Explore Director, Data Operations jobs and discover a pivotal leadership role at the intersection of data strategy, technology, and business impact. A Director of Data Operations is a senior executive responsible for the end-to-end health, governance, and strategic utility of an organization's data assets. This role transcends traditional data management by focusing on the operational excellence of data pipelines, the reliability of data products, and the enablement of a truly data-driven culture. Professionals in these jobs act as the crucial bridge between technical data teams and business stakeholders, ensuring that data infrastructure directly translates into measurable business value. The core mission of a Director of Data Operations is to lead a team of data analysts, engineers, and operations specialists in building and maintaining a robust, scalable, and trusted data ecosystem. Common responsibilities include overseeing the design, implementation, and monitoring of data pipelines and ETL/ELT processes. They establish and enforce data governance frameworks, ensuring data quality, security, and compliance. A significant part of the role involves managing the semantic layer or data modeling strategy, which standardizes key metrics and definitions across the company, making data accessible and consistent for decision-makers. Furthermore, they prioritize the team's workload, balancing urgent business intelligence requests with long-term platform evolution and architectural improvements. Typical skills and requirements for these leadership jobs are extensive. Candidates generally possess a bachelor's or advanced degree in a technical field like Computer Science or Information Systems. A deep, hands-on understanding of the modern data stack—including cloud data warehouses (e.g., Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift), transformation tools (like dbt), orchestration platforms, and BI/visualization tools (such as Looker or Tableau)—is essential. Beyond technical acumen, proven leadership is paramount. This includes 5+ years of people management experience, with a demonstrated ability to recruit, mentor, and scale high-performing data teams. Strong strategic vision is required to align data initiatives with business goals, coupled with exceptional communication skills to translate complex technical concepts for diverse audiences. Expertise in dimensional data modeling, CI/CD practices for data, and managing large-scale data volumes is also standard. Ultimately, Director, Data Operations jobs are for strategic leaders who view data as a core product. They are accountable for the reliability and performance of the data platform, the productivity and growth of their team, and the empowerment of the entire organization through trusted, actionable insights. If you are a leader passionate about operational rigor, team development, and driving business outcomes through data, exploring Director of Data Operations positions could be your next career step.
