Senior Director, Data Engineering

🇺🇸 United States - Remote
📊 Data🔴 Director

Job description

Join phData, a dynamic and innovative leader in the modern data stack. We partner with major cloud data platforms like Snowflake, AWS, Azure, GCP, Fivetran, Pinecone, Glean and dbt to deliver cutting-edge services and solutions.We’re committed to helping global enterprises overcome their toughest data challenges.

phData is a remote-first global company with employees based in the United States, Latin America and India. We celebrate the culture of each of our team members and foster a community of technological curiosity, ownership and trust. Even though we’re growing extremely fast, we maintain a casual, exciting work environment. We hire top performers and allow you the autonomy to deliver results.

  • 6x Snowflake Partner of the Year (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
  • Fivetran, dbt, Atlation, Matillion Partner of the Year
  • #1 Partner in Snowflake Advanced Certifications
  • 600+ Expert Cloud Certifications (Sigma, AWS, Azure, Dataiku, etc)
  • Recognized as an award-winning workplace in US, India and LATAM

Senior Director, Data Engineering

About phData

phData is an AI-forward engineering company focused on getting enterprise data and AI workloads in production for some of the largest and most well-known companies in the world.

We specialize in the most complex data, machine learning, and AI problems that only the best engineers can solve. From the top down, we’re built and run by hardcore data, ML, and AI engineers.

  • Founders and leadership teams wrote books on databases and built key open-source tools, including Kafka, Parquet, Hive, and more.
  • We are a partner to major cloud data platforms like Snowflake (6X POTY), AWS, Azure, GCP, Fivetran, dbt, OpenAI, Anthropic, and more.
  • We have nearly 700 employees operating across 3 continents, and we’re growing quickly.
  • We build AI and automation tools that no other consulting company has, enabling us to do more with smaller teams and without sacrificing quality.
  • We are not staff aug. We are a premium provider of data and AI services and our clients pay to work with the best teams.

Our Core Values

  • Grit. We make sacrifices and accomplish the mission no matter what, because greatness demands commitment.
  • Psychological Safety. We take risks, try new things, and have uncomfortable conversations without fear. We know that failure is the mother of success.
  • Curiosity. We seek genuine feedback and assume positive intent. We challenge assumptions, explore boldly, and never settle for “good enough” or “because we’ve always done it that way”.
  • Community. We do the work to help the team, not to collect personal recognition. No task is beneath us, and no ego is above the work. If something needs doing, we do it—whether or not anyone notices.

About the Role

This person will act as the technical leader for phData’s most strategic clients. This is among the most challenging, highest-profile, and highest-value roles in all of phData.

Why is this one of the most challenging? This person must have a versatile arsenal of skills, technical knowledge, and communication styles. It’s more than saying the right thing. The Technical Account Lead must also be able to write code, stay up to date with the latest developments in technology, and lead and motivate a team to respond to the challenges and high expectations of our clients.

If our clients could solve these problems themselves, they would. Instead, they hire phData. We see ourselves as the client’s special forces and do what it takes to complete the mission. The Technical Account Lead doesn’t just get into the weeds—they study the entire root system.

This person needs to proactively give feedback internally and externally. They need to make sure we have the right people and the best teams. They will interface at the executive level, tackling uncomfortable conversations head-on and through a lens of respect, ownership, and integrity.

Our ultimate goal is to make our clients say “wow”. The ultimate measure of success for a Technical Account Lead is when a client chooses to extend projects with us and expand into new projects and workloads with us. The Technical Account Lead is personally accountable for converting highly strategic first-time engagements into multi-year partnerships, and growing strategic clients into $10M+ in annual value.

About You

  • You’ve been the person others relied on to make the hard technical calls and guide execution at scale.
  • You can sit across from a Fortune 500 CTO, ask door-opening questions, and confidently recommend a roadmap that changes how they think about data or AI.
  • You are client-obsessed. You know the history, business context, and org structure of whoever you work with.
  • You know greatness doesn’t come from working 9 to 5.
  • You know that giving and receiving feedback, internally and externally, is your fastest path to excellence and meaningful relationships.
  • You are a builder. You aren’t looking for a company that has it all figured out already. You want to have a voice in building something great.
  • You thrive on and grow through change.
  • You want to work alongside the brightest minds in data and AI.

Job Requirements

  • Act as the executive-level technical leader for a set of strategic clients, operating like the account’s CTO: owning technology direction, technical stakeholder relationships, and strategic alignment.

  • Build trusted relationships with technical and business stakeholders through 1:1s, on-site visits, and active engagement across initiatives.

  • Lead key client events (e.g., QBRs, Innovation Days, workshops) and contribute content that connects strategic goals with technical execution.

  • Develop and maintain a technology strategy and roadmap tailored to the client’s goals, providing hands-on architectural guidance when needed.

  • Partner closely with the account team to drive growth by collaborating on strategy and opportunity creation.

  • Write and guide scopes, proposals, and pricing estimates. Enable other leaders to do the same using phData’s processes and templates.

  • Create and present clear deliverables (e.g. architecture diagrams, enablement docs, POVs) that drive alignment from execs to practitioners.

  • Help the client operationalize data and AI projects—ensuring ideas move from prototype to production with measurable business impact.

  • Act as the ultimate owner of technical success for the client:

    • Resolve technical and strategic escalations across delivery and act as a point of accountability for both phData and the client
    • Hold delivery quality to a high standard, onboard new team members effectively, and continuously identify areas for improvement
    • Track and report KPIs that demonstrate client success and business value; use data to inform strategy and improve delivery
    • Meet minimum billable utilization requirements within book of business
  • Educate internal teams on successful delivery patterns and contribute to phData’s internal playbooks, QBR content, and sales collaboration.

  • Cultivate and manage relationships with key technology partners.

  • BA/BS in computer science, engineering, business, operations, or related fields preferred.

  • Must have demonstrated experience leading highly technical engineering teams or serving as the chief architect in a complex, hands-on technical environment.

  • Travel up to 35% (client-dependent).

Minimum Requirements

  • 10+ years of hands-on experience delivering complex data or AI/ML platforms in production environments
  • 3+ years in a consulting leadership role with direct client ownership and revenue accountability
  • Deep technical expertise in cloud platforms (Snowflake, AWS, Azure, GCP), modern data stacks, and MLOps tools
  • Proven success growing enterprise accounts and building executive-level relationships
  • Strong architectural and implementation skills in Python, SQL, dbt, and modern infrastructure tooling
  • Excellent communication and negotiation skills with a strong sense of presence and clarity under pressure
  • Willingness to travel for customer meetings, QBRs, and key events when necessary

Preferred Requirements

  • Advanced degree in a technical, data, or business-related discipline
  • Experience leading delivery within a scaled services or consulting firm
  • Proficiency in partner ecosystem collaboration (especially Snowflake, AWS, dbt)
  • Hands-on experience with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and cloud-native AI/ML tools
  • Demonstrated thought leadership (e.g., blogs, speaking, open source) is a plus

Why phData?  We Offer…

  • Remote-First Work Environment
  • Casual, award-winning small-business work environment
  • Collaborative culture that prizes autonomy, creativity, and transparency
  • Competitive comp, excellent benefits, 4 weeks PTO plan plus 10 Holidays (and other cool perks)
  • Accelerated learning and professional development through advanced training and certifications

#LI-DNI

phData celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Our approach helps us to build a winning team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and abilities. So, regardless of how your diversity expresses itself, you can find a home here at phData. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, veteran status, genetic information, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. If you would like to request an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at People Operations.

Share this job:
Please let phData know you found this job on Remote First Jobs 🙏

Benefits of using Remote First Jobs

Discover Hidden Jobs

Unique jobs you won't find on other job boards.

Advanced Filters

Filter by category, benefits, seniority, and more.

Priority Job Alerts

Get timely alerts for new job openings every day.

Manage Your Job Hunt

Save jobs you like and keep a simple list of your applications.

Search remote, work from home, 100% online jobs

We help you connect with top remote-first companies.

Search jobs

Hiring remote talent? Post a job

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes Remote First Jobs different from other job boards?

Unlike other job boards that only show jobs from companies that pay to post, we actively scan over 20,000 companies to find remote positions. This means you get access to thousands more jobs, including ones from companies that don't typically post on traditional job boards. Our platform is dedicated to fully remote positions, focusing on companies that have adopted remote work as their standard practice.

How often are new jobs added?

New jobs are constantly being added as our system checks company websites every day. We process thousands of jobs daily to ensure you have access to the most up-to-date remote job listings. Our algorithms scan over 20,000 different sources daily, adding jobs to the board the moment they appear.

Can I trust the job listings on Remote First Jobs?

Yes! We verify all job listings and companies to ensure they're legitimate. Our system automatically filters out spam, junk, and fake jobs to ensure you only see real remote opportunities.

Can I suggest companies to be added to your search?

Yes! We're always looking to expand our listings and appreciate suggestions from our community. If you know of companies offering remote positions that should be included in our search, please let us know. We actively work to increase our coverage of remote job opportunities.

How do I apply for jobs?

When you find a job you're interested in, simply click the 'Apply Now' button on the job listing. This will take you directly to the company's application page. We kindly ask you to mention that you found the position through Remote First Jobs when applying, as it helps us grow and improve our service 🙏

Apply