Director, Data Engineering

About Engine At Engine, we’re transforming business travel into something personalized, rewarding, and simple. For too long, managing travel and spend has been overwhelming and fragmented — we’re here to change that. We believe the future of travel should be seamless and powered by technology that delights customers at every step. That’s why we’re building a platform that brings together corporate travel, a powerful charge card, and modern spend management in one place. To make this vision real, we’re looking for exceptional, mission-driven people to help redefine how businesses manage and experience travel. More than 30,000 companies already rely on Engine to support over 1 million travelers and billions in annual bookings each year. Cash flow positive with rapid growth, we pair exclusive Engine-only rates, industry-leading rewards, and intelligent automation to help businesses save money while delivering world-class personalization and convenience. Backed by Telescope Partners, Blackstone, and Permira, Engine has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing travel and fintech platforms in North America, with honors including the Deloitte Fast 500 and Built In’s Best Places to Work. About the Role We’re seeking a Director of Data Engineering to define the vision and execute the long-term strategy for our global data ecosystem. This is a foundational leadership role responsible for the re-architecture of our data warehouse into a world-class platform. You will not only oversee the migration to modern infrastructure but will also be the primary architect of our data governance framework and cross-functional data democratization strategy. We are looking for a visionary leader who can balance technical depth in the modern data stack (Snowflake, Airflow, dbt) with the executive presence to influence our product and business roadmaps. Your Mission As a key leader within the Engine team, you will move beyond project management to organizational leadership. Your core responsibilities include: • Strategic Vision & Roadmap: Define the 2–3 year vision for the data platform. Align data engineering initiatives with overarching company goals to ensure data is a primary driver of business growth. • Organizational Leadership: Build and scale a multi-tiered engineering organization. Foster a culture of technical excellence, mentorship, and high accountability, ensuring a robust leadership pipeline within your team. • Data Governance & Compliance: Establish and enforce global standards for data quality, security, and privacy (GDPR/CCPA). Own the framework for data cataloging and lineage to ensure "one source of truth" across the enterprise. • Operational Excellence & ROI: Optimize the total cost of ownership (TCO) for our data infrastructure. Manage vendor relationships (Snowflake, etc.) and budgets while ensuring the stack scales efficiently with company growth. • Executive Stakeholder Management: Serve as the primary liaison between Engineering and the C-suite. Translate technical debt and infrastructure needs into business value, and turn business requirements into scalable technical architectures. • Innovation & Architecture: Drive the adoption of cutting-edge technologies (AI/ML integration, real-time streaming) to keep Engine at the forefront of the industry. What You’ll Bring to Engine We are looking for an executive-minded leader who thrives at the intersection of deep technical "know-how" and high-level business strategy: • Experience: 10+ years in Data Engineering/Software Engineering, with at least 5+ years in senior leadership roles (managing managers or leading large-scale departments). • Strategic Technical Expertise: Deep architectural knowledge of the modern data stack (Snowflake, Airflow, dbt, Airbyte). Experience leading large-scale cloud migrations and designing systems that support both BI and Machine Learning workflows. • Change Management: Proven ability to lead organizations through significant technical shifts and cultural changes, specifically moving from legacy systems to agile, modern architectures. • Business Acumen: Exceptional ability to communicate the "Why" behind technical investments to non-technical partners. You should have a track record of using data to solve complex business problems. • Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related quantitative field. • Mindset: A high-level thinker who isn't afraid to dive into the weeds when necessary, but consistently operates with an eye toward scalability, sustainability, and competitive advantage. Compensation Our compensation packages are based on several factors, including your experience, expertise, and location. In addition to a competitive base salary, total compensation may include equity and/or variable pay (OTE). Your recruiter will share your complete compensation package as you move through the process. Base Pay Range $223,975—$310,000 USD The Engine Edge: Perks & Compensation We believe in rewarding great work with great benefits: • Compensation: Competitive base pay tied to role and experience, with opportunities for bonuses, commissions, and equity. • Benefits: Check out our full list at engine.com/culture. • Environments for Success: Different roles have different needs in terms of the environments that drive success which is why we have a hybrid-hub model. Whether you are in one of our amazing offices or fully remote, we’ll make sure you have what you need to succeed. Perks and benefits may vary based on employment type, location, and more. Ready to Build the Future of Work Travel? Join us on our mission to transform how work travel works—for businesses, for travelers, and for the industry. Apply now and let’s make travel simpler, smarter, and more enjoyable—together.