Senior Director, Data Engineering & Governance

Fintech•Tampa, FL

About The Position

The Director of Data Engineering & Governance leads the technical foundation and strategic governance of Fintech's enterprise data ecosystem. This role owns the full lifecycle of data infrastructure across cloud-native platforms, while building and operationalizing the governance framework that ensures data quality, security, and compliance across 12 product lines processing $55B+ in annual regulated payments. Reporting to the VP of Data & AI, this Director manages a team of Data Engineers and Database Administrators, chairs the cross-functional Data Governance Council, and partners across Products, Infrastructure, Legal, and Compliance to position data as a strategic enterprise asset. The role is critical to Fintech's continued platform evolution, regulatory compliance posture, and AI readiness.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive experience in data engineering, data management, or related technical disciplines
5+ years of direct people management experience leading data engineering or database administration teams
3+ years of hands-on experience building and operationalizing data governance programs
Deep technical expertise with modern data platforms: Lakehouse (Databricks), Streaming (Apache Kafka), Databases (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, analytical database), Orchestration/Ingestion (Apache NiFi, Airflow)
Experience implementing data governance controls in cloud-native environments, including role-based and attribute-based access control
Working knowledge of compliance frameworks: SOC 2, PCI-DSS, and data privacy regulations (CCPA, GDPR)
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional governance bodies and drive outcomes through influence
Strong communication skills with ability to translate technical concepts for business and executive audiences
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field

Nice To Haves

Experience with data security practices: encryption, tokenization, masking, DLP, and security monitoring
Familiarity with cybersecurity frameworks (NIST CSF, NIST 800-53) and security audit processes
Experience with metadata management and data lineage tools (OpenMetadata, Atlan, Alation, or Collibra)
Knowledge of API gateway patterns and data API design (REST, GraphQL)
DAMA CDMP, CISM, CISSP, or equivalent certifications
Experience in payments, fintech, or regulated industries (alcohol beverage compliance a plus)
Experience supporting AI/ML data pipelines and governance
Master's degree in relevant discipline
Direct experience with NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation (23 NYCRR 500) compliance
Background in cybersecurity operations, security architecture, or security engineering
Experience implementing zero-trust data access models
Familiarity with data security tools: SIEM integration, data loss prevention, privileged access management

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Data Engineers and Database Administrators responsible for Fintech's data infrastructure
Drive technical excellence in data engineering practices, establishing coding standards, review processes, and operational runbooks
Manage capacity planning, project prioritization, and resource allocation across concurrent initiatives including platform evolution, product delivery, and operational maintenance
Build a high-performing, collaborative team culture aligned with Fintech's collective intelligence philosophy
Oversee operations and optimization of the enterprise database portfolio: PostgreSQL, Apache Druid, MongoDB, OpenSearch
Establish database performance monitoring, capacity management, and incident response procedures
Drive continuous optimization of cloud-native database deployments for cost, performance, and reliability
Partner with Infrastructure on Azure cloud optimization, Kubernetes deployment patterns, and Terraform infrastructure-as-code for data resources
Own the design, development, and maintenance of enterprise data pipelines spanning Ingestion (Apache NiFi, SFTP), Streaming (Apache Kafka), Processing & Storage (Databricks lakehouse with Unity Catalog), and Distribution (feeding downstream databases and third-party integrations)
Establish pipeline observability, alerting, and SLA management across the data stack
Drive adoption of DataOps practices including CI/CD for data pipelines, automated testing, and deployment automation
Define and implement the enterprise data contract framework—formalizing schemas, quality expectations, SLAs, and ownership for data exchanged between producers and consumers
Partner with API/MDM team to design and deliver data APIs via KrakenD gateway, ensuring consistent access patterns and rate limiting
Establish schema registry and versioning practices for Kafka topics and Databricks tables
Integrate data contracts into the SDLC, ensuring contract validation at pipeline deployment
Establish and chair the enterprise Data Governance Council with representation from Data, Products, Infrastructure, Legal, and Compliance
Design and operationalize the enterprise data governance framework grounded in DAMA DMBOK, covering data quality standards and measurement, data classification and sensitivity labeling, access control policies and enforcement, retention and archival requirements, and lineage and impact analysis
Implement governance controls natively within Databricks Unity Catalog—including catalog/schema/table permissions, row/column-level security, and attribute-based access via integration with CRAFT
Lead metadata management using Open Metadata integrated with Unity Catalog, ensuring comprehensive lineage from source systems through consumption
Maintain the enterprise business glossary with consistent definitions across all 12 product lines
Recruit and coordinate federated Data Stewards and Data Owners across business units
Own the data security posture across the enterprise data platform, partnering with Information Security to implement defense-in-depth controls
Implement and monitor data-at-rest encryption and data-in-transit encryption
Establish data masking, tokenization, and anonymization standards for sensitive data elements
Configure and maintain Unity Catalog audit logging and system tables for comprehensive data access monitoring
Define and enforce least-privilege access models across all data platforms, integrating with Auth0 identity and OPA policy enforcement
Lead data security incident response procedures, including breach investigation, impact assessment, and remediation
Conduct periodic data security risk assessments and vulnerability remediation
Serve as the data engineering and governance lead for SOC 2 Type II certification, ensuring data-related controls are documented, implemented, tested, and auditable
Align governance and security controls with NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF 2.0)
Prepare governance documentation and evidence collection for NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation (23 NYCRR 500) requirements
Ensure CCPA compliance through governance processes supporting data subject rights
Partner with Legal on 50-state alcohol regulatory data requirements, ensuring proper retention and auditability for licensing compliance
Conduct annual data governance maturity assessments and develop continuous improvement roadmaps
Establish data engineering and governance foundations for Fintech's AI platform including training data lineage and provenance documentation, feature store governance and access controls, and model input/output data quality monitoring
Partner with Data Architecture on vector and graph database integration patterns for AI workloads
Monitor evolving AI governance requirements and advise council on data governance implications
Ensure AI training data complies with data classification, consent, and regulatory constraints
Develop and execute the multi-year data engineering and governance roadmap aligned with Fintech's platform strategy and 3-year ecosystem vision
Translate technical data initiatives into business value for executive stakeholders
Manage vendor relationships for data platform tooling (Databricks, Confluent/Kafka, OpenMetadata)
Represent Data Engineering & Governance in cross-functional initiatives including M&A integration, new product launches, and enterprise architecture reviews