Director- Data Engineering, Governance & DS

Description and Requirements
Director, Data & Analytics Delivery (Modeling, Data Science & Governance)
Location: Cary, NC; New York, NY; Tampa, FL
Reports to: VP - Data & Analytics (Corporate Functions)
Team: Leads a multi‑disciplinary team of ~10-15 comprising of data modelers, data scientists, data stewards, and analytics engineers.
This Director role leads the execution and delivery of enterprise‑grade data and analytics and data governance initiatives that enable trusted, high‑quality data, advanced analytics, and AI across Corporate Functions. The leader will collaborate with stakeholders from Finance, Actuarial, Reinsurance and Risk to drive measurable business outcomes through modeling and data science and institutionalize governance so that scalable data solutions are delivered.
What You'll Do
1) Portfolio Leadership & Delivery

• Define and execute a delivery roadmap that aligns programs and projects with Corporate Functions objectives; create canonical models that align to Enterprise standards and enable functional stakeholders to institute adequate governance processes.
• Lead implementation of cloud‑native architectures (e.g., data mesh / lakehouse) and cost-effective data acquisition pipelines across structured and unstructured sources.
• Proactively manage team capacity and resource allocation, ensuring delivery commitments are met while fostering professional growth and maintaining a balanced workload.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for stakeholders, facilitating clear and timely communication to align expectations, gather requirements, and translate business needs into actionable data initiatives.
• Work with team and ART lead through requirements gathering process, collaborating with business and technology partners to define project scope, success criteria, and solution design.
• Assess and manage the budget, ensuring cost-effective operations and optimal use of resources to maximize value delivery.

2) Data Modeling Excellence

• Establish standards and guardrails for conceptual, logical, and physical modeling; champion domain‑driven design and evidence‑based modeling practices.
• Oversee modeling for analytics, APIs, and integration (e.g., dimensional 3NF/star/snowflake; schema design and optimization in SQL/NoSQL).
• Govern model lifecycle (versioning, lineage, usage) to ensure consumable, reusable data assets across CF domains.

3) Data Science Outcomes

• Partner with business leaders to frame problems, translate models into insights, and deliver measurable outcomes (e.g., cost, risk, efficiency).
• Build reusable feature stores and MLOps pipelines that operationalize analytics and support AI/LLM experimentation responsibly.

4) Data Governance by Design

• Establish and enforce policies, metadata management, lineage, and quality in partnership with the Data Governance Council and business stewards.
• Align delivery with privacy, security, and compliance standards; embed controls into pipelines and consumption layers.

5) People Leadership & Culture

• Hire, mentor, and develop a high‑performing team; promote a culture of innovation, agility, and continuous improvement.

What You'll Bring
Core Qualifications

• Strategic vision aligning platform‑based architecture and modernization with AI enablement.
• Technical depth in Azure cloud‑native data platforms; lakehouse/data mesh; ingestion at scale (CDC, streaming, batch);
• Hands-on Data Governance program execution and Data Models development
• Proven leadership & influence across cross‑functional teams and senior stakeholders.
• Strong governance, privacy, and security acumen; quality frameworks and lineage.

Required Skills:
Experience & Education

• 10+ years across data engineering/data modeling and governance; 3-5+ years leading cloud‑native modernization programs.
• 5+ years of experience with hiring, mentorship, and developing a high‑performing team; promote a culture of innovation, agility, and continuous improvement.
• Bachelor's or master's in computer science, Information Technology, or related field.

Tools & Technologies (examples)

• Azure experience including most of the following tool & technologies: Data Factory, Synapse, Databricks, Delta Lake, Spark-Scala/Python, Erwin, Visio, SQL, Cosmos DB, Power BI; Governance solutions (ex: Collibra, Atacama).

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in insurance or financial services; familiarity with GenAI/LLMs and their integration into data platforms.

Location Expectation: This is a hybrid role requiring a minimum of 3 days per week in office.
The expected salary range for this position is $130,000 - $208,950. This role may also be eligible for annual short-term incentive compensation. All incentives and benefits are subject to the applicable plan terms.
Benefits We Offer
Our U.S. benefits address holistic well-being with programs for physical and mental health, financial wellness, and support for families. We offer a comprehensive health plan that includes medical/prescription drug and vision, dental insurance, and no-cost short- and long-term disability. We also provide company-paid life insurance and legal services, a retirement pension funded entirely by MetLife and 401(k) with employer matching, group discounts on voluntary insurance products including auto and home, pet, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and accident insurance, as well as Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and digital mental health programs, parental leave, volunteer time off, tuition assistance and much more!
About MetLife
Recognized on Fortune magazine's list of the "World's Most Admired Companies", Fortune World's 25 Best Workplaces™, as well as the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®, MetLife, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the world's leading financial services companies; providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to individual and institutional customers. With operations in more than 40 markets, we hold leading positions in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Our purpose is simple - to help our colleagues, customers, communities, and the world at large create a more confident future. United by purpose and guided by our core values - Win Together, Do the Right Thing, Deliver Impact Over Activity, and Think Ahead - we're inspired to transform the next century in financial services. At MetLife, it's #AllTogetherPossible . Join us!
MetLife is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All employment decisions are made without regards to race, color, national origin, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information, citizenship status (although applicants and employees must be legally authorized to work in the United States), uniformed service member or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law ("protected characteristics").
If you need an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at [email protected]. This information will be held in confidence and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the application process.
MetLife maintains a drug-free workplace.
$130,000 - $208,950
#BI-Hybrid