Managing Director, Data Platforms, Architecture Operations

This is a hybrid position located in Plano, Texas. Candidates must live within 50 miles of the campus location. Employees will be required to work at the Fed Ex campus location several times per week.

Plan, organize, direct and control all efforts relative to the design, definition, development, implementation and maintenance of computer systems, applications, projects and programs.

We are seeking a highly experienced and strategic Managing Director of Data Platforms, Architecture & Operations to lead our enterprise data transformation journey based out of our Plano, TX location. In this critical leadership role, you will be responsible for defining the strategy, architecture, and operational excellence of our large-scale data ecosystems.

You will lead teams of data engineers, platform architects, and operations specialists to build, scale, and secure modern data platforms. The ideal candidate brings a wealth of expertise in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Databricks, coupled with a deep commitment to "Secure By Design" principles and a passion for modern data engineering tooling.

This is an opportunity to drive the technical strategy for a massive, global data footprint from our Plano, TX location.

A leadership role at the forefront of AI-first engineering and cloud modernization.

• Strategic Vision:
  Define and execute the overarching data and platform architecture strategy, ensuring alignment with enterprise business objectives and technology transformation goals.
• Modernization & Migration:
  Lead large-scale data platform migrations and modernization efforts (e.g., migrating legacy or alternative cloud platforms to GCP).
• Scalable Design:
  Design robust, highly scalable, and distributed data architectures that support advanced analytics, AI-first engineering, and high-volume data processing.

• Platform Leadership:
  Oversee the administration, optimization, and scaling of large enterprise cloud environments, with a primary focus on GCP and Databricks.
• Operational Excellence:
  Drive the Ops strategy (Data Ops/MLOps), ensuring high availability, performance tuning, reliability, and proactive monitoring of critical data pipelines and platforms.
• Resource & Vendor Management:
  Manage cloud resource consumption, optimize costs, and oversee vendor performance and SLA adherence.

• Proactive Security:
  Embed "Secure By Design" methodologies across all data platforms, architectures, and engineering life cycles.
• Governance & Compliance:
  Establish and enforce robust data governance, access controls, and inherited control frameworks to ensure compliance with enterprise and regulatory standards.
• Risk Mitigation:
  Proactively identify and mitigate infrastructure and data security risks within cloud environments.

• Tooling Strategy:
  Evaluate, select, and implement best-in-class data engineering tools and frameworks to accelerate development and improve pipeline efficiency.
• Engineering Leadership:
  Guide the development of complex data pipelines, data ingestion frameworks, and structured data stores.
• Workforce Evolution:
  Champion the upskilling and continuous development of the engineering workforce, building high-performing PODs capable of delivering AI and data foundation initiatives.

• Cloud Expertise:
  Proven, hands‑on architectural and operational expertise in GCP (Google Cloud Platform) and Databricks.
• Scale:
  Demonstrated success in managing, scaling, and migrating large-scale cloud data platforms and distributed systems.
• Security Acumen:
  Deep understanding of cloud security protocols, identity and access…