Technical Lead, Customer Data & Personalization Platforms

Vanguard; Charlotte (NC); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Job summary

Vanguard in Charlotte seeks a senior data platform leader to drive the MarTech data ecosystem, including CDP, identity resolution, data clean rooms, and activation platforms. You will define architecture, ensure governance, and lead cross-functional teams across Product, Marketing, Analytics, AdTech, and Engineering.

You will mentor engineers, shape roadmaps, and advance GenAI-powered personalization while maintaining security, compliance, and scalable operations.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in software engineering, data engineering, or data platform development, with 3+ years in technical leadership.
• Experience designing, building, and operating large-scale data platforms and data products.
• Familiarity with MarTech/AdTech platforms including audience activation and measurement.
• Knowledge of Identity Resolution, consent management, and customer intelligence platforms.
• Hands-on with cloud-native data platforms, preferably AWS.
• Deep expertise in Python, SQL, Spark, Kafka, and modern data processing frameworks.
• Experience with Databricks, Delta Lake, Lakehouse architectures.
• GenAI, agentic AI, MCP for AI-powered personalization.
• Strong governance, privacy, security, and regulatory knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for Vanguard’s MarTech Data Platform ecosystem, including CDP and activation platforms.
• Lead architecture, design, and delivery of scalable, secure, governed data solutions.
• Drive engineering best practices across DataOps, observability, CI/CD, testing, security, and platform operations.
• Partner with Product, Marketing, Analytics, AdTech, and Engineering to translate business objectives into technical solutions.
• Provide technical oversight for the full solution lifecycle, including reviews, decisions, implementation, testing, deployment, and optimization.
• Establish and enforce data governance, privacy, security, and compliance standards across customer data.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and develop roadmaps to advance marketing and activation strategies.
• Coach and mentor engineers and contributors on architecture, design patterns, and adoption of best practices.
• Communicate platform strategy, direction, risks, and recommendations to stakeholders across the organization.
• Drive continuous improvement through automation, metrics, and platform optimization initiatives.

Skills

Data Platform Architecture

Data Engineering

Python

SQL

Spark

Kafka

Databricks

Lakehouse

CI/CD

DataOps

Security & Governance

AWS

Identity Resolution

MarTech/AdTech

Leadership

Mentoring

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field

Tools

Databricks

Delta Lake

Unity Catalog

S3

Docker

Job description

Core Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for Vanguard’s MarTech Data Platform ecosystem , including Customer Data Platforms (CDP), Identity Resolution, Data Clean Rooms, customer data assets, and activation platforms that power modern marketing and personalization at scale.
• Lead the architecture, design, and delivery of scalable, secure, and governed data solutions , ensuring reliability, performance, and operational excellence across the platform landscape.
• Drive engineering best practices across data architecture, DataOps, observability, CI/CD, testing, security, and platform operations.
• Partner closely with Product, Marketing, Analytics, AdTech, and Engineering teams to translate business objectives into durable, scalable technical solutions.
• Provide technical oversight for the full solution lifecycle , including architecture reviews, design decisions, implementation, testing, deployment, and ongoing optimization.
• Establish and enforce data governance, privacy, security, and compliance standards for customer and identity data, ensuring alignment with enterprise and regulatory requirements.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and platform capabilities , developing roadmaps and recommendations that advance Vanguard’s marketing, customer intelligence, and activation strategies.
• Coach and mentor engineers and technical contributors , providing guidance on architecture, design patterns, engineering practices, and technology adoption.
• Communicate platform strategy, technical direction, risks, and recommendations to stakeholders at varying levels across Product, Engineering, and business organizations.
• Drive continuous improvement through modern engineering practices, automation, operational metrics, and platform optimization initiatives.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 8+ years of experience in software engineering, data engineering, or data platform development, including 3+ years in a technical leadership role.
• Strong experience designing, building, and operating large-scale data platforms, data products, and distributed data processing solutions.
• Familiarity with modern MarTech and AdTech platforms , including audience activation, measurement, campaign orchestration, and digital marketing ecosystems.
• Knowledge of performance marketing, customer journey analytics, personalization, audience targeting, and marketing measurement.
• Experience with Identity Resolution , customer profile management, audience segmentation, consent management, and customer intelligence platforms.
• Experience working with Data Clean Rooms and privacy-safe data collaboration technologies preferred.
• Hands-on experience with cloud-native data platforms and architectures, preferably AWS.
• Deep expertise in data engineering technologies , including Python, SQL, Spark, Kafka, and modern data processing frameworks.
• Hands-on experience with Databricks , Delta Lake, Customer Lake CDP, Unity Catalog, and modern Lakehouse architectures preferred.
• Experience with GenAI, agentic AI, and MCP, enabling AI-powered personalization, customer intelligence, and marketing experiences through modern data platforms.
• Experience building scalable batch and streaming data pipelines with a strong focus on performance, reliability, observability, and data quality.
• Strong understanding of DataOps, CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, automated testing, monitoring, and operational excellence practices.
• Experience designing APIs and data services to support consumer, analytics, and activation use cases.
• Strong understanding of data governance, metadata management, privacy, security, and regulatory considerations involving customer data.
• Proven ability to influence architecture decisions and collaborate effectively across Product, Engineering, Marketing, Analytics, and business stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers and provide technical leadership across cross‑functional teams.
• Experience supporting AI/ML, customer intelligence, or next‑generation marketing platforms preferred.
• Passion for evaluating emerging technologies and shaping enterprise‑wide standards and best practices.

Special Factors

Sponsorship

Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position.

About Vanguard

At Vanguard, we don’t just have a mission—we’re on a mission.

To work for the long‑term financial wellbeing of our clients. To lead through product and services that transform our clients’ lives. To learn and develop our skills as individuals and as a team. From Malvern to Melbourne, our mission drives us forward and inspires us to be our best.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in‑person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission‑driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long‑term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.