Data Engineering Manager

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Job Summary

Western Governors University is hiring a Data Engineering Manager to join our team onsite in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Manager of Data Engineering is an experienced and results-driven leader who thrives on delivering projects with precision and accountability. This role requires someone who excels at creating and maintaining organized project plans, establishing tracking tools, and driving visibility into key milestones, due dates, and overall progress. As a great manager first, with a solid technical background, this person will inspire confidence among senior engineers while fostering a collaborative, high-performance team culture. They will leverage Agile methodologies and tools such as burndown and burnup charts to ensure timely delivery and drive continuous improvement.

The ideal candidate is an organized and forward-thinking product manager, passionate about tracking and optimizing delivery pipelines, driving visibility into timelines, and ensuring successful outcomes. They value strong relationships with cross-functional partners, create clear roadmaps, and ensure that the team consistently meets and exceeds expectations.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Leadership & Team Development:

• Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of data engineers, fostering an environment of collaboration, innovation, and excellence.

• Ensure the team has clearly defined goals, ongoing development opportunities, and resources to succeed.

Project Planning & Delivery Management:

• Develop and manage project tracking systems for timelines, milestones, and outcomes, utilizing burndown and burnup charts for visibility.

• Ensure accountability with clear documentation of due dates and deliverables.

• Execute a prioritized roadmap to deliver projects on time, within scope, and with high quality, while promoting Agile practices to optimize workflows and enhance team efficiency.

Stakeholder Collaboration:

• Build and maintain strong relationships with cross-functional teams, aligning priorities and managing expectations effectively.

• Serve as a trusted advisor and communicator to executives, translating technical progress into actionable insights.

Technical Oversight:

• While not hands-on daily, maintain a solid technical foundation to guide the team, review work, and ensure best practices are followed.

• Collaborate with senior engineers to address technical challenges and ensure architectural decisions align with organizational goals.

Data Governance and Optimization:

• Oversee data quality, security, and scalability across platforms.

• Identify gaps and drive the implementation of efficient, innovative solutions for data architecture and processes.

Operational Excellence:

• Establish and enforce best practices, including code quality standards, peer reviews, and automation.

• Focus on achieving operational excellence with high reliability and performance.

Competencies

• Organizational Impact: Implements tracking tools and delivery metrics that improve team performance and project outcomes, contributing measurably to the department’s goals through enhanced operational visibility and process improvements.

• Problem Solving & Decision Making: Uses a combination of data insights, technical expertise, and strategic thinking to make informed decisions and solve ambiguous challenges.

• Communication & Influence: Regularly communicates progress, risks, and solutions to stakeholders, ensuring alignment and driving collective success.

• Leadership & Talent Management: Empowers team members with clear goals, resources, and guidance, fostering a culture of continuous learning and high performance.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Proven ability to lead and manage high-performing teams, earning respect through technical credibility and exceptional people skills.

• Strong organizational skills with expertise in project tracking tools and Agile methodologies, including SCRUM, TDD, and backlog management.

• Passion for driving results through well-defined processes and accountability while leveraging data tools like burndown and burnup charts to monitor progress, manage risks, and measure success.

• Solid technical foundation in data pipelines, cloud platforms (AWS), relational databases (SQL), programming (Python), and tools (Databricks).; familiarity with tools like Databricks and data management frameworks.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science preferred.

• 7+ years of professional experience, including 5+ years in data engineering, and 3+ years in management.

• Strong background in Agile methodologies, with demonstrated success in project delivery using SCRUM or similar frameworks.

• Experience creating and maintaining project tracking tools and metrics (burndown and burnup charts).

• Solid understanding of data pipelines, architectures, and cloud platforms (AWS preferred).

• Strong communication, organization, and stakeholder management skills.

• Comfortable balancing technical oversight with high-level managerial responsibilities.

To explore more about our company and what makes working here special, visit our website at https://www.wgu.edu/about.html. To view current career opportunities and apply, please visit https://www.wgu.edu/about/careers.html.

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The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
 

How to apply: apply online

Full-time Regular Positions (FT classification, standard working hours = 40)

This is a full-time, regular position that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

The University is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.