Director of Data & AI Platform Engineering — Remote

Blackbaud; Charleston (SC); Hybrid; USD 134,000 - 174,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Remote-friendly

Wellness programs

401(k) with match

Flexible PTO

Parental leave

Donations for Doers

Pet insurance

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Blackbaud is seeking an Engineering Manager, Data & AI Platform in Charleston to lead teams building and operating the enterprise data and AI platform. You will guide architecture, governance, cloud modernization, and cost optimization while delivering scalable, secure, and product‑oriented solutions.

You’ll mentor engineers across geographies, establish roadmaps and success metrics, collaborate with Product, Data Science, Analytics, and Product Engineering, and champion Responsible AI and best

Qualifications

• 8+ years in software, data, or platform engineering; .NET, Azure, Databricks, ADO preferred.
• 3+ years experience managing and developing data engineering teams.
• Hands-on experience with modern data platforms, cloud data lakes/lakehouses, distributed processing, streaming, APIs.
• Strong understanding of platform engineering principles and operating production systems at scale.
• Proven ability to lead through ambiguity and influence without authority.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve core Data & AI platform capabilities: ingestion, transformation, lakehouse, feature services, and AI/ML enablement.
• Drive platform decisions aligned with Blackbaud's Unified Data & AI Platform Strategy (modularity, interoperability, AI-first design)
• Partner with Architecture, Governance, and Security to ensure trust, compliance, and Responsible AI standards.
• Balance build vs. buy decisions, prioritizing core competencies while reducing operational complexity.
• Lead teams to deliver high-impact platform initiatives aligned to AOP priorities (legacy modernization, cloud migration, cost optimization, agent enablement).
• Ensure platform reliability through operational excellence, including monitoring, incident management, and performance optimization.
• Establish clear roadmaps, milestones, and success metrics for platform initiatives.
• Hire, mentor, and grow high-performing platform engineers across geographies.
• Provide regular feedback, coaching, and career development aligned with Blackbaud's people strategy.
• Ensure every team member has clear goals, an active IDP, and opportunities to grow in modern Data & AI skills.
• Collaborate closely with Product, Data Science, Analytics, and Product Engineering teams to ensure the platform accelerates - not blocks - delivery.
• Influence standards and best practices across the Data Intelligence COE.

Skills

Software engineering

Data engineering

Platform engineering

Cloud (Azure)

Leadership

Ambiguity management

Tools

Databricks

Azure

ADO

.NET

Job description

Blackbaud is seeking an Engineering Manager, Data & AI Platform in Charleston to lead teams building and operating the enterprise data and AI platform. You will guide architecture, governance, cloud modernization, and cost optimization while delivering scalable, secure, and product‑oriented solutions.

You’ll mentor engineers across geographies, establish roadmaps and success metrics, collaborate with Product, Data Science, Analytics, and Product Engineering, and champion Responsible AI and best