VP of Data Engineering & Platform Strategy

Publicis Groupe; Chicago, Northern (IL, KY); Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 194,000; Full time

Job summary

PHM, a health media agency, seeks a VP of Data Engineering to define enterprise data strategy and lead a high-performing engineering organization across cloud-based platforms. You will drive data architecture, governance, and real-time data delivery to support analytics, BI, and media activation.

The role requires deep experience in data warehouses, ETL/ELT, and data products, with a focus on scalable, secure platforms and collaboration with business and technical stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Data Science, or related field preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive experience in data engineering, data architecture, software engineering, or related technical disciplines.
• 5+ years of experience leading and developing data engineering teams at the Director level or above.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing large-scale enterprise data platforms and data products.
• Deep understanding of data warehouse, data lake, ETL/ELT, data integration, and data modeling principles.
• Strong experience with cloud-based data technologies, preferably AWS, Azure, and/or Google Cloud.
• Experience working with large, complex datasets and high-volume data environments.
• Demonstrated experience establishing enterprise data architecture, engineering standards, and technology roadmaps.
• Experience integrating structured and unstructured data, APIs, real-time data, and batch data environments.
• Strong understanding of data governance, data quality, security, privacy, and data lifecycle management.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement the enterprise data engineering strategy and multi-year technology roadmap in alignment with PHM’s business and data strategy.
• Establish scalable architecture for data warehouses, data lakes, data platforms, and data products supporting enterprise and client-facing needs.
• Lead the evolution of cloud-based data infrastructure and engineering capabilities across AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and related technologies.
• Establish architectural standards for data integration, data modeling, ETL/ELT, APIs, real-time data, batch processing, and data delivery.
• Drive the modernization and optimization of existing data platforms, processes, and technology investments.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and find opportunities to leverage automation, AI, machine learning, and other innovations to improve data engineering capabilities.
• Oversee the development of high-performance data products and platforms supporting analytics, business intelligence, media performance, measurement, and activation.
• Ensure data products are designed for scalability, reliability, accessibility, and performance.
• Establish standards for data modeling, metadata management, data quality, lineage, security, and governance.
• Guide the integration of structured and unstructured data from internal, external, digital, media, and client data sources.
• Ensure data platforms can support real-time, on-demand, batch, and varying data delivery requirements.
• Partner with analytics and BI leadership to ensure data engineering capabilities effectively support enterprise reporting and decision-making.
• Build, lead, and develop an impactful data engineering organization with deep technical and business acumen.
• Establish engineering best practices, development standards, documentation practices, and quality controls.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to Directors, engineering managers, and senior technical talent.
• Define organizational capabilities, team structures, and talent strategies needed to support PHM’s evolving data ecosystem.
• Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, continuous improvement, and technical excellence.
• Establish and monitor engineering performance metrics, service levels, and operational standards.
• Partner with data governance, information security, legal, privacy, and technology teams to establish appropriate standards for data management and usage.
• Champion enterprise-wide data quality, governance, security, privacy, and compliance practices.
• Establish processes for data lineage, metadata management, access controls, retention, and data lifecycle management.
• Ensure data platforms and products meet appropriate standards for reliability, availability, scalability, and security.
• Drive proactive identification and resolution of data quality, platform, and engineering risks.
• Serve as a senior strategic advisor on data engineering, technology, and data platform decisions.
• Partner with executive leadership to translate business objectives into scalable data and technology strategies.
• Collaborate with Data Science, Analytics, Business Intelligence, Media, Technology, and Product leaders to find opportunities for data-driven innovation.
• Communicate complex technical concepts and strategic recommendations to executive and non-technical audiences.
• Represent Data Engineering in senior leadership discussions, strategic planning, and technology investment decisions.
• Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders, technology partners, vendors, and client-facing teams.
• Identify opportunities to improve how PHM collects, manages, integrates, and activates data.
• Lead modernization initiatives that improve engineering efficiency, data accessibility, and business value.
• Assess emerging data technologies, cloud capabilities, AI/ML applications, and industry trends to determine opportunities for PHM.
• Promote automation and reusable data engineering capabilities across the organization.
• Establish a culture of experimentation and continuous technological improvement.

Skills

Leadership

Data modeling

Cloud platforms

Data governance

Communication with execs

Strategic planning

Python/SQL

Enterprise data platforms

ETL/ELT

AI/ML awareness

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/IT/Data-related field

Tools

AWS/GCP/Azure

Tableau/Datorama

Job description

PHM, a health media agency, seeks a VP of Data Engineering to define enterprise data strategy and lead a high-performing engineering organization across cloud-based platforms. You will drive data architecture, governance, and real-time data delivery to support analytics, BI, and media activation.

The role requires deep experience in data warehouses, ETL/ELT, and data products, with a focus on scalable, secure platforms and collaboration with business and technical stakeholders.