Principal Associate, Accounting

At Capital One, data is at the center of everything we do. As part of our newly formed Centralized Card Data Team
, we sit at the top of the Card Product Controllers (CPC) organization and act as the definitive voice for all Card Accounting data needs. We are bridging the gap between raw data infrastructure and downstream financial reporting, turning data management from a back-office task into a core strategic advantage.

As a Principal Associate on the Card Data Team, you will leverage your data governance and strategic skills to provide early leadership on fast-moving data projects and provide leadership. You will act as an embedded Business Steward, balancing the need to accelerate our digital transformation with the need to follow strict regulatory frameworks.

• Partner Across Teams:
  Serve as the primary liaison and data contact for the Card Product Controllers team, working closely with technical and business teams.
• Strategic Guidance:
  Provide early consultation on major enterprise initiatives to guarantee Card‑specific accounting requirements are addressed.
• Business Stewardship:
  Focus on "Trust" and "Compliance" by defining data meaning and usage, while partnering closely with Technical Data Stewards who handle storage and movement.

• Quality Processes:
  Establish and run standardized processes for data quality protocols, profiling, and defining Critical Data Elements and usage.
• Data Delivery Agreements:
  Help define operational contracts, Data Provisioning Agreements (DPAs), and SLAs (covering delivery times, cadence, and source system cut‑offs) to streamline downstream consumption.

• Risk Reduction:
  Promote a controlled change management environment to reduce data risk and eliminate the manual overhead spent investigating "out-of-balance" exceptions. Performing outage audits/retros to identify data improvement opportunities that can limit our speed to market strategy.
• Team Advocacy:
  Serve as the definitive voice for the team, educating consumers on new data standards, supporting operational integration with the Speed to Market team, and preparing executive updates.

• A high level of comfort operating independently in an ambiguous, "startup‑like" environment within a newly formed team.
• The ability to tackle big foundational tasks from scratch, such as establishing dataset inventories and data quality rules.
• Strong communication skills to translate complex technical constraints into clear business impacts, and vice versa.
• The ability to build trust and influence cross‑functional partners, including Product Owners, Tech, and Financial Data Management.

• Bachelor's Degree or military experience
• At least 3 years of experience in accounting, external financial reporting, audit, finance, or a combination
• At least 3 years of experience with Google Office or Microsoft Office products, or a combination

• Master’s Degree in Finance, Analytics, or a related quantitative field
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license or Project Management Professional (PMP) designation
• 5+ years of progressive experience working in data analytics, data governance, business intelligence, or financial data systems
• 4+ years of experience working directly within a financial institution, supporting Product Controllers, Finance or general ledger data infrastructure
• 2+ years of experience in Tableau, Python, or SQL, or a combination
• Familiarity with Agile operating models, writing logical rules and requirements, and integrating data controls directly into a delivery…