Director Data Management- Hybrid- Des Moines, Iowa

Wellabe•Des Moines, IA

18h•Hybrid

About The Position

Wellabe is looking for a Director of Data Management to join our team. As a Director of Data Management, you will report to Chief Data & Analytics Officer and lead the design, delivery, and modernization of our enterprise data platform. This role will oversee the migration from legacy Azure SQL Server systems to an Azure Databricks Lakehouse using the medallion architecture, establishing a scalable, high-performance single source of truth that powers analytics, reporting, and AI/ML across the insurance value chain. As a senior leader, you will guide the onsite and remote data engineering team, set data platform strategy, and ensure delivery of cloud-native, reliable, and business-ready data assets. You will partner with architecture, analytics, governance, and business leaders to align the enterprise data platform with business objectives.

Requirements

Expertise with Azure Data Services (Data Lake, Data Factory, Synapse, Event Hub, Key Vault).
Ability to lead teams while defining enterprise platform strategy and technical roadmap.
Excellent communication and leadership skills influence technical and business stakeholders.
Familiarity with the DAMA/DMBOK practice and standards.
Familiarity with streaming/real-time ingestion (Kafka, Event Hub) is required.
10+ years of experience in data engineering, architecture, or platform leadership, with at least 5 years in team management. Insurance or financial services experience is required.
Proven success leading large-scale data modernization programs in Azure or similar cloud ecosystems in Databricks or Snowflake.
Hands-on experience with Databricks Lakehouse (PySpark, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog).
Strong background in data modeling, ETL/ELT frameworks, and data warehousing.
Experience working with compliance regulations and handling of PHI/PII data.
Exposure to AI/ML and data science workloads in Databricks or Snowflake.
Experience with DevOps and automation frameworks (Azure DevOps, Terraform, GitHub Actions).

Responsibilities

Define and own the enterprise data platform strategy, ensuring scalability, performance, and cloud optimization.
Oversee data modernization efforts, including migration from legacy Azure SQL Server to Azure Databricks Lakehouse.
Lead and mentor data engineers, fostering technical excellence and delivery accountability.
Partner with enterprise data and solution architects to ensure data models, pipelines, and platform design meet business needs.
Transform a fragmented data ecosytem to deliver a single source of truth for insurance domains.
Drive cloud-native engineering best practices (ETL/ELT optimization, CI/CD, DevOps, cost efficiency, observability).
Ensure data availability, scalability, and reliability for analytics, reporting, and digital initiatives.
Collaborate with analytics and data science teams to enable advanced analytics, AI/ML, and self-service data access.
Prioritize and manage the enterprise data portfolio, aligning data investments with business value, strategic initiatives, and operational outcomes.
Manage budget, resourcing, and vendor relationships to scale platform capabilities.
Stay current on emerging technologies (Databricks, streaming, AI/ML enablement) to evolve the platform roadmap.
Own the Databricks platform and help guide business users on adoption of the Lakehouse.

Benefits

Hybrid availability
401(k) with company match
Health insurance
Paid time off, holidays
Volunteer time off
Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA)
Paternity leave
LinkedIn Learning Premium access
CliftonStrengths® assessment and coaching
On-site and virtual workshops and cohorts featuring world-class content from FranklinCovey, Crucial Learning, Gallup, and more
Free world-class insurance acumen courses through AHIP and LOMA
Reimbursement and bonus opportunities for professional designations and certifications, including a tuition reimbursement program
Opportunities to take part in Wellabe's mentorship programs