VP of Data Platform & Architecture

Job Description

Job Description

Are you obsessed with data, partner success, taking action, and changing the game? If you have a whole lot of hustle and a touch of nerd, come work with Pattern! We want you to use your skills to push one of the fastest-growing companies headquartered in the US to the top of the list. 

Pattern accelerates brands on global ecommerce marketplaces leveraging proprietary technology and AI. Utilizing more than 66 trillion data points, sophisticated machine learning and AI models, Pattern optimizes and automates all levers of ecommerce growth for global brands, including advertising, content management, logistics and fulfillment, pricing, forecasting and customer service. Hundreds of global brands depend on Pattern’s ecommerce acceleration platform every day to drive profitable revenue growth across 60+ global marketplaces—including Amazon, Walmart.com, Target.com, eBay, Tmall, TikTok Shop, JD, and Mercado Libre. To learn more, visit pattern.com or email View email address on ziprecruiter.com.

Pattern has been named one of the fastest growing tech companies headquartered in North America by Deloitte and one of best-led companies by Inc. We place employee experience at the center of our business model and have been recognized as one of Newsweek’s Global Most Loved Workplaces®.

What is a day in the life of a Vice President of Data Platform & Architecture?

• Lead the data organization through directors and managers, focusing on the strategic evolution of data engineering and platform architecture.

• Architect and scale distributed systems capable of processing petabyte-scale datasets and hundreds of billions of events.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive a company-wide data vision and operating model aligned with corporate goals.

• Obsess over the "developer experience," building self-service capabilities and abstractions that reduce time-to-delivery from days to minutes.

• Manage the performance and cost efficiency of the platform, including transitions toward open-source technologies like Airflow, Debezium, Iceberg, Trino, and Spark.

• Mentor international engineering teams, establishing high-level frameworks for technical excellence and operational rigor.

What will I need to thrive in this role?

• Scale Systems Expertise: Deep experience architecting and operating large-scale distributed data platforms at a multi-petabyte scale on cloud services (AWS preferred).

• Platform-First Mindset: Proven ability to build internal developer frameworks and abstractions rather than just managing pipelines.

• Technical Depth: Strong background in software engineering and distributed systems design, specifically with batch and real-time processing.

• Global Leadership: Experience leading and scaling international engineering organizations of 50+ professionals.

• Open-Source Fluency: Familiarity with modern open-source stacks (e.g., Airflow, Debezium, Kafka, Spark, Clickhouse) and the trade-offs involved in platform architecture.

• Data Fanaticism: A relentless focus on using data to improve system performance, cost-efficiency, and developer velocity.

What does high performance look like?

• Project Execution: The data platform evolves into an open-source, scalable, self-service environment that is fully adopted by engineering teams across the company.

• System Impact: Measurable improvements in system latency, throughput, and cost-efficiency for production-critical workloads.

• Team Impact: Measurable increase in developer velocity across the organization, driven by the removal of architectural friction and support of AI tools.

What is my potential for career growth?

• Direct influence on the technical trajectory of a global ecommerce leader.

• Opportunity to lead a high-stakes transition from commercial to open-source platform architecture.

• Executive-level networking and strategic partnership with the broader Engineering and Product leadership.

• Role as the primary technical authority on scalability and distributed systems for the entire organization.

What does success look like in the first 30, 60, 90 days?

• 30 Days: Complete a comprehensive audit of the current architecture, identify friction points in developer velocity, and build relationships with international team leads.

• 60 Days: Refine the roadmap for platform abstractions and contribute to the transition plan for key open-source components.

• 90 Days: Demonstrate early wins in system performance or cost-efficiency.

What is the team like?

• This role reports directly to the Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

• You will be joining a growing team of 50+ professionals across global locations.

• In this role, you will collaborate closely with Directors of Data Engineering, SRE Leads, and Product Managers as well as other departments including Engineering, Security, and Sales.

• This position is mentored by the CTO.

What is the hiring process?

• Recruiter Interview

• Technical/Architectural Deep Dive Interview

• Interview with Engineering Leadership

• Reference Checks

• Executive Review

• Offer

How can I stand out as an applicant?

• The "Nice-to-Haves": Experience in building developer tools, familiarity with Clickhouse, and a history of contributing/managing significant open-source data projects

• Stand-Out Tips:

• Be prepared to discuss and articulate trade-offs across database types, streaming platforms, query engines, and orchestration tools — including commercial vs. open-source considerations at scale.

• Highlight specific instances where you improved developer velocity by introducing platform abstractions.

• Demonstrate your ability to lead and unify engineering teams across different time zones and cultures.

Why should I work at Pattern?

Pattern offers big opportunities to make a difference in the ecommerce industry! We are a company full of talented people that evolves quickly and often. We set big goals, work tirelessly to achieve them, and we love our Pattern community. We also believe in having fun and balancing our lives, so we offer awesome benefits that include:

- Unlimited PTO

- Paid Holidays

- Onsite Fitness Center

- Company Paid Life Insurance

- Casual Dress Code

- Competitive Pay

- Health, Vision, and Dental Insurance

- 401(k) match. Pattern matches 100% of the first 3% in eligible compensation deferred and 50% of the next 2% in eligible compensation deferred. 

Pattern provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. 

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.