Summary and Qualifications:

As part of the Mars Petcare family of businesses, Mars Veterinary Health is a global network of veterinary practices made possible by 75,000 Associates who care for millions of pets across nearly 3,000 clinics in more than 20 countries each year. We are committed to leveraging our reach to make a long-term positive impact on people, pets, and the planet and know our Purpose – A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS – starts with the people who care for them. We strive to offer unparalleled veterinary care for pets by first and foremost enabling and empowering our Associates to do what they love, whether in primary, specialty, and emergency care or management and leadership.

Role Purpose

As a Director, Data Platform Engineering, you will be responsible for leading the design, implementation, and management of our data platform infrastructure and technologies. You will play a critical role in ensuring the reliability, scalability, and performance of our data platforms to support diverse data-driven initiatives and business objectives. You will play a pivotal role in overseeing the day-to-day operations of our data infrastructure, systems, and processes.

Essential Responsibilities and Tasks:

• Live and exemplify the Five Principles of Mars, Inc. within self and team.
• Platform Design and Architecture: Lead the design and architecture of our data platform infrastructure, collaborating with cross-functional teams to define requirements, select technologies, and develop scalable and resilient architectures.
• Platform Implementation: Oversee the implementation and deployment of data platform solutions, including data storage, data processing, and integration components, ensuring adherence to best practices, standards, and security protocols.
• Platform Monitoring and Optimization: Establish monitoring and alerting mechanisms to proactively monitor the health, performance, and availability of data platforms, identifying and addressing issues and optimizing resource utilization.
• Data Operations Monitoring: Establish monitoring and alerting mechanisms to proactively monitor the health and performance of data operations, identifying and addressing issues and optimizing resource utilization.
• Platform Access Management: Manage data platform access including cloud storage, databases, data warehouses, data lakes and other cloud services.
• Platform Storage and Management: Manage data storage solutions, including databases, data warehouses, data lakes, and cloud storage services, optimizing performance, reliability, and cost-effectiveness.
• Documentation: Maintain comprehensive documentation of data platform, access management processes, platform monitoring, platform usage, and post-implementation reviews for stakeholders and management.
• Platform Security and Compliance: Ensure the security and compliance of data platforms with industry regulations and best practices, implementing access controls, encryption, and data governance policies to protect sensitive data assets.
• Data Integration: Lead efforts to integrate data from disparate sources, systems, and applications into a unified data ecosystem, collaborating with IT, engineering, and business teams to design and implement effective data integration solutions.
• Data Processing and Analytics: Implement data processing and analytics capabilities, including batch processing, real-time streaming, and data analytics frameworks, to enable advanced data analysis and insights generation.
• Vendor Management: Manage relationships with data platform vendors and service providers, evaluating vendor offerings and ensuring the delivery of high-quality services and support.
• Team Leadership: Lead and mentor a team of data platform engineers and administrators, providing guidance, coaching, and support to foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning.
• Stakeholder Communication: Communicate regularly with stakeholders, including IT, business, and executive leadership, to provide updates on data platform initiatives, solicit feedback, and align platform strategies with business goals and priorities.
• Other job duties as assigned.

Special Working Conditions:

• Ability to work at a computer for long periods of time. 
• Project timelines and work volume/deadlines may often require more than 40 hours per week to complete essential duties of this job.
• Must have mental processes for reasoning, remembering, mathematics and language ability (reading, writing, and speaking the English language) to perform the duties proficiently.
• Ability to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form and to solve problems involving several variables.
• Ability to stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, and climb as well as manipulate (lift, carry, move) up to 50 pounds.
• Requires good hand-eye coordination, arm-hand-finger dexterity with the ability to grasp, and visual acuity to use a keyboard and operate necessary equipment.
• The noise level in the work environment is normally moderate.
• Environment where pets are present.

Experience, Education and/or Training:

• Bachelor's degree or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field is required.
• Certification in relevant data management or cloud computing technologies (e.g., Azure Certified Solutions Architect, AWS Certified Solutions Architect) is preferred.
• Proven experience (10 years) in designing, implementing, and managing data platforms and infrastructure, with a focus on scalability, reliability, and performance.
• Strong understanding of data platform architectures, technologies, and components, including databases, data warehouses, data lakes, lake house, ETL/ELT processes, streaming data platforms, and cloud services.
• Proficiency in data management and analytics tools and technologies, such as SQL, NoSQL databases, Hadoop, Spark, Databricks, Kafka, and cloud-based data platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud).
• Experience with data platform automation, orchestration, and containerization tools (e.g., Ansible, Kubernetes, Docker) for managing and deploying platform infrastructure and services.
• Solid understanding of data security principles, practices, and compliance requirements, including GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, and PCI-DSS, and experience implementing security controls and measures.
• Excellent leadership and management skills, with the ability to lead and motivate a team, set clear goals and expectations, and drive performance and results.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to analyze complex data platform challenges, identify solutions, and implement effective strategies to achieve desired outcomes.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders, build consensus, and influence decision-making.
• Experience working in regulated industries such as healthcare, finance, or government, with knowledge of compliance requirements and standards related to data management and privacy (e.g., HIPAA, GDPR) is preferred.

Salary: $139,128 – $208,692

What We Offer – The Good Stuff:

• Competitive salary with paid time off & holidays so you can spend time with the people you love.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your loved ones.
• Fertility and family-building assistance.
• Paid Parental leave.
• Practice Paid Basic Life Insurance.
• Practice Paid Short- and Long-Term Disability.
• Competitive referral program – join our team, bring your friends, and get paid.
• Automatic enrollment 401(k) Savings Plan after 60 days of employment with generous company match.
• Commuter Benefits.
• Legal Plan.
• Health Savings Account & Flexible Spending Account.
• Mental health support and resources.
• Paid Volunteering.
• Optimum Wellness Plans® for up to three pets.
• Continuing Education allowance & MED hours for eligible positions.
• Student Debt Relief (for full-time DVMs).
• A Variety of discounts including Mars, PetSmart, Royal Canin, fitness, cellular and so much more.

WE ARE A DRUG-FREE, SMOKE-FREE, EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

Mars Veterinary Health (MVH)® strongly supports and values the uniqueness of all individuals and promotes a work environment where diversity is embraced. MVH is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, genetic information, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with disability. MVH complies with all applicable federal, state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every MVH location.