[Hiring] Director Data Engineering @CPI Card Group

Role Description

The Director of Data Engineering leads CPI Card Group's data engineering function and is accountable for building, operating, and scaling the company's cloud-native Databricks Lakehouse on AWS. This role owns the people, delivery, and technology of the data platform, including:

• Hiring and developing the team
• Setting the engineering strategy and roadmap
• Managing the budget and vendor relationships
• Ensuring the platform reliably powers analytics, reporting, and AI across the enterprise

Reporting to the SVP, Business Technology and Data, the Director is both a technical leader and a people leader, translating CPI's "Data-First" transformation strategy into an organized, high-performing team and a dependable production platform.

Responsibilities

• Team Leadership and Organizational Development (25%)
  • Build, lead, and develop the data engineering team
  • Establish team structure, roles, and staffing plans
  • Cultivate a high-performing, accountable engineering culture
  • Set objectives, allocate work, and ensure the team consistently delivers against commitments
• Data Engineering Strategy and Delivery (25%)
  • Own the strategy, roadmap, and delivery of the enterprise data platform on Databricks and AWS
  • Prioritize the portfolio of data initiatives and manage delivery timelines
  • Hold the team accountable for reliable, on-time execution
• Platform Operations, Reliability, and Governance (20%)
  • Ensure the production data platform is reliable, secure, and cost-efficient
  • Oversee the governance model, including Unity Catalog administration and compliance with regulatory obligations
• Budget, Vendor, and Stakeholder Management (15%)
  • Own the data engineering budget, including cloud spend and tooling
  • Lead vendor evaluation, selection, and management
  • Partner with functional executives to align the roadmap to business priorities
• Technical Direction and Standards (15%)
  • Set engineering standards, reference architectures, and best practices
  • Provide senior technical direction and design review
  • Sponsor enterprise master data management (MDM)
  • Champion the company's AI enablement agenda

Qualifications

• Strong technical foundation in SQL, Python, PySpark, data modeling, CI/CD, and Infrastructure-as-Code
• Demonstrated ability to hire, develop, and retain top engineering talent
• Excellent leadership, communication, and influence skills
• Strong delivery discipline - planning, prioritization, and execution
• Sound business judgment on budget, vendor, and build-vs-buy decisions
• Databricks and/or AWS professional-level certifications preferred

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Information Systems, or a related quantitative field; Master's degree preferred
• 12+ years of progressive experience in data engineering, data platform, or data architecture roles
• 4+ years of experience directly managing and building engineering teams
• 5+ years of hands-on experience with Databricks and AWS at enterprise scale
• Demonstrated ownership of platform delivery and operations in a regulated environment
• Proven experience owning a budget and managing vendor/consulting partner relationships

Benefits

• Competitive pay rates and an inclusive, empowering and rewarding culture
• Solid benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, Long Term Disability, Short Term Disability, Life Insurance, Accident Insurance, Critical Illness Insurance, FSA, HSA, Vacation and Holiday Pay, Tuition Reimbursement and 401(k) with a competitive company match percentage
• CPI is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/vets