Vaco is partnering with a growth-oriented wealth management organization to hire a Director of Data Engineering who will lead the modernization of its enterprise data ecosystem. This is a player-coach leadership role responsible for building a high-performing engineering team while remaining close to architecture, standards, and platform design.
The organization is consolidating siloed systems into a unified Azure and Databricks Lakehouse environment to support advanced analytics, AI, and regulatory compliance. This leader will own the data engineering roadmap, elevate governance maturity, and establish scalable, secure pipelines in a highly regulated financial environment.
This role reports to the Head of Data, Analytics and AI and partners directly with executive stakeholders across technology and the business.
What You’ll Be Doing
Define and execute the enterprise data engineering strategy aligned to business transformation goals
Lead the modernization of legacy and siloed systems into an Azure and Databricks Lakehouse architecture
Architect scalable ETL and ELT frameworks, orchestration pipelines, and CI/CD automation standards
Guide best practices around Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, and cloud-native data design
Build and mentor a high-performing data engineering team, establishing engineering standards and accountability
Drive governance initiatives including data quality, lineage, metadata management, and compliance controls
Oversee Master Data Management initiatives, with Profisee experience strongly valued
Ensure reliability, scalability, and performance of enterprise data platforms with uptime and SLA accountability
Partner with business leaders, analytics teams, and data scientists to deliver trusted, production-grade data assets
Translate technical architecture decisions into business impact for executive audiences
Establish measurable KPIs around reliability, compliance, and delivery excellence
Required Experience
12 or more years in data engineering and platform architecture
5 or more years in engineering leadership roles with hands-on architectural involvement
Demonstrated experience leading or materially contributing to a Lakehouse transformation on Azure / Databricks (preferred) or similar technology
Strong understanding of governance frameworks including data quality, lineage, metadata management, and regulated industry controls
Experience building and scaling enterprise-grade data platforms in complex environments
Ability to lead technical teams while remaining hands-on with architecture reviews and engineering standards
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related discipline
Nice to Have
Experience with Master Data Management platforms such as Profisee
Exposure to Snowflake or Apache Iceberg in modernization initiatives
Background in financial services or other regulated industries with FINRA or SEC oversight
Experience supporting analytics and AI enablement at scale
Compensation & Benefits
Competitive executive-level salary, based on experience
Performance-based bonus
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with strong employer premium contribution
401(k) with generous employer match
Additional incentive programs and ancillary benefits
Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco/Highspring depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to the individual’s skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, office location and other geographic considerations, as well as other business and organizational needs. With that said, as required by local law in geographies that require salary range disclosure, Vaco/Highspring notes the salary range for the role is noted in this job posting. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses, and can participate in medical, dental, and vision benefits as well as the company’s 401(k) retirement plan. Additional disclaimer: Unless otherwise noted in the job description, the position Vaco/Highspring is filing for is occupied. Please note, however, that Vaco/Highspring is regularly asked to provide talent to other organizations. By submitting to this position, you are agreeing to be included in our talent pool for future hiring for similarly qualified positions. Submissions to this position are subject to the use of AI to perform preliminary candidate screenings, focused on ensuring minimum job requirements noted in the position are satisfied. Further assessment of candidates beyond this initial phase within Vaco/Highspring will be otherwise assessed by recruiters and hiring managers. Vaco/Highspring does not have knowledge of the tools used by its clients in making final hiring decisions and cannot opine on their use of AI products.
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