generated output for accuracy
Strong analytical skills with the ability to identify root causes, evaluate downstream impacts, define testing requirements, and resolve data issues with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail
Proven ability to influence and align stakeholders across multiple operating companies without direct authority, translate business requirements into governed data processes, and hold a standard under pressure when a faster exception is being requested

Nice To Haves

Some SQL is a plus

Responsibilities

Own the canonical business definitions and data model that describe how Centuri operates — the entities, relationships, hierarchies, and metrics used across master data, semantic models, reporting, and AI solutions — and serve as the decision-maker when operating companies define the same term differently
Govern our core master data domains and the Master Data Management platform: set domain scope and sequencing, define matching, merge, and survivorship rules, establish the data quality thresholds a record must meet before it is published, and hold accountability for the trustworthiness and adoption of master data rather than for day-to-day platform administration
Build and lead the data stewardship network across our operating companies, defining data standards, business rules, naming conventions, and approval workflows; adjudicate escalated master data change requests and assess downstream impacts before changes are executed
Define the business rules and guardrails that new data products, automations, and AI agents are built against, so solutions reflect real operational conditions in the field, and require changes before release when they do not
Own the risk and validation practice for the data platform — identifying risks, defining testing requirements, and executing validation for changes to source systems, data platforms, reporting solutions, and integrations — and extend that practice to evaluating the accuracy of AI-generated outputs, code, and analysis
Curate the portfolio of reusable data products and semantic models for both human and AI consumers: maintain the catalog and data contracts, decide what is built, versioned, promoted, and retired, and ensure products are discoverable and consumable by our AI tooling as well as by people
Drive adoption of shared data products, standard business definitions, and reusable patterns ahead of custom development, and measure adoption as a primary indicator of whether the function is succeeding.
Maintain the documentation, lineage, controls, and metrics that make our data defensible — covering data quality, policy adherence, workflow throughput, and the health of master data across domains — to support auditability, training, and operational continuity