Senior Manager, Data Engineering & Delivery (Pod Lead)

Definity Financial; Waterloo; On-site; CAD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A financial services company located in the Region of Waterloo is seeking a seasoned Data Product Leader. The ideal candidate will oversee Data Pods, ensuring successful delivery of data products while fostering a collaborative culture. Must possess extensive experience in data analysis and team management in a dynamic setting. A strong understanding of Big Data technologies like Hadoop and cloud platforms is essential, along with a passion for nurturing high-performing teams.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in Data warehouse, Big Data, and Data Analysis.
• 4+ years of team management experience in a distributed or agile environment.
• Experience in delivering end-to-end data products with cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage Data Pods with cross-functional teams.
• Own the data product lifecycle from ideation to maintenance.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders to gather requirements.

Skills

Data analysis

Big data technologies

Team leadership

Problem-solving

Communication

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Hadoop

BigQuery

Snowflake

Python

Databricks

Dataflow

Kafka

Google Cloud Platform

Job description

What can you expect in this role?

• Data Pod Leadership:
  • Lead and manage one or more Data Pods, which comprise a cross-functional team of data engineers, analysts, data scientists, and other required resources.
  • Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performance culture within your pods, empowering team members and promoting continuous learning.
  • Oversee resource management, hiring, onboarding, and talent development within your teams.
  • Drive accountability for the quality, timeliness, and success of all data products delivered by your pods.
• End-to-End Data Product Delivery:
  • Take full ownership of the data product lifecycle, from initial ideation and user story definition through development, testing, deployment, and ongoing maintenance.
  • Ensure the technical excellence of data solutions, including data ingestion, transformation, modeling, and consumption, adhering to best practices.
  • Champion the implementation of robust data quality frameworks and monitoring.
  • Manage the technical roadmap for your assigned data products, ensuring alignment with broader organizational data strategy.
• Business Collaboration & Requirements Management:
  • Partner closely with business stakeholders to understand their needs, gather requirements, and translate them into actionable user stories and technical specifications.
  • Facilitate prioritization of features and initiatives with business leads and product owners, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and OKRs.
  • Communicate effectively with stakeholders regarding project status, challenges, and roadmap updates, managing expectations proactively.
• Technical Strategy & Innovation:
  • Contribute to the development and execution of the overall Cloud data platform strategy, vision, and framework.
  • Stay abreast of emerging Big Data technologies and methodologies, identifying opportunities to leverage new tools and techniques to enhance our data capabilities.
  • Drive innovation in data ingestion, curation, and consumption insights.
• Stakeholder Management & Partnership:
  • Collaborate effectively with functional leads across Product, Design, Engineering, and Data & Insights to set strategic direction and achieve shared goals.
  • Represent the data engineering function in cross-organizational initiatives.

What do you bring to the role?

• Experience:
  • 8+ years of progressive experience in Data warehouse, Big Data and Data Analysis domains.
  • 4+ years of proven experience in team management and people leadership, ideally within a distributed or agile environment.
  • Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional teams to deliver end-to-end data products.
  • Experience in defining and executing product roadmaps and prioritizing backlogs with business stakeholders.
  • Experience with P&C Insurance Data domain strong asset
• Technical Skills:
  • Hands-on experience and deep knowledge of the Big data systems Like Hadoop, Big query , snowflake etc
  • Proficiency with programming languages such as Python, and experience with Databricks, Dataflow, or other relevant ETL/ELT tools.
  • Familiarity with message queuing technologies like Kafka or Pub/Sub.
  • Experience with cloud computing platforms (Google Cloud Platform is a strong plus), distributed systems, and data warehousing/data lake concepts.
  • Understanding of operational tools and systems (e.g., Guidewire, Claims, Policy management systems, Call centers, ServiceNow).
• Leadership & Soft Skills:
  • Exceptional problem-solving abilities with a knack for diving deep into complex issues and formulating pragmatic solutions.
  • Strong communication, collaboration, and influencing skills, with the ability to work effectively with global teams and diverse stakeholders.
  • A passion for building and nurturing high-performing, inclusive teams.
  • A strategic mindset with the ability to balance speed to market with robust, scalable solutions.
  • A strong understanding of data governance, data quality, and data privacy principles.
• Education:
  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or a related field.