Director- Data Engineering
About The Position
The Director, Data Engineering will own and operate Covista’s enterprise data platform — the cloud data lakehouse, integration and ingestion pipelines, data contracts, the Knowledge Catalog (governance, lineage, and PII/consent controls), and the DataOps practice that keeps it all running. This role is accountable for driving platform best practices, optimizing resource capacity and utilization, and ensuring robust governance around platform reliability, cost, and technical debt remediation. As a strategic technology leader, you will own the “trust” contract with every data consumer — partnering closely with Data Science, Data Reporting, Applied AI, and business and institution stakeholders to guarantee trustworthy, performant data across Covista, ensure platform health, and foster innovation through proof of concepts (POCs) and forward-looking architecture.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Information Systems, or related field.
- Ten (10) plus years experience in enterprise data engineering, data platforms, or data architecture roles.
- Five (5) plus years experience leading data engineering or data platform teams.
- Deep experience with cloud data platforms (e.g., Google BigQuery, GCS), data catalog/governance tooling (e.g., Dataplex, Atlan), and integration/ELT tooling (e.g., Fivetran).
- Proven track record in resource and capacity planning, technical delivery, and operational excellence.
- Experience implementing platform governance, technical debt remediation, and upgrade strategies.
- Strong stakeholder management skills with ability to work across business and technology domains.
- Demonstrated leadership abilities.
- Strong project management, process, technical and financial management knowledge.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills.
- Highly organized and able to manage multiple projects and multiple employees simultaneously.
Nice To Haves
- Experience in higher education, healthcare, or other complex matrixed environments a plus.
Responsibilities
- Own and evolve the enterprise data engineering strategy across the lakehouse, integration, and governance platforms, ensuring alignment with business goals and Covista’s data architecture principles.
- Establish best practices and governance frameworks for platform development, data contracts, pipeline lifecycle management, and the Knowledge Catalog.
- Oversee delivery and operations across the cloud data lakehouse (BigQuery, GCS), integration/ingestion tooling, the Knowledge Catalog (Dataplex), and the DataOps platform.
- Drive standardization and modernization of the data platform, emphasizing scalability, automation, and reusability.
- Own the roadmap for platform reliability, cost optimization, and lifecycle management across data engineering technologies.
- Implement a flexible resource model (FTE, contractor, and nearshore) to support project-based pipeline work, run-the-business operations, and spikes in demand.
- Manage intake and prioritization of data engineering work, ensuring efficient allocation of internal and external resources.
- Partner with Data Science, Data Reporting, and business units to support delivery of enterprise initiatives and transformation programs.
- Own the “trust” contract with every data consumer, ensuring rigorous data contract enforcement, lineage tracking, and PII/consent controls are in place for all platform releases.
- Evaluate and manage technical debt across the data platform; proactively drive remediation efforts through actionable roadmaps.
- Promote a culture of experimentation through lightweight POCs, testing the viability of new data technologies and patterns before broad implementation.
- Lead and mentor a diverse team of data engineers, data architects, platform administrators, and vendors.
- Cultivate a high-performing, inclusive culture with a focus on continuous improvement and technical excellence.
- Manage external vendors (e.g., Atlan, Fivetran), contracts, and performance metrics to ensure delivery expectations are met.
Benefits
- Health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance
- 401k Retirement Program + 6% employer match
- Participation in Covista’s Flexible Time Off (FTO) Policy
- 12 Paid Holidays
- Annual incentive program
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
