Manager, Software Engineering - AI and Data Platform

Blackbaud

2d•$133,700 - $173,800

About The Position

The Engineering Manager, Data & AI Platform leads teams that build, operate, and evolve Blackbaud’s enterprise Data & AI platform, which supports analytics, data products, machine learning, and agent-based experiences across the company. The role combines people leadership, platform ownership, and technical strategy, with responsibility for teams working across data and AI infrastructure such as lakehouse architecture, pipelines, feature services, ML enablement, observability, and governance. The manager ensures the platform is scalable, secure, cost-efficient, reliable, and product-oriented. They guide platform strategy and delivery, partner with Architecture, Governance, Security, Product, Data Science, Analytics, and Product Engineering, and develop high-performing engineering teams. The work supports Blackbaud’s platform strategy and business priorities, including modernization, cloud migration, cost optimization, and agent enablement.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in software, data, or platform engineering.
3+ years of experience managing and developing data engineering teams.
Hands-on experience with modern data platforms, cloud data lakes or lakehouses, distributed processing, streaming, and APIs.
Strong understanding of platform engineering principles and operating production systems at scale.
Proven ability to lead through ambiguity and influence without authority.

Nice To Haves

Experience with .NET, Azure, Databricks, and ADO is preferred.

Responsibilities

Own and evolve core Data & AI platform capabilities, including ingestion, transformation, lakehouse architecture, feature services, and AI/ML enablement layers.
Drive platform decisions aligned with Blackbaud’s Unified Data & AI Platform Strategy, including modularity, interoperability, and AI-first design.
Partner with Architecture, Governance, and Security to meet trust, compliance, and Responsible AI standards.
Balance build-versus-buy decisions, prioritizing core competencies while reducing operational complexity.
Lead teams delivering platform initiatives aligned with AOP priorities, including legacy modernization, cloud migration, cost optimization, and agent enablement.
Ensure platform reliability through monitoring, incident management, and performance optimization.
Establish roadmaps, milestones, and success metrics for platform initiatives.
Hire, mentor, and develop high-performing platform engineers across geographies.
Provide feedback, coaching, and career development aligned with Blackbaud’s people strategy.
Ensure team members have clear goals, active IDPs, and opportunities to develop modern Data & AI skills.
Collaborate with Product, Data Science, Analytics, and Product Engineering teams so the platform accelerates delivery.
Influence standards and best practices across the Data Intelligence COE.