Director, Software Engineering

Position Summary

Vizio is seeking an established leader in data engineering to be our Director of Software Engineering over our enterprise data lake. This Director will lead the strategy, architecture, and execution of Vizio’s data infrastructure, managing teams to build scalable, secure, and high-performance data pipelines, warehouses, and “the lake.” They will align data capabilities with business goals, oversee data governance, and manage budgets to support company-wide analytics, AI/ML initiatives, and decision‑making.

This is a strategic, highly visible, and hands‑on leadership role responsible for maintaining and evolving the data ecosystem that powers business intelligence, advanced analytics, regulatory compliance, and operational performance. You will lead a team of managers and their respective teams to define our Platform data architecture vision, lead our adoption of modern Databricks, Google Cloud, and Azure data technologies, and ensure secure, governed, and scalable data operations across the enterprise.

You will collaborate across product, business, engineering, and compliance functions to drive both near‑term outcomes and long‑term platform evolution – all while delivering world‑class experiences to millions of customers.

• Strategic Leadership : own the long‑term data engineering roadmap, make key technology decisions, and implement best practices for data management, security, and quality.

• Team Management : lead and grow multiple teams, including hiring, mentoring, and performance management of engineers and engineering managers.

• Technical Oversight : design complex, large‑scale data platforms (current technologies include Databricks, Snowflake, and 3 major cloud providers: AWS, Azure, and GCP), oversee ETL/pipelines ELT, and ensure data accessibility for data scientists and analysts while owning quality for your products.

• Stakeholder Collaboration :
  Partner with senior leadership across business units (e.g., Product, Finance, IT) to align data strategies and provide operational support for data products.

• Governance & Compliance :
  Ensure data systems adhere to security, privacy, and compliance standards.

• Drive execution and delivery of data features across the full software lifecycle.

• Lead, coach, and mentor data engineering teams through product discovery and delivery.

• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to design innovative data solutions that support Vizio’s TV and soundbar experiences.

• Make critical technical and business decisions to ensure project success.

• Champion technical excellence, team empowerment, and a culture of continuous improvement.

• Represent the data organization to executives, industry leaders, and peers throughout Vizio and Walmart by communicating with confidence.

• Bachelor’s or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.

• 10+ years of progressive experience in data engineering architecture, design, and development.

• 5+ years in leadership roles and mentoring data engineering teams.

• Deep proficiency in modern data stacks and cloud‑native platforms.

• Experience working with third‑party vendors, including sourcing, selecting, negotiating, integrating with, and managing relationships with strategic partners.

• Executive level communication skills, including:

• Strategic Storytelling:
  Proven ability to translate complex data platform roadmaps into compelling narratives that illustrate clear business value, ROI, and competitive advantage to executives and non‑technical audiences.

• Cross‑Functional Diplomacy:
  Expert at navigating matrixed organizations to build consensus between engineering, product, and non‑technical business units (e.g., Marketing, Finance), ensuring data initiatives are prioritized and understood.

• Technical Evangelism:
  Experience acting as a lead advocate for a "data‑first" culture, effectively communicating the importance of data quality, ethics, and governance to all levels of the organization.

• Mentorship & Cultural Leadership: A "people‑first" communicator who excels at providing clear, actionable feedback to direct reports and technical leads, fostering an environment of psychological safety…