Lead Data Visualization Designer

Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA); Columbus (OH); On-site; USD 80,000 - 94,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical & Dental Insurance

Paid Parental Leave

Bus Pass

Wellness Initiatives

On-Site Chair Massage

On-Site Health Coach

Tuition Reimbursement

Student Loan Repayment

Public Pension OPERS

Employee Discounts

Job summary

Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) seeks a Lead Data Visualization Designer to serve as the organization’s Power BI expert, enforcing standards, managing the analytics portfolio, and ensuring data quality and governance. You will partner with business and IT to deliver scalable analytics, advancing modernization and automation across enterprise BI.

The role drives data governance maturity, translates complex concepts into business narratives, and mentors analysts while supporting BI adoption

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; 5+ years in BI/data analytics or data engineering with hands-on report development and analytics delivery.
• Experience delivering scalable analytics solutions and data governance practices.

Responsibilities

• Establish and enforce enterprise BI standards for dashboards, data connections, and governance.
• Lead PM/portfolio for Power BI, prioritization, lifecycle, and performance across assets.
• Mentor analysts and deliver BI training to support adoption and consistent use.

Skills

Data storytelling

Data governance

Mentoring

Training

Stakeholder communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Data Analytics, Computer Science, Business Administration, or related field

Tools

Power BI

SQL

ETL

Job description

SALARY: $79,788.80 - $93,870.40

LOCATION: 33 N. High St. Columbus, OH 43215

Benefits

• Medical, Vision, Dental, Supplemental and Life Insurance
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Discounts
• COTA Bus Pass
• Wellness Initiatives
• On-Site Chair Massage
• On-Site Health Coach
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Student Loan Repayment Program
• Public Pension through OPERS & Ohio Deferred Compensation

Position Summary

COTA's Lead Data Visualization Designer serves as the organization's technical expert for Power BI, responsible for enforcing enterprise standards, managing the analytics portfolio, and ensuring data quality and governance. This role partners with business and IT teams to deliver scalable, high-impact analytics solutions while driving modernization, automation, and adoption of emerging analytics capabilities.

Performs duties that advance COTA's Strategic Plan and reflect the organization's core values of safety, empowerment, accountability, teamwork, and service, and support the mission of Moving Every Life Forward.

Essential Job Functions

• Serves as the organization's senior Power BI authority, establishing and enforcing enterprise standards for dashboard design, governance, documentation, deployment, and data connectivity to ensure consistency, scalability, and quality.
• Leads the Power BI portfolio by managing intake, prioritization, lifecycle management, and performance monitoring to ensure transparency and reliability across analytics assets.
• Drives data governance maturity by identifying recurring data issues, defining quality standards, establishing monitoring and remediation workflows, and escalating risks to leadership and governance councils.
• Acts as a trusted analytics consultant to business and IT partners, advising on dataset design, architecture alignment, and solution tradeoffs while translating technical concepts into clear business narratives.
• Develops semantic models and data structures informed by deep understanding of business processes, application workflows, and analytical requirements.
• Conducts data discovery, profiling, and root-cause analysis on priority data assets, partnering with IT to resolve data issues and ensure infrastructure and ETL processes support analytics needs.
• Serves as the organization's Power BI and SQL subject matter expert, mentoring analysts, guiding administrative resources, and delivering training to support consistent and effective BI adoption.
• Leads innovation and continuous improvement initiatives by evaluating emerging analytics capabilities-including AI-enabled features such as Copilot-and recommending enhancements to BI tools, data architecture, and automation practices.
• Presents clear, actionable data stories to technical and non‑technical audiences, including senior leadership.
• Leads internal outreach to expand data literacy, improve access to analytics, and support adoption of BI solutions across the organization.
• Partners with business units to implement improved reporting processes and coordinates post‑implementation support, including end‑user feedback and solution refinement.
• Maintain advanced Power BI expertise and certifications, serving as the organization's go-to expert for administration, advanced functionality, and enterprise analytics strategy.
• Regular, predictable and punctual attendance required; and,
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Education & Experience Required

• Requires a Bachelor's Degree in Information Systems, Data Analytics, Computer Science, Business Administration, or a related field and five (5) years' experience in business intelligence, data analytics, or data engineering roles with hands-on responsibility for report development, data modeling, and analytics delivery. An equivalent combination of education/training and relevant data analytics experience will also be considered.

Licenses & Certifications

• Power BI certification preferred.

COTA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. All employment decisions are based on job needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status