Director, Data Engineering

American Tower

About The Position

We are seeking a Director, Data Engineering to join American Tower’s Information Technology (“IT”) organization’s Data & Analytics team and lead its Data Engineering team (“team”). The team builds and scales the enterprise data ecosystem and engineering capabilities to enable artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, and digital acceleration. Day to day you will lead the design, development, and optimization of scalable cloud-native data platforms, build robust data pipelines, and partner with the Data Governance team to ensure data quality. As Director, you will deliver high-value, end-to-end data solutions that provide a unified view of enterprise data and drive measurable business value through collaboration with stakeholders and IT partners.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required, with a concentration in Business Administration, Information Technology, Data Engineering, or a related field preferred.
A minimum of 12 years of data engineering, platform development, or enterprise data management experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership role within a global organization and multitier environment, required.
Expertise in building and maintaining large-scale data pipelines and models.
Strong understanding of semantic layer design, data modeling, and cloud-based data architecture.
Hands-on experience with modern cloud platforms (e.g., Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform) and big data technologies (e.g., Apache Spark, Apache Kafka).
Success at implementing technical enforcement of data governance policies in partnership with business-led governance teams.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills with an ability to drive change and influence stakeholders.
Approximately 25% travel may be required to support the position’s responsibilities.
Strong organization, planning, and project management skills; ability to prioritize tasks for yourself and a team to meet requirements and deadlines.
Ability to work with different functional groups and levels of employees to effectively and professionally achieve results.
Strong leadership skills; ability to drive and motivate a team to achieve results.

Nice To Haves

MBA or other relevant advanced degree preferred.
Familiarity with modern data platforms such as Databricks or Snowflake strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the design, development, and optimization of scalable cloud-native data platforms, working closely with IT teams.
Design and build robust, end-to-end data pipelines to support data ingestions, transformations, and deliveries across the enterprise.
Develop and optimize scalable data models that ensure data integrity, accessibility, and performance across analytics and operational systems.
Design and implement an enterprise-wide semantic layer that provides a unified, business-friendly view of data.
Lead the development and deployment of reusable, high-value data products that support business intelligence, advanced analytics, and operational reporting.
Partner with the Data Governance team to implement data cleansing, enrichment, and transformation processes that ensure data are accurate and ready for use.
Engage with business stakeholders, analytics teams, and IT partners to understand data needs and deliver solutions that drive measurable business value.
Define and monitor key performance indicators for pipeline performance, data availability, and operational efficiencies.
Drive automation and continuous improvement initiatives.
Stay current with emerging technologies and industry best practices in data engineering.
Introduce tools and methodologies that enhance data engineering capabilities.
Responsible for leading talent selection, performance management, career development, and workforce planning within the approved headcount, for the team.
Other duties as assigned.