director – Coffeehouse & Partner Technology

Starbucks • Nashville, TN

2d • Onsite

About The Position

Starbucks is seeking a director of engineering to lead the build of next-generation, agent-driven platforms powering the Starbucks coffeehouse and partner (employee) experience. This role will drive innovation across agentic frameworks, data engineering, and internal applications—shaping the future of how data, AI, and tools come together to enable smarter, faster decisions at scale. The director will lead high-performing engineering teams to design and deliver scalable platforms across agentic frameworks, modern data engineering, and enterprise applications. This role is deeply cross-functional—partnering closely with data science and business leaders to translate complex needs into intuitive, high-impact solutions. From building intelligent, self-learning systems to evolving our enterprise BI platform, the director will set the technical vision, raise the bar on engineering excellence, and ensure our platforms seamlessly power decision-making across the coffeehouse and partner experience.

Requirements

• Deep expertise in modern engineering ecosystems, including cloud platforms, application development, and AI/agentic frameworks
• Proven track record building and scaling data and platform engineering capabilities that power intelligent, self-learning systems and decisioning at scale
• Experience leading development of internal tools, enterprise applications, and platforms that directly improve frontline (partner) experience and operational performance
• Strong understanding of data engineering and analytics platforms, including building reliable, high-quality data products and enabling intuitive BI experiences
• Demonstrated ability to integrate disparate systems into cohesive, end-to-end platforms that unify data, AI, and applications
• Proven leadership driving large-scale transformation, including adopting new technologies, evolving engineering practices, and upskilling teams
• Ability to identify platform gaps, reduce fragmentation, and improve system reliability, performance, and developer velocity
• Strong cross-functional leadership—able to align engineering, data science, product, and business stakeholders around shared outcomes
• Experience operating in fast-paced, high-impact environments with multiple competing priorities and stakeholders

Nice To Haves

• 10+ years of experience in software, platform, or data engineering, with 5+ years leading managers and senior engineers
• Experience leading engineering at director-level scope within large, complex organizations
• Experience building or working with AI-driven, agent-based, or intelligent system architectures
• Strong background in modern data platforms and architecture
• Experience building and scaling internal platforms and enterprise applications
• Demonstrated success hiring, developing, and retaining high-performing engineering teams
• Strong executive communication skills, with the ability to translate technical strategy into business impact
• Experience working across distributed teams and influencing across organizational boundaries

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and build of scalable agentic frameworks that enable intelligent, self-learning systems across partner and coffeehouse operations
• Drive data engineering efforts that power reliable, real-time data products and decisioning at scale
• Oversee development of internal applications and tools that improve partner experience and operational efficiency
• Evolve and scale the enterprise BI platform to deliver intuitive, high-impact analytics across the business
• Partner closely with data science, product, and business leaders to translate complex problems into actionable solutions
• Set technical vision and standards, ensuring high-quality architecture, performance, and engineering excellence
• Build and lead high-performing engineering teams, fostering a culture of innovation, ownership, and continuous learning
• Champion best practices in platform design, deployment, and lifecycle management across all systems
• Drive integration across platforms to create a seamless, end-to-end ecosystem for data and AI-powered decisioning

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, and other voluntary insurance benefits
• Short-term and long-term disability
• Paid parental leave
• Family expansion reimbursement
• Paid vacation from date of hire
• Sick time (accrued at 1 hour for every 25 hours worked)
• Eight paid holidays
• Two personal days per year
• 401(k)-retirement plan with employer match
• Discounted company stock program (S.I.P.)
• Starbucks equity program (Bean Stock)
• Incentivized emergency savings
• Financial well-being tools
• 100% upfront tuition coverage for a first-time bachelor’s degree through Arizona State University’s online program via the Starbucks College Achievement Plan
• Student loan management resources
• Access to other educational opportunities
• Backup care
• DACA reimbursement

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed