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.
Data Engineering Leadership & Team Management
- 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
Database Operations & Platform Management
- Oversee operations and optimization of the enterprise database portfolio:
- PostgreSQL: Primary transactional database supporting modernized applications
- Apache Druid: Real-time analytics and OLAP workloads
- MongoDB: Document store for flexible schema requirements
- OpenSearch: Search, logging, and observability
- 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
Data Pipeline Architecture & Operations
- Own the design, development, and maintenance of enterprise data pipelines spanning:
- Ingestion: Apache NiFi for batch/file processing, SFTP integrations with trading partners
- Streaming: Apache Kafka for real-time event pipelines
- Processing & Storage: Databricks lakehouse as the enterprise source of truth with Unity Catalog governance
- Distribution: Pipelines feeding fit-for-purpose downstream databases and third-party integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot, Chameleon, Heap)
- 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
Data Contracts & API Development
- 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
Data Governance Program Leadership
- 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
- 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 (zero-trust ABAC layer)
- 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
Data Security & Protection
- 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 (Azure Storage encryption, Databricks workspace encryption) and data-in-transit encryption (TLS for all data movement)
- Establish data masking, tokenization, and anonymization standards for sensitive data elements (PII, PCI, financial data)
- 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
Certification, Audit & Regulatory Compliance
- 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), particularly:
- Govern: Risk management strategy, roles/responsibilities, policy
- Identify: Asset management, data inventory
- Protect: Data security, access control, platform security
- Detect: Continuous monitoring via Unity Catalog audit logs
- Prepare governance documentation and evidence collection for NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation (23 NYCRR 500) requirements—access controls, audit trails, third-party data risk management, and incident reporting
- Ensure CCPA compliance through governance processes supporting data subject rights (access, deletion, portability) with technical implementation in the data platform
- 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
AI & Advanced Analytics Enablement
- Establish data engineering and governance foundations for Fintech's AI platform including:
- Training data lineage and provenance documentation
- Feature store governance and access controls
- 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 (NIST AI RMF, SEC AI disclosure guidance, NYDFS AI risk guidance) and advise council on data governance implications
- Ensure AI training data complies with data classification, consent, and regulatory constraints
Strategic Planning & Stakeholder Engagement
- 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
Qualifications:
Required Education:
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field
Required Knowledge and Experience
- 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 (Unity Catalog, Delta Lake, Spark)
- Streaming: Apache Kafka (or Confluent), event-driven architectures
- Databases: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and at least one analytical database (Druid, ClickHouse, or similar)
- Orchestration/Ingestion: Apache NiFi, Airflow, or comparable tools
- 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
Preferred Qualifications
- 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
Excellent to Have
- 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
About Fintech:
For over 35 years, Fintech LLC has redefined how over 1.1 million B2B relationships buy and sell goods and services in the retail, hospitality, and alcohol industries. This integrated platform centralizes invoice data and payments, POS and delivery data, product and cost compliance, price book management, and industry market data using AI, seamless integration capabilities, and proprietary automation technology.
Fintech is a Drug-Free Workplace. Fintech is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth and pregnancy-related conditions), gender identity or expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, military service and veteran status, physical or mental disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws and ordinances. Fintech’s management team is dedicated to this policy with respect to recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, training, compensation, benefits, employee activities, access to facilities and programs and general treatment during employment. We E-Verify.