VP, Data Product Manager

Ledgent Technology is hiring a VP, Data Product Manager to help shape the next generation of an enterprise data platform. In this onsite role in La Jolla, San Diego, you will own the product roadmap, backlog, and measurable outcomes that enable better analytics, AI, and business innovation. You will also bring a product mindset to data engineering and delivery, with an emphasis on automation, governance, and platform reliability.

What You’ll Do

• Own and manage the data engineering backlog: prioritize stories, define acceptance criteria, and drive delivery of pipelines and platform capabilities that improve data availability and quality.
• Partner across Business Units, Analytics, and Tech Leadership to ensure data products are trusted, timely, and aligned with business priorities.
• Collaborate with Data Engineers, Tech Leads, and Architects to translate technical vision into deliverables across ingestion, transformation, orchestration, and serving layers.
• Advocate for governed, scalable, AI-ready data partnering with Collibra and platform teams to support compliance and discoverability.
• Champion AI-assisted development and automation, such as dbt auto-tests, Databricks notebooks, CI/CD intelligence, and metadata lineage, to increase velocity and reduce manual workload.
• Use AI/ML-based monitoring and observability to strengthen data reliability, anomaly detection, and operational performance.
• Drive the Data Platform roadmap, aligning engineering, analytics, and business stakeholders with clear transparency and measurable impact.
• Build continuous improvement habits using metrics and retrospectives to improve throughput, quality, and delivery predictability.
• Represent the engineering perspective in cross-functional planning, communicating dependencies, risks, and opportunities clearly.
• Mentor junior Scrum Masters and influence agile practices to support team productivity and engagement.

What You Bring

• 5+ years of experience in Data Engineering, Product Ownership, or Technical Program Management within modern data environments.
• Hands-on familiarity with Databricks, dbt, Fivetran, Kafka, Census, Azure Data Services, SSIS, Tableau, and Collibra.
• Experience using AI-assisted tools (examples include GitHub Copilot, ADO, Databricks Assistant, or similar) to improve productivity and code quality.
• Strong understanding of data architecture, pipelines, orchestration, and governance frameworks.
• Proven ability to manage backlogs, set roadmaps, and lead delivery through Agile methodologies.
• Excellent communication skills and stakeholder management across technical and non-technical groups.

Technology Exposure

Databricks, dbt, Fivetran, Kafka, Census, Azure Data Services, SSIS, Tableau, Collibra, GitHub Copilot, ADO, Databricks Assistant, CI/CD, metadata lineage

Job Details

• Direct Hire/Perm
• Location: Onsite in La Jolla, San Diego (local or willing to relocate)
• Pay: $120,000 to $140,000 per year + 20% bonus

Success Looks Like

• A transparent, trusted roadmap for the data platform.
• Consistently high-quality, governed data delivery.
• Improved team velocity and reduced cycle time through automation and AI augmentation.
• Strong alignment and relationships across business, analytics, and engineering.
• A scalable, AI-enabled platform foundation supporting future data products and innovation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in financial services or other regulated data ecosystems.
• Exposure to Lakehouse architectures, metadata-driven automation, and AI Ops for data platforms.
• Certifications such as CSPO, SAFe POPM, or Cloud certifications (advantageous).