Head of Data Governance

The Knot Worldwide • Austin, TX

9d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Knot Worldwide is seeking a seasoned and strategic Head of Data Governance to lead our global data standards, privacy framework, and data quality initiatives. This critical role sits at the intersection of technology, analytics, and customer experience. Reporting to the VP of Platform, Data, and Customer Experience , you will be responsible for defining the policies and technical guardrails that allow our engineering, marketing, and product teams to move fast while maintaining the highest standards of data integrity. You will lead the effort to treat data as a strategic product, ensuring that every customer interaction—from personalization to lifecycle messaging—is powered by accurate, ethical, and compliant data across our entire ecosystem. Data is foundational to our customer experience, product velocity, financial accuracy, and AI transformation. The Head of Data Governance ensures that we can scale responsibly—with speed, trust, and confidence. This leader is the guardian of our most valuable asset, ensuring that as we grow, our data remains a strategic accelerator rather than a technical or regulatory bottleneck.

Requirements

• Experience: 10+ years of progressive experience in data management, analytics, or engineering, including 5+ years leading data governance or data quality programs in high-traffic environments.
• Analytical Proficiency: Strong SQL and analytic skills ; adept at hands-on data exploration to inform decisions, define metrics, and guide the optimization of data quality features.
• Executive Communication: Exceptional decision-making skills with the ability to translate complex technical and regulatory requirements into clear strategic choices for executive stakeholders.
• Background: A professional background spanning Engineering, Analytics, or Platform organizations , providing a holistic view of how data flows through a modern tech stack.
• Strategic Vision: Highly skilled at navigating complexity and influencing both technical and business leaders to align on long-term data standards and ethics.

Nice To Haves

• Modern Tooling: Hands-on experience with Snowflake , Data Catalogs (e.g., Atlan) , and automated quality frameworks.
• CRM & MarTech: Experience governing data within high-scale CRM and engagement platforms like Salesforce and Braze .
• Industry Expertise: Background in Fintech, Marketplaces, or highly regulated industries where data security and accuracy are paramount.
• Advanced Governance: Exposure to AI/ML data governance and model lifecycle management (MLOps).

Responsibilities

• Access, Privacy & Compliance Ownership: Define and own the execution of global policies for PII, PCI, GDPR, SOC2, and CCPA . While partnering closely with Legal, Security, and Risk, you are the primary owner of policy execution and technical implementation.
• Data Strategy & Policy: Define internal vs. external data access protocols and establish technical standards for data collection, retention, and deletion across the global organization.
• Quality & Standards: Own the technical vision for data quality monitoring, metadata management, and the enterprise data dictionary to ensure a "Single Source of Truth" for core business metrics.
• Platform Integration: Collaborate with Platform Engineering to "bake" governance into our data pipelines, ensuring automated enforcement of data standards, lineage, and access controls.
• Data Stewardship & Culture: Establish and lead a cross-functional data governance council, fostering a culture where data ownership is distributed and understood across Product, Engineering, and Marketing.
• Executive Leadership: Navigate complex organizational dynamics with the ability to influence without authority . Effectively manage stakeholders while possessing the judgment to escalate to executive leadership when required to resolve critical blockers.

Benefits

• We believe in a wide range of holistic offerings to support our employees so that they can live our values day in and day out. From mental wellbeing, physical health and financial planning, to engaging perks and discounts, we are in the business of celebrating and supporting the Moments that Matter, both in and out of the office.
• We offer flexible vacation, generous parental leave, and prioritize initiatives that support the growth, development, and happiness of our people.
• Together@TKWW is our approach to hybrid work. It’s designed to support how we work best: combining the flexibility we value with meaningful opportunities to connect in person.
• Whether a role is Together@TKWW-eligible or not, we believe in purposeful moments to come together, build strong relationships, and drive bold ideas forward.
• For Together@TKWW-eligible roles, this includes regular in-office time to foster collaboration and connection.
• For roles not eligible for in-office expectations , we support connection through virtual collaboration and intentional gatherings.

What This Job Offers

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