Senior Director, Head of Data

Toptal; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Part time

Job summary

Toptal is seeking a visionary Senior Director, Head of Data to drive the enterprise data strategy, platforms, governance, and data products. You will set multi-year direction for data engineering, governance, and activation as a core business capability.

In this leader-of-leaders role, you will advise C-suite executives across Technology, Product, Actuarial, Finance, and Operations, building a domain-oriented data ecosystem with real-time capabilities and AI readiness.

Qualifications

• 12+ years leading data/analytics or technology teams, with 7+ years in people leadership.
• Experience owning enterprise data strategy in a regulated industry (insurance/financial services).
• Proven track record in large-scale data platform modernization and governance frameworks.
• Experience managing data product portfolios and enterprise data councils.
• Advanced degree preferred (MS/PhD) in a technical discipline.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute multi-year enterprise data strategy, roadmap, and operating model.
• Direct target state for data platforms including cloud ingestion, CDC/streaming, and semantic models.
• Lead governance across data products, privacy, lineage, quality, and SLA discipline.
• Build and lead a high-performing data organization spanning engineering, modeling, governance, and analytics enablement.
• Manage budget, vendor relations, and technology partner performance.

Skills

Executive leadership

Data strategy

Data governance

Cloud data platforms

Data mesh

AWS

Snowflake

Kafka/MSK

API enablement

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science / Data Science / Engineering

Tools

Snowflake

Redshift

PostgreSQL

dbt

Kafka/MSK

Job description

• 40 Hrs/Week FREELANCE Individual Contractor
• We do NOT offer any type of Visa Sponsorship or Support; candidates should have open work eligibility at their location.
• We do NOT work with H1B/F1 Visas holders

Job Description

We are seeking a visionary, executive-level Senior Director, Head of Data to serve as the enterprise leader for data strategy, data platforms, governance, data products, and the data operating model. As a key member of the technology leadership team, you will set the multi-year direction for how data is engineered, governed, shared, and activated—transforming enterprise data into a durable, growth-driving business capability.

In this "leader of leaders" position, you will serve as a strategic advisor to C-suite executives across Technology, Product, Actuarial, Finance, Distribution, and Operations. You will build and mature a multi-layered data organization, driving a transition toward a domain-oriented data ecosystem with governed data products, a unified semantic layer, and real-time operational data capabilities.

General Information (About the Client)

Our client is a premier, highly trusted financial services and life insurance provider dedicated to supporting millions of members and agents nationwide. They are actively executing a major enterprise modernization roadmap—transitioning legacy environments into a modern, cloud-native, and domain-driven technology platform.

They foster an executive culture grounded in strategic discipline, cross-functional accountability, and continuous innovation. Operating in a highly regulated domain, they prioritize building trusted, reliable data foundations that directly support member experiences, automated underwriting, operational excellence, and advanced AI readiness.

Tasks and Deliverables

• Enterprise Strategy & Operating Model: Author, own, and execute the multi-year enterprise data strategy, investment roadmap, operating model, and success metrics aligned with North Star architecture.
• Platform Modernization & Architecture: Direct the target state for enterprise data platforms, including cloud ingestion, CDC/streaming, operational data layers, semantic models, APIs, and cost performance.
• Data Product Governance: Establish and Chair the enterprise Data Council—governing data product portfolios, access, retention, privacy, lineage, quality standards, and SLA discipline across Member 360, policy, claims, and financial domains.
• Organizational & People Leadership: Build and lead a high-performing data organization spanning data engineering, platform, modeling, governance, and analytics enablement—developing managers and senior technical leaders.
• Financial & Vendor Stewardship: Manage the data function's budget, vendor portfolio, sourcing strategy, and technology partner performance to optimize long-term operational costs.
• Executive Advisory & Modernization Support: Represent the data function in executive and board-level governance forums, supporting major initiatives such as legacy platform decommissioning, policy migrations, and AI/automation enablement.

Required Experience

• Professional Seniority: 12+ years of progressive experience in data, analytics, or technology, including 7+ years in direct people leadership and 3+ years leading managers/leaders within an enterprise-scale data function.
• Regulated Industry Experience: Proven track record owning enterprise data strategy and managing multi-disciplinary data teams within insurance, financial services, or a closely regulated industry.
• Modernization Ownership: Demonstrated experience setting strategy and leading large-scale data platform modernizations, data product rollouts, and governance frameworks that delivered measurable ROI.
• Leadership Development: History of managing technical managers and principal architects, with direct accountability for org design, succession planning, workforce capability, and delivery discipline.
• Educational Background: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related technical discipline (Advanced degree preferred).
• Preferred Qualifications (Plus):
• Practical experience implementing Data Mesh / domain-oriented data products, federated operating models, and enterprise semantic layers.
• Deep exposure to modern cloud data ecosystems (preferably AWS), utilizing Snowflake, Redshift, PostgreSQL, dbt, or Kafka/MSK.
• Experience with Change Data Capture (CDC), event-driven architectures, low-latency operational data stores, and API enablement.
• Experience leading data strategies through legacy platform decommissioning and core policy administration migrations.
• Top-Level Enterprise Authority: Serve as the definitive enterprise voice for data strategy, directly shaping how technology investments drive commercial strategy and member experience.
• Greenfield Operating Model: Lead a high-visibility transition toward a cutting-edge, domain-oriented data mesh platform and unified semantic layer.
• Strategic Executive Scope: Enjoy high autonomy and budget stewardship, operating as a core thought partner to C-suite and board-level leadership.