Dir Data Engineering

Why UKG:

At UKG, the work you do matters. The code you ship, the decisions you make, and the care you show a customer all add up to real impact. Today, tens of millions of workers start and end their days with our workforce operating platform. Helping people get paid, grow in their careers, and shape the future of their industries. That's what we do.

We never stop learning. We never stop challenging the norm. We push for better, and we celebrate the wins along the way. Here, you'll get flexibility that's real, benefits you can count on, and a team that succeeds together. Because at UKG, your work matters-and so do you.

The Director, Data Engineering will lead a core data engineering function within EDAO, responsible for building and scaling modern, cloud-native data pipelines and data products that power UKG's enterprise analytics, Customer 360, CX Intelligence, GTM, and Finance insights.

This leader will drive execution of the enterprise data platform strategy on GCP (BigQuery), ensure delivery excellence across ingestion, transformation, and modeling layers, and build a high-performing engineering team aligned to Simplify, Standardize, and Scale principles.

This role balances hands-on architectural oversight, strong people leadership, and cross-functional partnership to deliver reliable, governed, and business-aligned data solutions.

____

Key Responsibilities

Data Engineering Execution & Platform Delivery

Lead the design, build, and optimization of scalable data pipelines on GCP (BigQuery ecosystem).

Ensure reliability, performance, and cost efficiency of enterprise data workloads.

Implement best practices for:

Data modeling and transformation

CI/CD for data pipelines

Observability and monitoring

Data quality validation and controls

Support consolidation of legacy data platforms into unified cloud architectures.

____

Data Products & Domain Alignment

Partner with business stakeholders (CX, GTM, Finance, Product) to translate requirements into robust, reusable data products.

Enable trusted, standardized metrics across enterprise reporting and Customer 360 initiatives.

Support executive-facing analytics platforms and curated insight experiences.

Drive clarity around ownership of domain-specific data products.

____

Governance, Security & Standards

Operationalize data governance practices in collaboration with architecture and security teams.

Ensure proper handling of sensitive data (PII, financial data) with role-based access and compliance controls.

Promote metric consistency and semantic standardization across teams.

____

People Leadership & Talent Development

Lead and develop a team of data engineers and technical leads.

Coach managers and senior engineers to elevate technical rigor and delivery discipline.

Foster a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement.

Partner with recruiting to attract top-tier cloud data engineering talent.

____

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Work closely with Enterprise Architecture to align implementation with approved patterns.

Partner with Analytics Engineering, BI, and Data Science teams to ensure seamless downstream consumption.

Act as a trusted technical leader within EDAO for data engineering best practices.

____

Required Qualifications

10+ years of experience in data engineering, data platform development, or analytics engineering. 3-5+ years leading teams and engineering managers.

Strong hands-on experience with:

GCP (BigQuery preferred)

Distributed data processing and orchestration

Enterprise-scale data modeling

Performance optimization and cost management

Experience modernizing or consolidating legacy data environments.

Strong communication skills and ability to work across technical and business stakeholders.

____

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with data mesh or domain-driven data product models.

Exposure to ERP/CRM data ecosystems (D365, Salesforce, etc.).

Experience enabling Customer 360 or enterprise-wide metric standardization initiatives.

Familiarity with AI/ML-ready data pipelines.

Company Overview:

UKG is the Workforce Operating Platform that puts workforce understanding to work. With the world's largest collection of workforce insights, and people-first AI, our ability to reveal unseen ways to build trust, amplify productivity, and empower talent, is unmatched. It's this expertise that equips our customers with the intelligence to solve any challenge in any industry - because great organizations know their workforce is their competitive edge. Learn more at ukg.com.

Equal Opportunity Employer

UKG is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, disability, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected categories. View The EEO Know Your Rights poster UKG participates in E-Verify. View the E-Verify posters here.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Disability Accommodation in the Application and Interview Process

For individuals with disabilities that need additional assistance at any point in the application and interview process, please email [email protected].

The pay range for this position is $163,900.00 to $210,000.00 USD. The actual base pay offered may vary depending on skills, experience, job-related knowledge and work location. In addition to base pay, employees may be eligible to participate in a performance-based bonus plan and to receive restricted stock unit awards as part of total compensation. Learn more about UKG's benefits and rewards at

It is the policy of Ultimate Software to promote and assure equal employment opportunity for all current and prospective Peeps without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, veteran status, and any other legally protected status entitled to protection under federal, state, or local anti-discrimination laws. This policy governs all matters related to recruitment, advertising, and initial selection of employment. It shall also apply to all other aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, compensation, promotion, demotion, transfer, lay-offs, terminations, leave of absence, and training opportunities.