Sr. Data Engineer, Team Lead, Store Launch

Are you a leader who's tired of being pulled into every fire instead of building the team and systems that prevent them? Do you want to own a mission‑critical function at a company that is an innovation leader and has the awards to prove it?

Drive Centric is the premier engagement, customer relationship management (CRM), and AI platform company that connects dealerships to customers in innovative, award‑winning ways.

We're seeking an exceptional Data Engineering leader to lead our Store Launch team. What do we look for in a leader? Extreme ownership. A bias toward building processes over absorbing the work. Calm under sustained pressure. Strong technical judgment. The instinct to develop people and delegate ownership. Reliability in delivering on every operational need. Lead by example as a hands‑on contributor.

The Store Launch team owns customer onboarding and data import operations, the technical backbone of how new dealers go live on Drive Centric. You'll lead that team, developing Data Engineers while owning delivery of every import and onboarding commitment, staying close enough to the technical work to make sound calls on priorities and escalations, and working in lockstep with internal stakeholders to keep contracted launch dates on track.

We're looking for someone who builds systems and scales a team's effectiveness to keep pace with growing store launch demands while focusing on data accuracy and meeting timeline commitments.

• Manage, coach, and develop a team of Data Engineers (including contractors) across experience levels, including 1:1s, continuous feedback, performance reviews, and individual development plans.
• Run strategy sessions with individual engineers and guide their day-to-day operational work, projects, and quarterly OKR commitments.
• Address performance issues directly and constructively; advocate for the team and remove blockers.
• Own the team's delivery commitments across all import and onboarding work, maintaining the import schedule and prioritizing it in partnership with business stakeholders, forecasting capacity, and tracking throughput and quality.
• Ensure SLAs are met for onboarding and data investigations.
• Own the data investigation triage and escalation model.
• Oversee complex and non-standard onboarding requests.
• Coordinate after-hours work as needed to mitigate user disruption during store hours.
• Stay hands‑on with complex projects and guide technical decisions.
• Own code review standards and documentation quality across the team.
• Partner with Software Engineers as needed on tool, automation, and agent development, while driving upskilling among your team to align with Drive Centric's builder culture.
• Partner with business stakeholders on onboarding timelines and schedule coordination.
• Lead ramp‑readiness planning for key/enterprise account work.
• Coordinate with the Data Quality & Insights team on shared responsibilities and handoffs.
• Partner with other technical and business teams on cross‑functional projects as they come up.
• Communicate status, risks, and dependencies to leadership; represent Store Launch in planning and prioritization.

• 2+ years managing people, including hiring, coaching, and performance management.
• Proven track record of building and retaining high‑performing teams and developing engineers' careers.
• Proven track record of owning operational throughput, with a bias toward building repeatable systems and tooling over adding manual work.
• Comfort with direct, difficult conversations.
• 5+ years with SQL/database development; 3+ years with T‑SQL and SQL Server specifically.
• 3+ years designing and implementing database solutions.
• Strong grasp of ETL processes and data import strategies.
• Experience with CRM/DMS systems and automotive dealership data.
• Hands‑on experience with a programming or scripting language (C#, Power Shell, or Python) and tool/automation development.
• A builder's approach to AI, using it as an accelerator personally and folding it into the team's workflow, tooling, and delivery.
• Strong delegation instincts, building ownership structures instead of becoming the bottleneck.
• Calm and focused under sustained pressure; this is a…