Data Science Manager

Nelnet Business Services (NBS), a division of Nelnet, Inc., provides payment technology and education services to more than 1,200 higher education institutions, nearly 12,000 K-12 schools, and millions of individual students, families, and supporters across the globe. Our culture of service enables us to form long-lasting and trusted partnerships, while our focus on creativity and innovative solutions empowers our customer communities to thrive. This position accomplishes departmental and organizational objectives through the people it leads. The Manager II, Data Domain Teams is the dedicated people-leadership layer across the active domain squads that comprise the Data Solutions operating model. This role exists to give Analytics Engineers and Data Engineers a consistent coach, career partner, and performance manager ; freeing the Manager II, Data Platform & Enablement to focus on architecture, standards, and technical operating model ownership. Technical breadth is required , enough to participate credibly in squad design conversations, ask sharp questions, and coach through skill transitions; this role is not graded on technical depth. Coaching, career development, and performance management are the primary functions. Managers must use Nelnet core values to guide decisions and behaviors to elevate the culture within their team and across the organization. Responsibilities and Duties People Management Coaches, motivates, and professionally develops direct reports and others across the active domain squads. Conducts regular 1:1s, career development planning, performance reviews, and compensation cycle management for all direct reports. Builds and strengthens teamwork and cooperation within and across squads. Creates a culture that makes room for failure and learning. Assesses and continuously improves squad health across the domain team portfolio. Removes organizational impediments, including hidden challenges, that limit squad effectiveness or individual growth. Coaching and Development Coaches Analytics Engineers through the Data Visualization to Analytics Engineer upskilling arc; owns the skill assessment loop during early Realignment phases. Develops and maintains individual career paths for direct reports across distinct role disciplines. Builds a team environment that supports skill growth, cross-training, and long-term career development aligned to the evolving data product model. Cross-functional Partnership Partners with the Director, Data Solutions, who holds direct oversight of the Domain Product Owners, to align squad capacity, skill development, and people health with domain product priorities and outcomes. Partners with the Manager, Data Platform & Enablement on squad design conversations, standards adoption, and data contract awareness within the squads. Partners with the Program Manager on capacity confirmation, prioritization, and cross-squad delivery dependencies. Partners with the Data Governance Lead on classification, PII handling, and retention training adoption within the squads. Builds strong relationships with IT, Product, and Operations leaders to seek feedback and support continuous improvement. Staffing and Organizational Health Owns staffing forecasting and leads the hiring process for domain squad roles in coordination with the Manager, Data Platform & Enablement. Contributes to department staffing plans and budget processes. Implements lean solutions to improve team efficiency while maintaining effectiveness. Identifies opportunities to establish and improve team processes, including the adoption of AI-assisted workflows and productivity tooling, to increase squad efficiency, reduce manual overhead, and free capacity for higher-value work. Translates technical team dynamics and squad health into business-relevant language for leadership. Qualifications Required Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience. Experience in a technical team area: data, analytics, software engineering, or similar, with a demonstrated ability of successful team leadership. Experience in a management role with direct people leadership responsibility. Proven ability to lead teams in effectively coping with change. Coaching and career-development posture across multiple disciplines. Technical breadth sufficient to participate credibly in squad design conversations; depth is not required. Cross-functional partnership comfort: ability to work day-to-day alongside peers in architecture, program management, and governance without role friction. Excellent judgment and considered a trustworthy person. Proven ability to manage complex problems by looking beyond the obvious to get to root cause. Preferred Experience in a data, analytics, or platform organization. Experience working in or alongside a domain-squad, product-team, or agile operating model. Technical individual contribution earlier in career; provides credibility with engineers. Other Expectations This manager must instill a sense of purpose by connecting squad members to outcomes beyond individual task completion. The best candidates are realistic but can also inspire and motivate others to perform at their best and advance their skills. A strong bias toward action and delivery of outcomes is required. Because this role coaches practitioners who are in active skill transitions, Analytics Engineers expanding from visualization toward data modeling, the ideal candidate brings patience, clarity of expectation, and an ability to track individual growth over time across a diverse group of direct reports. Our benefits package includes medical, dental, vision, HSA and FSA, generous earned time off, 401K/student loan repayment, life insurance & AD&D insurance, employee assistance program, employee stock purchase program, tuition reimbursement, performance-based incentive pay, short- and long-term disability, and a robust wellness program. Click here to learn more about our benefits: Benefits & Perks - Nelnet Inc ( Nelnet is committed to providing a welcoming and respectful workplace where all associates have the opportunity to succeed. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we ensure that all qualified applicants are considered for employment. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion/creed, national origin, gender, sex, marital status, age, disability, use of a guide dog or service animal, sexual orientation, military/veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law. We value the unique contributions of every team member and believe that a positive work environment benefits everyone. Qualified individuals with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations in order to apply or compete for positions at Nelnet may request such accommodations by contacting Corporate Recruiting at View phone number on click.appcast.io or View email address on click.appcast.io . Nelnet is a Drug Free and Tobacco Free Workplace. Use of Artificial Intelligence in Hiring We may use automated or artificial intelligence enabled tools to assist with the initial review of applications, such as identifying relevant skills or experience. These tools are used to support human review and do not make hiring decisions. A recruiter reviews applications and determines which candidates move forward in the hiring process. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Pre-Use Notice: Automated Tools in Hiring You may know Nelnet as the nation’s largest student loan servicer – but we do more than that. A lot more. We’re also a professional services company, consumer loan originator and servicer, payment processor, renewable energy innovator, and K-12 and higher education expert (and that’s just a shortlist). For over 40 years, we’ve been serving our customers, associates, and communities to make dreams possible. EEO Info ( | EEO Letter ( | EPPA Info ( | FMLA Info ( #J-18808-Ljbffr