Director, Data and Integrations

Western National Group & Umialik Insurance • Edina, MN

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Western National Insurance Group is seeking a Director, Data and Integrations to join our team! The individual in this role will be responsible for defining, executing, and governing Western National Insurance’s enterprise data and integration strategy. This leader oversees a team that ensures delivery of scalable, secure, and high-quality data and integration solutions. This role will drive a multi-year data platform modernization initiative, transitioning the enterprise from legacy on-premises SQL Server and AWS Aurora PostgreSQL environments to a modern enterprise cloud-based data platform. The Director will establish this platform as the strategic enterprise data foundation to enable advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and enterprisewide data science capabilities. This position serves as the primary steward of enterprise data engineering, integration services, and data platform architecture, enabling Western National to leverage data as a strategic asset to power analytics, AI-driven decision-making, operational excellence, and digital transformation.

Requirements

• Ten-plus years of experience in data engineering, integration development, or related technical disciplines.
• Ten-plus years of leadership experience managing technical teams, including people leaders.
• Demonstrated experience architecting and delivering enterprise-scale data and integration solutions.
• Proven track record establishing engineering standards, driving platform modernization, and improving operational reliability.
• Deep expertise in modern cloud data platforms (e.g., cloud-native data warehouses / lakehouse platforms), ETL / ELT frameworks, data lakes / lakehouses, and real-time streaming architectures, including hands-on experience leading large-scale platform migrations.
• Proficiency with integration technologies (APIs, microservices, middleware, messaging platforms, event-driven architecture).
• Understanding of database systems (SQL / NoSQL), data modeling, and metadata management.
• Experience with CI / CD pipelines, DevOps practices, test automation, and infrastructure-as-code.
• Familiarity with cloud providers (AWS, Azure, or equivalent) and hybrid-cloud data / integration architectures.
• Knowledge of security, compliance, and data governance frameworks.
• Experience architecting data platforms to support AI / ML pipelines, feature stores, and model operationalization (MLOps).
• Familiarity with AI / ML tooling ecosystems and integration patterns between data platforms and data science environments (e.g., Databricks, SageMaker, Python-based ML stacks).
• Understanding of cost optimization strategies in cloud-native data platforms.
• Enterprise leadership and ability to influence across organizational boundaries.
• Strong communication skills for both executive audiences and technical teams.
• Strategic planning, prioritization, and portfolio management skills.
• Deep understanding of data lifecycle, integration architectures, and modern engineering practices.
• Ability to foster a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• Vendor, contract, and budget management.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, engineering, or related technical field required.

Nice To Haves

• Background in enterprise architecture or platform engineering.
• Experience implementing Master Data Management (MDM), API gateways, or enterprise service buses.
• Familiarity with analytics, BI platforms, and data science enablement.
• Demonstrated experience leading enterprise data platform modernization programs.
• Experience enabling AI initiatives, including predictive analytics, machine learning, or generative AI use cases.
• Experience building or supporting enterprise data science capabilities at scale.
• Master’s degree or MBA preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develops and maintains the enterprise data and integration strategy aligned with business objectives and IT architectural standards.
• Builds and articulates a multi-year roadmap for modern data platforms, integration frameworks, API management, and data engineering capabilities.
• Champions data governance, quality, and security and lifecycle management practices across the enterprise.
• Leads a multi-year enterprise data platform modernization program, including migration from on-prem SQL Server and AWS Aurora PostgreSQL to a modern cloud-based data platform, with defined phases, governance, funding alignment, and measurable outcomes.
• Defines and executes the enterprise cloud data platform strategy, including data architecture standards, security models, cost governance, and performance optimization.
• Establishes a forward-looking data architecture that supports scalable AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics initiatives.
• Partners with analytics, data science, and business leaders to ensure the data platform roadmap aligns with AI enablement and innovation priorities.
• Drives adoption of modern data capabilities, including data sharing, data marketplace enablement, real-time ingestion, and scalable ELT frameworks.
• Leads, coaches, and develops people leaders and technical employees, cultivating a culture of high performance, accountability, inclusion, and continuous improvement.
• Establishes clear goals, roles, and performance metrics for all teams under the data and integrations domain.
• Recruits, retains, and upskills top talent in data engineering, integration, and related disciplines.
• Oversees design, development, deployment, and support of data pipelines, integration solutions, APIs, and related services.
• Ensures timely and high-quality delivery of projects and enhancements, balancing innovation with operational stability.
• Drives adoption of modern engineering practices, such as CI / CD, automation, observability, and reusable integration patterns.
• Oversees the migration, refactoring, and optimization of legacy data assets into a modern cloud data platform, ensuring minimal business disruption and measurable performance improvements.
• Establishes enterprise data models, curated data domains, and reusable data products to accelerate analytics and AI use cases.
• Enables self-service analytics and governed data access for data scientists, analysts, and business users.
• Implements modern data engineering patterns (e.g., ELT, data contracts, automation, metadata-driven pipelines) to improve speed, reliability, and scalability.
• Ensures the platform supports advanced workloads, such as predictive modeling, generative AI, feature engineering, and large-scale experimentation.
• Serves as a trusted advisor to business and IT leaders on data and integration capabilities, roadmaps, and constraints.
• Partners with enterprise architecture, analytics, security, business product owners, and vendor partners to ensure cohesive solutions.
• Translates complex technical concepts into business-focused narratives to support prioritization and decision-making.
• Establishes and manages operational standards, SLAs, and KPIs for data platforms, pipelines, and integration services.
• Ensures compliance with regulatory, audit, and security requirements.
• Oversees platform health, capacity planning, and incident management for data and integration domains.
• Owns decision authority for technology selection, engineering standards, integration patterns, and data engineering best practices within defined architectural guardrails.
• Leads prioritization and resourcing decisions for all work within the data and integration portfolio.
• Provides input to enterprise strategic planning, capital budgeting, and vendor management decisions.
• Approves architectural designs and solution approaches for data and integration initiatives, escalating only when broader enterprise impacts require cross-functional governance.
• Applies advanced systems thinking to architect data and integration ecosystems that meet current and future needs.
• Diagnoses complex engineering, data quality, and performance issues; leads root cause analysis and long-term remediation.
• Anticipates technology trends and business shifts, proactively guiding modernization initiatives.
• Balances competing priorities, managing risk while enabling innovation and speed-to-value.
• Makes decisions under uncertainty with sound judgment, leveraging data, stakeholder input, and enterprise context.

Benefits

• Medical insurance plan options and other standard employee benefits, including dental insurance, vision benefits, life insurance, disability insurance, and more!
• Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• 401(k) Plan (participants are eligible for 100% matching on the first 6% of their contributions)
• Wellbeing Program, including onsite fitness studio
• Paid Time Off – including holiday, vacation, and volunteer
• 100% company-paid tuition reimbursement for approved job-relevant coursework and access to The Institutes (Risk and insurance education)
• Paid parental leave
• Bonus opportunities
• Western National believes in supporting balance between work and life by providing a flexible work environment, which includes a variety of hybrid and remote work arrangements designed to balance individual, job, department, and company needs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees