Manager of Data Platform Engineering

Job summary

The Manager of Data Platform Engineering leads and develops a high-performing team of data platform engineers, owning their career growth, reliable delivery, and coordination with the broader organization. This role requires technical depth to participate in architectural conversations and make informed decisions, partnering closely with the Lead Data Platform Engineer on technical direction and team execution. It is suitable for seasoned senior engineers transitioning to leadership or experienced engineering managers in data infrastructure.

Benefits

Qualifications

• 8–13 years of total professional experience in software or data engineering
• At least 1-2 years in an engineering management role with direct reports
• Demonstrated ability to recruit, develop, and retain engineering talent across levels
• Track record of building high-performing, cohesive teams
• Proven experience delivering complex technical programs on time
• Ability to manage scope, risk, dependencies, and stakeholder expectations across multiple concurrent workstreams
• Sufficient technical depth in data engineering to earn team trust
• Experience with data pipelines, cloud data infrastructure, and distributed systems
• Strong command of engineering management fundamentals
• Proficiency in 1:1s, performance reviews, goal-setting, career development frameworks, and compensation discussions
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, adaptable for various audiences
• Experience running agile delivery processes (Scrum, Kanban, or hybrid)
• Experience maintaining team-level metrics for planning and forecasting
• Demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity and make decisions with incomplete information
• Ability to maintain team direction and morale during organizational change
• Self-aware, empathetic, direct, and skilled at giving candid, kind, and growth-oriented feedback
• Prior hands-on experience as a data platform or data infrastructure engineer (preferred)
• Deep familiarity with technical landscape (Spark, Airflow, Snowflake, Kafka, dbt, etc.) (preferred)
• Experience managing engineers in a platform-as-a-product or internal developer platform context (preferred)
• Background leading teams through significant technical transformation programs (cloud migrations, architecture re-platforms, tooling overhauls) (preferred)

Responsibilities

• Lead, develop, and organize a high-performing team of data platform engineers
• Own people, process, and delivery health of the team
• Ensure engineers' career growth
• Ensure reliable team delivery
• Coordinate platform function with the broader organization
• Partner with Lead Data Platform Engineer for technical direction and team execution alignment
• Own hiring, career development, performance, team health, and delivery operations
• Directly manage 4-5 data platform engineers across levels
• Serve as primary advocate, coach, and career guide for direct reports
• Conduct regular 1:1s focused on growth, blockers, wellbeing, and career trajectory
• Own career development plans for each team member
• Set clear expectations at every level
• Identify growth opportunities
• Provide timely, actionable feedback
• Drive performance management end-to-end
• Set goals and provide continuous feedback
• Identify high-potential engineers and create stretch opportunities
• Foster a team culture of psychological safety, inclusion, continuous learning, and high accountability
• Address performance gaps early and constructively
• Own full recruitment lifecycle for the team

Skills

Degrees

Relocation