Director Software Engineering Data Platforms

Our firm has been engaged by a growing, data-centric healthcare technology and services organization that supports customers through innovative healthcare cost management, member experience, and claims-related solutions. The company operates in a complex, highly regulated environment where technology, data, integration, and operational execution are critical to the business.

The organization is continuing to modernize its technology environment and is looking to add a Director of Software Engineering & Data Platforms to lead engineering efforts across custom software, backend systems, data integration, and Microsoft-based data platform initiatives. This is a leadership role for someone who understands how to build practical, scalable software and data solutions, while also leading teams, shaping priorities, and partnering closely with business stakeholders.

This is not a pure architect role, and it is not a heads-down coding role. The right person will be a hands-on engineering leader who can understand technical tradeoffs, guide delivery, ask the right questions, and help the organization move from ambiguity to execution. The role requires someone who can lead a team, think in systems, and help build modern software and data capabilities that support business-critical operations.

This is a full-time, direct-hire position that can be based remotely in the United States and must be able to work Eastern Time Zone hours.

The Role You’ll Play

The Director of Software Engineering & Data Platforms will lead an engineering function responsible for building, integrating, and improving enterprise software and data solutions. This person will be expected to bring structure, technical judgment, and leadership to a team working across backend systems, data platforms, integrations, and business-facing applications.

The ideal candidate will be comfortable working in a Microsoft-oriented technology environment and should understand modern data platform concepts, including data pipelines, cloud data platforms, enterprise reporting needs, and system integration. Experience with tools such as Azure Data Factory, OneLake, Microsoft Fabric, Azure, SQL, APIs, and modern backend engineering practices would be highly relevant.

This role will work closely with technology leadership, product and project stakeholders, business operations, analysts, and other internal teams to translate business needs into clear technical direction. The Director will need to lead through complexity, help prioritize work, and ensure the team is building maintainable, scalable, secure, and useful solutions.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead and manage a software and data engineering team responsible for backend systems, data platforms, integrations, and enterprise application development.

• Provide technical and organizational leadership across software engineering, data engineering, cloud data platform work, and system integration initiatives.

• Help define technical direction, delivery priorities, engineering standards, and team operating rhythms.

• Partner with business and technology stakeholders to understand business needs, clarify requirements, and translate those needs into practical technical solutions.

• Lead initiatives involving backend services, data movement, data transformation, APIs, reporting enablement, and enterprise data architecture.

• Support Microsoft-centric data platform initiatives, potentially including Azure Data Factory, OneLake, Microsoft Fabric, Azure services, SQL-based platforms, and related tools.

• Guide the design and delivery of scalable, secure, and maintainable systems that support healthcare operations, claims-related workflows, member experience, and internal business processes.

• Manage the full software development lifecycle, including discovery, requirements, design, development, testing, deployment, support, and ongoing improvement.

• Create clarity around ambiguous business problems and help the team break complex initiatives into actionable work.

• Collaborate with business systems analysts, project managers, QA resources, infrastructure, security, data, and operations teams.

• Coach, mentor, and develop engineers while setting clear expectations around quality, delivery, accountability, and communication.

• Evaluate existing systems and processes, identify improvement opportunities, and help modernize the technology environment over time.

• Communicate effectively with senior technology and business leaders, including project status, risks, tradeoffs, dependencies, and recommendations.

• Help establish practical engineering standards, documentation practices, delivery processes, and quality controls.

• Promote a culture of ownership, collaboration, technical curiosity, and steady execution.

Background Profile:

The successful candidate will be a seasoned engineering leader with a background in managing technical teams through the delivery of complex backend systems, data platforms, and enterprise-grade applications. This role is designed for a leader who possesses the technical judgment to understand how modern systems are architected and how data flows across an organization, without needing to be the deepest hands-on specialist in every domain.

You should bring a proven track record of leading development initiatives within Microsoft-centric environments, including exposure to cloud infrastructure, data integration, backend services, SQL, and APIs. While experience in healthcare, insurance, or other highly regulated industries is preferred, the primary requirement is the ability to provide structured leadership to engineers tackling multifaceted software and data challenges.

The ideal background includes:

• At least 10 years of progressive experience in software engineering, data engineering, or enterprise application development, with a clear trajectory toward technology leadership.

• 5+ years of experience directly managing software engineering, data engineering, or technical delivery teams.

• A comprehensive understanding of backend engineering, system integration, APIs, and modern data architecture.

• Experience leading teams through the modernization, integration, or support of business-critical software ecosystems.

• Functional knowledge of Microsoft cloud and data stacks, including Azure, Azure Data Factory, Microsoft Fabric, OneLake, SQL Server, or Synapse.

• Familiarity with data pipeline orchestration, transformation, modeling concepts, and reporting enablement.

• The ability to guide and mentor engineers without the requirement of writing production code on a daily basis.

• Deep experience with the full SDLC, from discovery and design through deployment and ongoing production support.

• Ability to partner effectively with non-technical business stakeholders and translate their requirements into actionable technical roadmaps.

• Strong communication skills with an aptitude for explaining complex technical tradeoffs in clear, business-centric terms.

• Proven ability to navigate ambiguity, prioritize competing demands, and maintain delivery momentum in fast-paced environments.

• Success in building team structures, improving engineering standards, and fostering a culture of accountability.

• Strong systems-thinking instincts with the ability to connect technology decisions to operational and business outcomes.

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience in healthcare technology, claims management, self-funded benefits, or insurance (TPA/Payer/Provider).

• Familiarity with HIPAA-regulated environments or other highly compliant technology sectors.

• Direct experience with Microsoft Fabric, OneLake, or Azure-based data platform modernization initiatives.

• Track record of leading teams through transitions from legacy architecture toward scalable, cloud-native, and API-driven systems.

• Experience managing distributed or remote engineering teams across multiple time zones.

• Experienced in managing both software engineering and data engineering resources.