Senior Data Platform Manager

AIR's Tek Office is seeking an experienced Senior Data Platform Manager to join its talented group. The Senior Data Platform Manager will work closely with the AIR Modernization team and stakeholders across multiple business domains to design, build, and maintain scalable data systems. This role combines hands-on technical leadership with people management, helping drive data strategy, while mentoring engineers to implement an enterprise analytics platform, interactive dashboards, and semantic models that enable informed decision-making. This position reports into the Technology Office.

This position offers hybrid work flexibility, requiring three days per week in AIR's Virginia office, with occasional travel for meetings, training sessions, and conferences.

About AIR:

Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance to address some of the most pressing challenges in the United States and globally. We generate evidence and apply data-driven solutions that expand opportunities and improve lives for all.

Responsibilities:

The responsibilities for the position include:

• Lead the design, development, and lifecycle management of scalable, reliable, and efficient data pipelines and architectures.
• Partner withbusiness and technicalstakeholdersto define data requirements and deliver solutions.
• Leverage Microsoft Fabric (Lakehouse/Warehouse/OneLakeas applicable) to implement scalable and secure data storage, processing, and semantic model strategies.
• Implement andmaintainsecurity and governance practices (workspace strategy, permissions, RLS/OLS, endorsement/certification practices, and documentation).
• Support a healthy delivery process by contributing to standards, code reviews, and deployment practices (e.g., dev/test/prod, version control, andreleasecoordination)as well asmaintainingdata security, compliance, and privacy standards.
• Manage project priorities, timelines, and resource allocation to ensuretimelydelivery.
• Evaluate and implement new tools, technologies, and processes to improve data infrastructure.
• Lead, mentor, and grow a small team of data engineers and power BI developers, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Stay current with Microsoft analytics platform capabilities and recommend enhancements that improve usability, reliability, and value.
• Responsibilities may change based on business needs.

Qualifications:

Education, Knowledge, and Experience

• Bachelor's orMaster's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field orat least 9 years of professional experience.
• 5-8+ years of experience in data engineering or related roles, including at least 2yearsmanaging or leading engineering teams.
• Strongproficiencyin SQL and at least one programming language (e.g., Python, Java, Scala), with handson experience building data pipelines using tools such as Airflow,dbt, or Spark.
• Experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure) and a deep understanding of data warehousing technologies (e.g., Snowflake, Redshift,BigQuery).
• Experience with governance frameworks, environment strategy, data security, compliance, and regulatory requirements is preferred.
• Experience with distributed systems andlarge-scaledata processing, as well as working in an agile environment using tools like Jira and Confluence.

Skills

• Strong communicationskills, with the ability to clearly explain technical concepts to nontechnical stakeholders and senior leaders, incorporate feedback, andalign onsolutions.
• Proven ability to work effectively with both technical and nontechnical internal and external partners, ensuring clarity, collaboration, and shared understanding.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent deliveries in a fastpaced environment,demonstratingstrong ownership, accountability, a teamoriented mindset, and a commitment to highquality outcomes.
• Collaborative and teamoriented, with the ability to mentor others,establishstandards, and drive adoption of best practices across the organization.
• Experience collaborating with stakeholders to define requirements, communicate tradeoffs, and deliver analytics; preferred experience with Microsoft tools such as Azure Data Services, Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, or Azure DevOps.

Disclosures:Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. on a full-time basis. Employment-based visa sponsorship (including H-1B sponsorship) is not available for this position. Depending on project work, qualified candidates may need to meet certain residency requirements.

American Institutes for Research is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability. AIR adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo reference and background checks. AIR maintains a drug-free work environment.

ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE:If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process due to a physical or mental disability, please send an email to Taliba Boone at tboone@air.orgor call 202.403.5000.

Fraudulent Job Scams Warning & Disclaimer:AIR is aware of individuals falsely presenting themselves as AIR representatives. Fraudulent job scams seek to extract sensitive information or money from victims. To protect yourself, please be aware that AIR recruitment will only email you from an "@air.org" domain. Please take extra caution while examining the email address, for example jdoe@air.org is correct and jdoe@aircareers.org is not a legitimate AIR email address. If you are unsure of the legitimacy of a communication you have received, please reach out torecruitment@air.org. If you see a job scam, or lose money to one, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) atReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also report it to your state attorney general. Find out more about how to avoid scams atftc.gov/scams.

#LI-MP1 #LI-Hybrid