Associate Director – Data Platform & Operations

My client is seeking a senior leader to drive the strategy, delivery, and operations of a hybrid enterprise data platform powering AI, BI, and analytics.

• Lead architecture & operations across Azure, Kubernetes/Open Shift & on-prem storage
• Drive CI/CD, IaC (Terraform/Ansible) & platform automation
• Oversee big data ecosystem (Spark, Kafka, Delta Lake, Single Store)
• Implement observability (monitoring, logging, lineage, alerts)
• Own platform reliability, scalability & cost optimisation (Fin Ops)
• Enable self‑service for Data, AI & BI teams
• Manage delivery, dependencies & production readiness
• Mentor teams and embed Dev Ops/Data Ops best practices

• Azure
• Kubernetes/Open Shift
• Spark
• Kafka
• Delta Lake
• Parquet
• Single Store
• VAST
• Azure Dev Ops

• Partner with CTO, CDO & AI leadership on platform strategy
• Own roadmap delivery, performance metrics & cost reporting
• Lead and grow platform, Dev Ops & operations teams
• Drive modernisation & cloud‑native adoption

• 8+ years in platform engineering / Dev Ops / data infrastructure
• 4+ years in leadership roles
• Strong hands‑on experience with Kubernetes, CI/CD & IaC
• Expertise in big data platforms (Spark, Kafka, Delta Lake)
• Experience in hybrid cloud & on‑prem environments
• Strong understanding of observability, self‑service platforms & performance tuning

• Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field
• Preferred:
  Kubernetes (CKA/CKAD), Azure Dev Ops, or cloud certifications