Sr. Global Data Platform Lead

SMBC Group is a top-tier global financial group headquartered in Tokyo with a 400-year history, offering a diverse range of financial services including banking, leasing, securities, credit cards, and consumer finance. The Group operates over 130 offices and employs 80,000 people worldwide across nearly 40 countries. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG) serves as the holding company and is one of Japan’s three largest banking groups, with shares traded on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and New York (NYSE: SMFG) stock exchanges. In the Americas, SMBC Group provides commercial and investment banking services to corporate, institutional, and municipal clients, leveraging its global network and capital strength.

About the role

SMBC is leading a Digital Transformation across its Americas Division to modernize technology, enhance data-driven approaches, and support future growth. As the VP of Sr. Global Data Platform Lead within AD Technology and the Chief Data & Analytics Office, you will drive the development and delivery of innovative data solutions to advance the firm’s Data Governance and regulatory success. This strategic role involves overseeing large-scale projects, mentoring technical teams, and collaborating with product, technology, and data partners to enhance Collibra cloud data platforms and engineering practices. Administrative responsibilities include attendance tracking, timesheets, resource planning, and performance reviews.

Responsibilities

• Architect and implement Azure PaaS and SaaS solutions for Collibra Data Quality and Data Intelligence Platform (DIP).
• Design and manage global networking frameworks such as SD-WAN and MPLS to connect banking entities.
• Provide hands-on expertise in Kubernetes, OpenShift, Docker, and Helm charts for container orchestration and deployment.
• Ensure scalability, security, and compliance in all cloud deployments.
• Perform platform design, setup, configuration, workspace administration, resource monitoring, and engineering support for stakeholders.
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines using Git Actions, Bitbucket, and Sonatype Nexus for artifact management.
• Automate platform provisioning, deployment, and monitoring processes to improve efficiency and reliability.
• Implement Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) practices for consistent and repeatable environments.
• Establish observability and monitoring frameworks for platform health and performance.
• Drive incident management, root cause analysis, and implement self-healing mechanisms for critical systems.
• Ensure high availability and disaster recovery strategies for global data platforms.
• Lead and mentor global engineering teams, fostering technical excellence and collaboration.
• Partner with stakeholders across Americas, EMEA, APAC, and Tokyo to align platform strategies with business objectives.
• Drive capability building and knowledge sharing across regions.
• Contribute at the code level using Python, Java, and JavaScript for automation and platform enhancements.
• Oversee project delivery cadence, ensuring milestones are met within scope, budget, and timelines.
• Champion Agile methodologies, manage JIRA boards, and formalize processes for iterative development.
• Define and execute QA/UAT strategies, collaborating with partner teams for robust validation.
• Ensure adherence to regulatory reporting, GDPR, and global compliance standards.
• Embed data privacy and security controls into platform designs.
• Drive innovation through Agentic AI solutions for Data Governance and Data Quality, enabling autonomous monitoring, policy enforcement, and self-healing data pipelines.
• Lead evaluation sessions with external vendors and internal teams.
• Manage vendor relationships to ensure alignment with strategic goals, compliance standards, and performance expectations.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in Financial Services.
• 10-15 years of experience in data governance, data management, or technology roles.
• 5+ years of experience leading technologists to manage and solve complex technical challenges.
• Understanding of global and regional regulatory frameworks (BCBS 239, GDPR, etc.).
• Experience with Collibra Data Intelligence Platform and Collibra Data Quality.
• Experience in banking or the financial industry, preferably in regulatory reporting or credit analysis.
• Hands-on experience with Collibra Data Quality, Collibra Data Intelligence platform installation, management, architecture, and development.
• Hands-on experience with Azure, Kubernetes, ArgoCD, and OpenShift.
• Hands-on experience with Python and/or Java application development, including automated unit testing.
• Practical experience delivering system design, application development, testing, and operational stability using Python.
• Hands-on experience with GitHub/Bitbucket for code versioning, Jenkins for builds, and PyPI/Maven for artifact integrations.

Preferred Qualifications

• BA/BS (or equivalent experience) in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, or related disciplines.
• Certifications:
  • Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
  • Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
  • Collibra Certified Expert
• Experience with AI/ML frameworks and Agentic AI applications for data governance and quality.
• Familiarity with Data Privacy and Security frameworks beyond GDPR and BCBS239.
• Strong background in Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) principles and automation tooling.
• Advanced knowledge of Infrastructure-as-Code tools (Terraform, Ansible).

Schedule

SMBC’s employees participate in a hybrid workforce model, requiring employees to live within a reasonable commuting distance of their office location. Hybrid work schedules will be discussed during the interview process. Certain roles, including FINRA-registered positions, may require full-time in-office attendance.