Director, Data Platforms Engineering

Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence

Director of Data Platforms Engineering leading data architecture, engineering, and operations for Yum! Brands.

Posted 6/17/2026full-timeLouisville • Kentucky • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $218,600 - $273,100 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

AirflowAWSCloudInformatica

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Serve as a primary representative of Data Platforms & Engineering within Yum! to executive leadership, building trusted relationships with senior business, technology, and market leaders while influencing enterprise strategy, technology investments, and platform priorities.
Develop and deliver executive-level communications, business cases, strategic roadmaps, and operational reviews, translating complex technical concepts into clear business outcomes and actionable recommendations for senior leadership and C-level stakeholders.
Lead a globally distributed organization supporting enterprise data platforms, establishing operating models, execution frameworks, and accountability mechanisms that support Yum!’s AI, Data & Analytics strategy.
Build high-performing technical teams through coaching, succession planning, and organizational development while driving prioritization across competing business and technology demands.
Own budget planning and financial stewardship across assigned platforms, tooling, vendor relationships, and delivery functions.
Own the strategy, roadmap, and continuous evolution of the modern cloud data stack, including Snowflake, dbt Core, Airflow/Astronomer, Monte Carlo, AWS, and related technologies.
Establish engineering standards across CI/CD, automated testing, modular pipeline design, semantic modeling, and observability.
Evaluate and introduce emerging technologies, including AI-driven automation, to improve platform scalability, operational efficiency, and speed of delivery.
Define and execute the long-term vision, roadmap, and operating model for enterprise data platforms in partnership with AIDA leadership.
Drive platform standardization and modernization efforts across brands, functions, and technology teams while influencing investment decisions and technical priorities.
Lead strategic vendor partnerships, contract negotiations, and commercial discussions while evaluating build-versus-buy decisions.
Lead globally distributed teams across Data Architecture, Engineering, and Operations, providing strategic direction, organizational leadership, and technical oversight for enterprise data platforms.
Establish enterprise architecture patterns, engineering practices, and operational processes that improve platform quality, resiliency, maintainability, and speed of delivery.
Oversee delivery and support of enterprise data products, platform capabilities, and foundational datasets that power analytics, AI, and operational decision-making.
Drive continuous improvement through automation, observability, performance optimization, and operational excellence.
Serve as the senior authority for platform architecture and engineering decisions, guiding complex technical tradeoffs and influencing enterprise technology standards.
Partner with business, product, technology, and BYTE Engineering leaders to translate strategic priorities into scalable data products and platform capabilities.
Act as a trusted advisor on platform capabilities, architecture decisions, and data strategy, ensuring alignment between technical investments and business outcomes.
Drive adoption and measurable value of enterprise data products while ensuring solutions are scalable, reusable, and aligned with broader enterprise technology roadmaps.
Lead, mentor, and scale global teams by defining talent strategies, organizational structures, and capability development plans that support long-term growth and evolving business needs.

Requirements

What you’ll need

12+ years of experience in data engineering, data platforms, or data architecture.
5+ years of experience leading global, distributed technical teams.
Proven track record of owning and delivering enterprise-scale data platforms and architecture.
Experience operating effectively in complex, matrixed organizations.
Deep expertise in modern data platforms, including Snowflake, dbt Core, Airflow/Astronomer, and AWS. Informatica IICS experience is a plus.
Experience with data observability tools such as Monte Carlo or similar platforms.
Strong background in data modeling, including physical, semantic, and domain-oriented approaches.
Proven experience designing and building scalable batch and real-time data pipelines.
Solid understanding of distributed data systems, platform operations, observability, and data quality practices.
Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and shape technical and business strategy.
Strong capability to translate business needs into scalable technical solutions.
Proven experience building and leading high-performing technical teams.
Excellent communication, presentation, stakeholder management, and executive relationship-building skills.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Benefits

Comp & perks

comprehensive benefits

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

data engineeringdata platformsdata architecturedata modelingbatch data pipelinesreal-time data pipelinesobservabilitycloud data stackAI-driven automationfinancial stewardship

Soft Skills

leadershipcommunicationstakeholder managementorganizational developmentinfluencing strategymentoringrelationship buildingcoachingstrategic directioncontinuous improvement

Certifications

Bachelor’s degree in Computer ScienceBachelor’s degree in Engineeringrelated field degree