Director, Data Platform and Products

About the role

The Director, Data Platform and Products owns the enterprise data platform and product portfolio at RWE Americas. This role is responsible for designing, building, and operating scalable, secure, and governed data platforms and products—including self‑service capabilities and AI‑enabling data assets—that serve as the reliable backbone for analytics, reporting, and AI initiatives across the organization and deliver measurable value to business stakeholders. The Director ensures high‑quality, accessible, and trusted data assets while owning the economics of the data function (cost of delivery and the business value created) and driving adoption, governance, cost efficiency, and seamless support to business stakeholders and the AI Vertical.

Responsibilities

• Own the data platform and product strategy and multi‑year roadmap, including lakes, warehouses, pipelines, integration layers, and self‑service analytics and data products.
• Lead the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of enterprise data products and the platforms that power them, ensuring scalability, reliability, performance, and security.
• Establish and enforce enterprise data governance frameworks, including data quality standards, metadata management, stewardship, access controls, and regulatory compliance.
• Build and lead a high‑performing team of product managers, data engineers, data architects, governance specialists, and platform operations professionals.
• Collaborate closely with the Head of AI to define handoffs, SLAs, and data products that enable efficient model development and AI use cases.
• Collaborate closely with the Head of Product to determine data product and infrastructure requirements for internal software deployments.
• Own the economics of the data function: drive FinOps practices, manage and optimize cost, and measure, attribute, and report business value delivered by data products.
• Define and monitor product KPIs (adoption, data quality, business impact) and report cost and value outcomes to senior leadership.
• Partner with business stakeholders, IT/OT, and operations teams through continuous discovery to identify data needs, prioritize the roadmap, and promote data literacy and adoption.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, data engineering, statistics, or a related quantitative field (required); Master’s or advanced degree (preferred).
• Minimum 11 years of experience in data product management, data platforms, analytics, or related roles.
• At least 3 years in a leadership position.
• Proven track record of building and scaling data products and supporting platforms in complex environments.
• Experience owning a budget or cost base and demonstrating measurable business value or ROI from data investments.
• Strong working knowledge of modern data architectures (lakes, warehouses, pipelines, ETL/ELT), cloud platforms, and data management tools.
• Deep knowledge of data governance, quality frameworks, metadata, and compliance practices.
• Expertise in enterprise‑scale AI development and ability to set engineering standards within a platform architecture.
• Production experience with major cloud platforms, CI/CD for Data and AI services, and current LLM orchestration and agent frameworks.
• Excellent leadership and team development skills; ability to attract and retain top data and product talent.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills, especially when partnering with AI/ML teams and business stakeholders.
• Product mindset with proven ability to translate business needs into data products that deliver measurable value.
• Financial acumen across cost management (FinOps) and value attribution, with experience in stakeholder discovery, roadmap prioritization, and adoption metrics.
• Product management training or certification (a plus).
• Experience in the energy sector or with time‑series/sensor/IoT data (strongly preferred).

Work environment

• Office‑based role with occasional travel to other RWE Americas locations and field sites.
• Must be able to sit, walk, or stand for extended periods.
• Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States; RWE Americas does not sponsor employment visas.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance
• Short‑Term Disability, Long‑Term Disability
• 401(k) match
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Education Assistance
• Parental Leave
• Paid time off and holidays
• Eligibility for short‑term incentives in addition to salary