Associate Director - Data Engineering

The Associate Director, Enterprise Data Platforms will help transform Amgen’s Data, BI & Governance platforms through Cloud Optimization, Automation, SRE & Production Assurance.  The Associate Director is responsible for leading the development, implementation and management of optimization, automation and assurance services in support of enterprise-level data platforms that enable the organization's data-driven initiatives. This role will closely collaborate with counterparts in US, and oversee the architecture, design, delivery and maintenance of cloud data platforms and pipelines critical to Amgen’s data and AI ambitions. The Associate Director will work with cross-functional teams, including data architecture, engineering & governance teams, platform owners, cloud teams and business stakeholders, to ensure sustainable operations, excellent test quality and optimized cloud spend. A key aspect of this role involves extensive experience with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Databricks, a unified data analytics platform, to optimize big data processing, data integration, and machine learning workflows. 

You will be the Enterprise Engineering & Analytics' India Discipline leader for SRE’s, Automation Engineers and Cloud Engineers with roughly half of your role as management and mentorship and the other half execution as a product manager in a product team. 

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Platform Leadership: Lead the design, implementation, and lifecycle management of enterprise data platforms including: 

• AWS Cloud Platform: Provisioning, operations, cost optimization, and observability 

• Databricks: Cluster management, job orchestration, security governance, and platform upgrades 

• Data Visualization Platforms: Oversight of Tableau, Power BI, and other relevant tools 

• Data Quality & Governance: Implement and manage tools like Collibra, Informatica DQ, or equivalent 

• Databases: : Implement and manage Relational, No-SQL & Graph Databases.  

• Site Reliability Engineering (SRE): Ensure resilience, availability, observability, and automated recovery mechanisms for data platforms. Drive DevOps and IaC (Infrastructure as Code) practices. 

• Cloud FinOps: Manage cloud spend and optimize cost-performance trade-offs for AWS and Databricks. Establish governance policies and dashboards for consumption tracking. 

• Operations & Support: Establish and oversee L2/L3 support for platform incidents, SLAs, and maintenance. Ensure platform health, upgrades, patching, and vulnerability remediation. 

• Innovation & Roadmap Execution: Stay current with cloud-native innovations and establish strategic roadmaps for platform evolution. Lead PoCs and pilot initiatives aligned with business priorities. 

• Collaboration: Partner with enterprise architects, product owners, engineering teams, and business stakeholders to drive data platform adoption and ensure alignment with enterprise standards. 

• Team Leadership: Manage a team of platform engineers and vendors across global time zones. Foster a high-performance, inclusive, and collaborative team culture.  

Must-Have Skills: 

• Experience in Designing, Implementing & Managing enterprise scale cloud Data, BI platforms, automation engineering, SRE teams for data platforms or applications. 

• Experience with AWS/Azure, Databricks, PowerBI, Tableau, Informatica platforms 

• Strong understanding of Cloud Infrastructure, Data and AI platforms, Data Warehouse, and data pipeline concepts and practices. 

• Strong understanding of cloud infrastructure and data pipeline performance and cost factors, and experience in optimizing costs. 

• Experience leading a team of 25+ people. 

Basic Qualifications and Experience  

• Master’s degree in business, Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field and 14+ years of relevant work experience 

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field and 16+ years of relevant work experience 

• AWS Cloud Solution Architecture & Administration certifications 

• Databricks certifications 

Soft Skills: 

• A strong interest and demonstrated excellence in mentoring, helping early career professionals grow their careers. 

• Excellent analytical and troubleshooting skills. 

• Strong verbal and written communication skills 

• Ability to work effectively with global, virtual teams 

• High degree of initiative and self-motivation. 

• Ability to manage multiple priorities successfully.  

• Team-oriented, with a focus on achieving team goals 

• Strong presentation and public speaking skills.