Marketing Data Platforms Technical Leadership

Vanguard•Malvern, PA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Vanguard is seeking a Technical Lead for Marketing Data Platforms to provide expert IT technical leadership for critical software, middleware, and hardware projects across multiple platforms. This role involves completing complex development, design, implementation, architecture design specifications, and maintenance activities. The Technical Lead will ensure the viability of IT deliverables, recommend development options, approve team technical deliverables, and conduct thorough testing, including functionality, technical limitations, and security. They will identify and approve potential technical solutions, resolve technical issues discovered by testers and clients, and perform root cause analysis to prevent future problems. Communication with key stakeholders on project issues and impacts is crucial, as is evaluating the effects of change requests and influencing others. The role requires maintaining current knowledge of IT development methodology, architecture design, and technical standards, mentoring IT staff, and ensuring adherence to new standards. Reviewing and approving documentation, writing technical standards and processes, and identifying opportunities for continuous quality improvement are also key responsibilities. Participation in design, code, and test inspections, acting as a technical consultant, and presenting technical status at milestone reviews are expected. A thorough understanding and compliance with IT and Information Security policies and procedures are mandatory, along with verifying that deliverables meet requirements. The role also includes participation in special projects and other assigned duties.

Requirements

Minimum of 8 years of relevant experience
At least 3+ years of hands‑on development experience building and operating data platforms or large‑scale data pipelines
Some marketing data domain knowledge, including how customer interaction data is used for activation, personalization, measurement, and analytics across digital channels
Solid understanding of big data and streaming architectures used for segmentation, audience building, and real‑time activation
Strong grounding in modern engineering practices, including DataOps, CloudOps, CI/CD, and automated testing
Experience with tools such as Git, Maven, Cucumber, Bamboo/Jenkins, and similar pipelines
Hands‑on experience with cloud‑native data platforms and patterns (AWS, Azure, or GCP), including serverless and distributed data processing
Proficiency in data engineering and analytics languages and frameworks, such as Python, SQL, Spark, Scala, and related ecosystems
Experience designing and building distributed, scalable, and resilient data pipelines, with a clear focus on data quality, observability, and reliability
Strong product mindset - able to translate business needs into durable, scalable engineering solutions rather than one‑off implementations
Experience designing and consuming APIs and microservices for data access and activation, including RESTful services and cloud API management platforms (e.g., AWS API Gateway)
Familiarity with data governance, security, and privacy‑by‑design principles, especially when working with customer and identity data
Willingness and enthusiasm for learning and experimenting with new technology, tools and processes and setting Vanguard-wide standards.
Willingness and enthusiasm for experimenting with new tools and processes and setting Vanguard-wide standards.
Demonstrated ability to coach, mentor, develop, and lead junior team members in the effective use of technology and system, providing technical guidance and design reviews, and helping engineers grow in system thinking and architecture skills
Strong interpersonal skills, ability to collaborate effectively across Product, Engineering, and business teams
Demonstrated ability to achieve results while working in a cross-functional environment

Nice To Haves

Experience with Customer Data Platforms (CDP), Identity Resolution, customer profiles, and privacy‑aware data collaboration patterns (e.g., clean rooms) preferred.

Responsibilities

Provides expert level IT technical lead services and direction for critical software, middleware, or hardware projects on multiple platforms.
Provides technical expertise and completes complex development, design, implementation, architecture design specification, and maintenance activities.
Ensures the viability of IT deliverables.
Recommends development options and approves the team's technical deliverables.
Conducts testing, including functionality, technical limitations, and security.
Identifies potential solutions and approves technical solutions proposed by team members.
Elevates complex technical issues to IT experts.
Resolves technical problems discovered by testers and internal clients.
Responds to and resolves technical issues in a timely manner.
Researches issues and performs root cause analysis.
Anticipates technology problems and prevents them.
Communicates with key stakeholders on project issues and implications.
Evaluates the impacts of change requests on technologies and effectively persuades and influences others on ideas.
Maintains a current and working knowledge of IT development methodology, architecture design, and technical standards.
Mentors IT staff and identifies training needs.
As new standards are instituted, ensures their usage by team members.
Reviews and approves documentation and diagrams created by IT team members.
Writes documentation, including technical standards and processes.
Identifies opportunities for continuous quality improvement of technical standards, methodologies, and technologies.
Participates in design, code, and test inspections throughout product life cycle to identify issues.
Participates as a technical consultant at other project meetings.
Presents technical status and issues at milestone reviews.
Thoroughly understands and complies with Information Technology and Information Security policies and procedures, and verifies that deliverables meet requirements.
Participates in special projects and performs other duties as assigned.