Data Platform and Governance Director

DHL Asia Pacific Shared Services Sdn Bhd; Malaysia; On-site; MYR 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

DHL Asia Pacific Shared Services Sdn Bhd is seeking an experienced Data Platform Lead to own APAC data platform strategy and governance. The role requires Hands-on leadership to design, implement, and optimize data ingestion, transformation, and productization, aligning with global standards.

You will lead a small team, coordinate with IT and business stakeholders, and drive cost-efficient, scalable solutions across multiple APAC countries while enabling pilots and production deployments.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in data management, data engineering, or data platform leadership roles, with at least 3 years in a regional or global capacity.
• Proven track record of owning and operating enterprise-scale data platforms (cloud/hybrid).
• Demonstrated success in defining and implementing data governance frameworks, including cataloging, lineage, data quality, and access management.
• Hands‑on leadership of data product lifecycle: creation, evolution, retirement, and alignment with global standards.
• Strong background in stakeholder management, including collaboration with IT, business, and global data offices.
• Prior experience managing and developing a small, high‑performing technical team.

Responsibilities

• Own data platform strategy and APAC alignment with AI & Analytics priorities.
• Translate business requirements into technical designs for AI/Analytics deployment; review data flows and architectures.
• Lead data product governance, version alignment, and upgrade recommendations across APAC.
• Lead sandbox deployments and enable country adoption with usage framework and guardrails.
• Ensure data cataloging, lineage, and ORDS standards across cross-functional reporting.
• Manage a small technical team, providing direction and mentoring.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Strategic thinking

Problem solving

Communication

Tools

Databricks

Azure Data Factory

Azure Synapse

Azure Data Lake Storage

Job description

DHL Asia Pacific Shared Services Sdn Bhd 4.2 View all jobs

Preferred job location:India, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia

When you work with us, you’ll find that we deliver results; without compromising on respect. We value each other’s differences while recognising individual strength.We are the world’s leading contract logistics company. We create competitive advantage for our customers through customized warehousing and transportation services. We combine our global scale with local knowledge and sector expertise.At DHL Supply Chain (DSC), there's more to a role than the work we do. Whatever your role is, we never forget that you make us who we are. We work hard to make sure a career with DHL is as satisfying and successful as it can be.Join a supportive work environment where you’ll have the tools and training you need to grow and succeed.DHL Supply Chain is Great Place To Work® certified.

About us

Preferred job location:India, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia

When you work with us, you’ll find that we deliver results; without compromising on respect. We value each other’s differences while recognising individual strength.We are the world’s leading contract logistics company. We create competitive advantage for our customers through customized warehousing and transportation services. We combine our global scale with local knowledge and sector expertise.At DHL Supply Chain (DSC), there's more to a role than the work we do. Whatever your role is, we never forget that you make us who we are. We work hard to make sure a career with DHL is as satisfying and successful as it can be.Join a supportive work environment where you’ll have the tools and training you need to grow and succeed.DHL Supply Chain is Great Place To Work® certified.

Responsibilities

1. 1) Data Platform Ownership & Strategy

   • Define and execute a data platform strategy for APAC, aligned with APAC AI & Analytics priorities to enable scalable and reusable solutions. Identify overlapping platforms and duplicate feeds, and drive consolidation/synergies to avoid double ingestions and duplicated costs
   • Own the demand intake and prioritization framework for new data ingestions, platform enhancements, and data product changes, balancing business value, architectural impact, cost, and delivery capacity.
   • Partner with Global team and ITS to evolve platform capabilities and resolve operational bottlenecks, escalating and arbitrating when priorities or standards conflict.
   • Monitor data platform run costs and recommend action plan to optimize performance, balancing speed, reliability, and efficiency.

2. 2) Technical Solution Definition & Execution

   • Work closely with business to translate business requirements into technical specifications for AI & Analytic solution deployment : review/approve solution designs, data flows and architecture, and ensure every implementation aligns with global standards
   • If additional data needs to be ingested or modifications are required to an existing data product, present the requirements and associated costs at a high level, ensuring clarity and relevance for senior leadership approval.
   • Remain hands on when required, directly building or adapting ingestion pipelines, transformations, and datasets in a lean team setup.
   • Support onboarding of new data sources and rapid adjustments to existing pipelines to enable pilots, POCs, and time sensitive initiatives.

3. 3) Data Product Governance

   • Drive the creation, evolution and retirement of data products that are leveraged across Analytics and AI solutions. When issues or improvement opportunities arise, evaluate and recommend fixes by clearly outlining the pros, cons, risks, and cost implications of each option. Escalate to relevant business owners when required.
   • Assess APAC data product versions versus the Global data model, drive the alignment discussion with Global, and issue upgrade recommendations whenever the change affects existing or planned AI/Analytics solutions in APAC
   • Represent APAC in global platform/governance forums

4. 4) Data Literacy & countries enablement

   • Lead the deployment of sandboxes for APAC countries to safely prototype and learn.
   • Define a framework for usage covering user access models, utilization scenarios, resource quotas, guardrails, and upskilling requirements before promotion to production.
   • Provide training on sandbox usage while actively driving adoption of standard platform and reducing reliance on local or legacy solutions
   • Establish criteria to move successful prototypes into curated, governed data products and production pipelines.

5. 5) Data management

   • Ensure all ingested objects are catalogued in Datahub with minimum business and technical metadata
   • Supervise and review the end‑to‑end lineage from source to product
   • Align to Operations Reference Data Standardization (ORDS) standards so cross‑functional reporting uses consistent master/reference values.

6. 6) Team Leadership and Stakeholder Management

   • Manage a team of 2 FTEs, providing direction, coaching, and support for their development and performance.
   • Provide clear direction and arbitration across stakeholders when priorities conflict
   • Foster cross-functional collaboration with business stakeholders, IT, and the global data office to ensure alignment and effective delivery of objectives.

Requirements

Must‑Have Experience

• 8+ years in data management, data engineering, or data platform leadership roles, with at least 3 years in a regional or global capacity.
• Proven track record of owning and operating enterprise-scale data platforms (cloud/hybrid)
• Demonstrated success in defining and implementing data governance frameworks, including cataloging, lineage, data quality, and access management.
• Hands‑on leadership of data product lifecycle: creation, evolution, retirement, and alignment with global standards.
• Strong background in stakeholder management, including collaboration with IT, business, and global data offices.
• Prior experience managing and developing a small, high‑performing technical team.

Technical Skills

• Databricks : Advanced proficiency in Databricks for data engineering, orchestration, and analytics workloads.
• Cloud Data Platforms: Deep experience with Azure Data Factory, Synapse, ADLS, and related Azure data services.
• Data Modeling: Strong understanding of data modeling (dimensional, lakehouse, medallion), schema management, and data contracts.
• Data Governance Tools: Hands‑on with data cataloguing (e.g., Purview, Data Hub), metadata management, and lineage tracking.
• Security & Compliance: Knowledge of PII handling, access controls (RBAC, AD groups), Row-Level Security (RLS), and regulatory compliance (GDPR, local data laws).
• Cost Management: Ability to analyze and optimize data platform costs

Communication & Leadership

• Strategic Thinking: ability to define and execute a unified data platform strategy across a diverse, multi‑country region.
• Expert at translating complex technical concepts into clear, business‑focused language for leadership, while also engaging in deep technical discussions with engineers and architects, moving seamlessly between high‑level summaries and detailed technical dialogue.
• Strong influencing skills to drive alignment with global teams, business stakeholders, and IT partners.
• Pragmatic and decisive, able to make sound judgments, prioritize effectively, and drive action even in complex or ambiguous situations.
• Effective at building relationships and fostering cross‑functional teamwork.
• Accountability and high sense of ownership, with a bias for action and follow‑through on commitments.
• Problem Solving and analytical mindset with a focus on root cause analysis, continuous improvement, and pragmatic decision‑making.
• Comfortable leading change, driving adoption of new standards, and think outside the box to change existing processes

Closing date of this application

• 30 June 2026