Director Big Data and Governance Platforms

Booking.com; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Pension plan

Annual paid time off

Parental leave

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Job summary

Booking.com is seeking a Director of Big Data and Governance Platforms to define and lead the technology strategy for a portfolio of foundational platforms used company-wide. You will shape governance, cloud data infrastructure, data lineage and privacy controls, ensuring a secure, trusted, compliant and accountable data ecosystem.

You will partner with senior leaders across Data & ML, Product, Engineering, Security, Privacy and Legal to translate regulatory needs into durable platform

Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead large, senior and multidisciplinary teams in a global environment.
• Excellent stakeholder influence and communication, translating technical topics into practical decisions.
• Strong strategic leadership, roadmapping and operating-model design.

Responsibilities

• Set the technology strategy for foundational Big Data and governance platforms.
• Build a coherent platform ecosystem enabling fast delivery while ensuring security, trust and compliance.
• Lead organization design, talent attraction/retention, roadmaps, budgets and capacity.
• Drive operational excellence with end-to-end ownership and measurable business impact.

Skills

Big Data platforms

Data governance

Cloud data infrastructure

Leadership

Strategy & governance

Job description

• As Director of Big Data and Governance Platforms, you will define and lead the technology strategy for a portfolio of foundational platforms used across the company
• These capabilities span the production and consumption of governed data, cloud data infrastructure, data management, lineage and discovery, identity and access management, data quality and observability, privacy controls, data usage policy enforcement and the services that make these capabilities reliable and easy to use
• Your mandate is not simply to operate a collection of technical systems; it is to create a coherent platform ecosystem that enables teams to move quickly while keeping data secure, trusted, compliant and accountable
• A defining part of the role is connecting engineering execution with the needs of the wider organisation
• You will partner closely with the VP Data & Machine Learning, the Data and AI Governance leadership, Product, Data Science, Data Engineering, Security, Privacy, Legal, Risk and Control, Central Technology and Business Unit teams. Together, you will translate strategic and regulatory needs into durable platform capabilities and clear decision rights. You will create alignment across a federated organisation, balancing enterprise-wide standards with the autonomy required by teams working close to their domains and customers
• The platforms serve a broad internal customer base: engineers and data practitioners who need dependable, high-performing and intuitive tooling, as well as governance, legal, privacy, security and compliance stakeholders who need clear evidence, traceability and effective control
• Success will therefore require more than technical excellence. It will require empathy for users, strong product thinking, commercial judgement and the ability to make governance practical—so that doing the right thing becomes the easiest way for teams to build and use data
• You will be responsible for setting the direction, building the organisation and creating the conditions for sustained delivery
• This includes developing senior engineering managers, attracting and retaining exceptional technical talent, establishing an effective operating model, and ensuring that roadmaps, budgets and capacity are aligned to Booking.com’s strategic priorities
• You will foster a culture in which teams own outcomes end to end, apply strong engineering craftsmanship, operate what they build and continuously improve the reliability, usability, performance and business impact of the platforms they provide
• This is an opportunity to shape one of Booking.com’s important enterprise capabilities. By combining BigData engineering depth with modern governance, automation and platform thinking, you will help Booking.com scale the use of data and AI with confidence—unlocking innovation while protecting customers, partners and the company
• Set the technology strategy for foundational Big Data and governance platforms, including cloud data infrastructure, data management, lineage, discovery, IAM, data quality, observability, privacy controls and policy enforcement
• Build a coherent platform ecosystem that enables fast delivery while keeping data secure, trusted, compliant and accountable
• Translate strategic and regulatory requirements into durable platform capabilities, operating principles and clear decision rights
• Align a federated organisation, balancing enterprise-wide standards with domain-team autonomy
• Partner across the company with Data & ML, Product, Engineering, Security, Privacy, Legal, Risk, Central Technology and business teams
• Lead the organisation and delivery model: develop senior engineering leaders, attract talent, align roadmaps, budgets and capacity, and create conditions for sustained execution
• Drive operational excellence, ensuring teams own outcomes end to end and continuously improve reliability, usability, performance and business impact

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Free access to Headspace for you and your loved ones
• Global Employee Assistance Program
• Meditation and Breastfeeding rooms at the office
• Booking Cares - 2 days per year to volunteer and learn
• Life insurance
• Disability insurance
• Pension plan
• Annual paid time off
• Parental leave - 22 weeks
• Grandparent leave - 10 days
• Care leave - 10 days
• Bereavement leave - up to 4 weeks
• Anniversary leave
• Working from Home Furniture and Ergonomic Support
• Working from Abroad - up to 20 days per year
• Discounts & Wallet credits to spend on our products
• Upgrade to Booking.com Genius Level 3
• Friends & Family Booking.com discount vouchers
• Free access to online learning platforms
• Development and mentorship programs to support career growth
• Access to trainings and workshops
• Team development opportunities
• Local discount programs
• Game rooms in offices
• On-site meals, coffee and snacks including vegan options

• Building strong engineering culture: reliability, security, compliance, accountability and operational ownership
• Strong knowledge of Data & AI Governance, including metadata, lineage, discovery, data quality, observability, access management, privacy and policy enforcement
• Proven ability to lead large, senior and multidisciplinary teams in a global, federated or matrixed environment
• Strong strategic leadership and execution: roadmapping, prioritisation, budgeting, operating-model design and organisational development
• Excellent stakeholder influence and communication, especially translating technical, regulatory and risk topics into practical decisions
• User empathy, commercial judgement and pragmatism, making governance easy to adopt rather than a barrier to delivery
• Enterprise architecture and platform-product thinking—turning complex capabilities into reliable, intuitive and reusable services
• Deep expertise in Big Data platforms, cloud data infrastructure and data engineering