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# VP, Data Engineering with a FinTech Platform – Austin, TX


Role Overview for VP, Data Engineering with a FinTech Platform – Austin, TX
JRG Partners is proud to partner with a trailblazing FinTech platform based in the vibrant tech hub of Austin, TX. Our client is on a mission to revolutionize the financial services industry through innovative technology and a customer-centric approach. They are seeking a visionary and strategic Vice President of Data Engineering to lead their data organization into its next phase of growth. This is a critical executive-level position responsible for the entire data ecosystem, from strategic roadmap to architectural design and flawless execution. The ideal candidate is a seasoned leader with deep technical expertise, a passion for building high-performing teams, and a proven track record of leveraging data to drive business success in a fast-paced, regulated environment.
As the VP of Data Engineering, you will be the chief architect and steward of the company’s most valuable asset: its data. You will define the vision for how data is ingested, stored, processed, and served to power everything from real-time analytics and business intelligence to machine learning models and personalized customer experiences. This is not just a leadership role; it is an opportunity to build the data-driven foundation that will power the future of financial services, enabling the company to scale, innovate, and maintain its competitive edge. You will report directly to the Chief Technology Officer and work closely with the executive team to ensure that the data strategy is perfectly aligned with the company’s overarching business objectives. Your leadership will be instrumental in fostering a culture where data is democratized, trusted, and used to make critical decisions at every level of the organization.
Key Responsibilities of VP, Data Engineering with a FinTech Platform – Austin, TX
The VP of Data Engineering will have a broad and impactful scope of responsibilities, encompassing strategic planning, team leadership, technical architecture, and cross-functional collaboration.
Strategic Vision and Leadership

Develop, articulate, and execute a comprehensive, long-term data strategy and roadmap that aligns with and accelerates the company’s business goals.
Champion a culture of data-driven decision-making throughout the organization, acting as the primary advocate for data as a strategic asset.
Stay at the forefront of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in data engineering, cloud computing, AI/ML, and FinTech to drive continuous innovation.
Define and manage the data engineering budget, ensuring optimal allocation of resources to achieve strategic objectives and maximize ROI.
Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for the data platform and the data engineering team to measure success and drive improvement.

Team Building and Mentorship

Lead, mentor, and grow a world-class team of data engineers, BI developers, and data architects, fostering an environment of technical excellence, collaboration, and psychological safety.
Implement best practices for talent acquisition, onboarding, and professional development to attract and retain top-tier talent in a competitive market.
Provide strong technical guidance and career mentorship to team members, empowering them to solve complex challenges and grow their skills.
Structure the team for optimal efficiency and scalability, defining roles, responsibilities, and processes that support a high-velocity development lifecycle.

Architectural Excellence and Execution

Oversee the design, implementation, and continuous optimization of the company’s end-to-end data architecture, including data lakes, data warehouses, ETL/ELT pipelines, and data streaming platforms.
Ensure the data platform is highly scalable, reliable, secure, and cost-effective, capable of supporting exponential data growth and evolving business needs.
Champion modern data engineering principles, including DataOps, CI/CD for data pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, and data observability.
Lead the evaluation, selection, and implementation of new data technologies, tools, and vendors to enhance the capabilities of the data platform.
Drive the development of robust data models and data marts that serve as the ‘single source of truth’ for analytics and reporting across the company.

Data Governance, Security, and Compliance

Establish and enforce robust data governance frameworks to ensure the highest standards of data quality, integrity, discoverability, and lineage.
Partner closely with Legal, Risk, and Compliance teams to ensure the data platform and all data handling processes adhere to relevant financial regulations (e.g., SOX, GDPR, CCPA).
Implement stringent data security protocols, access controls, and encryption standards to protect sensitive customer and financial data from internal and external threats.

Requirements for the VP, Data Engineering with a FinTech Platform – Austin, TX
We are looking for a leader who combines deep technical credibility with exceptional strategic thinking and people management skills. The ideal candidate will meet the following qualifications:
Educational and Professional Experience

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related quantitative field. An advanced degree is a plus.
12+ years of progressive experience in data engineering, data architecture, or software engineering with a focus on data-intensive applications.
A minimum of 6 years in a formal leadership role, with a proven track record of building, managing, and scaling high-performing data teams of 15+ members.
Direct and substantial experience within the FinTech, banking, payments, or financial services industry is a mandatory requirement for this role due to its regulatory complexity.
Demonstrated experience architecting and managing large-scale data platforms in a high-growth, cloud-native environment.

Technical Proficiencies

Expert-level knowledge of cloud-based data platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure), with a strong preference for deep expertise in the AWS ecosystem (e.g., S3, Redshift, EMR, Glue, Kinesis, Lambda).
Deep experience with modern data warehousing and data lakehouse solutions such as Snowflake, Databricks, or BigQuery.
Proficiency in at least one high-level programming language (e.g., Python, Scala, Java) and expertise in SQL.
Hands-on experience with modern data stack tools, including data orchestration (e.g., Airflow, Dagster), data transformation (e.g., dbt), and business intelligence (e.g., Tableau, Looker).
Strong understanding of both batch and real-time data processing paradigms and architectures (e.g., Lambda, Kappa).
Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code (e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation) and containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).

Leadership and Strategic Acumen

Exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate complex business needs into a clear technical vision and executable plan.
Proven ability to lead through influence, build consensus, and forge strong relationships with stakeholders across all levels and functions of an organization.
Outstanding communication skills, capable of articulating complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences, including C-level executives.
A strong business-centric mindset with a passion for understanding the ‘why’ behind the data and connecting technical solutions to tangible business outcomes.

Benefits & Perks Offered
Our client believes in investing in their people. They offer a comprehensive and competitive benefits package designed to support your professional and personal well-being, including:

Highly competitive base salary and performance-based executive bonus plan.
Meaningful equity/stock options package.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance for you and your dependents.
401(k) retirement plan with a generous company match.
Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO) and paid company holidays.
Generous budget for professional development, conferences, and certifications.
Wellness stipend to support your physical and mental health.
Relocation assistance package for candidates moving to Austin.
A modern, collaborative office space in a prime Austin location with catered lunches and a fully stocked kitchen.

How to Apply
Ready to shape the future of FinTech? This is a unique opportunity to join a category-defining company at a pivotal moment in their growth. JRG Partners is managing this executive search exclusively on behalf of our client. If you are a visionary data leader with the experience and passion to build a world-class data organization, we encourage you to apply. To express your interest and begin the confidential application process, please visit our Technology Recruiting practice page and reference this position. We look forward to connecting with you and discussing how your expertise can drive our client’s success.