Associate Director - Data Platform & Operations

Associate Director – Data Platform & Operations – Dubai or Abu DhabiDiscover the OpportunityWe’re partnering with a leading organisation in the UAE that is investing heavily in building a modern, enterprise-scale data platform to power AI, analytics, and business intelligence capabilities.This role sits at the core of the organisation’s data and AI ecosystem, responsible for leading the design, delivery, and ongoing evolution of a hybrid data platform spanning cloud and on-prem environments.This is a high-impact leadership position combining deep technical expertise across platform engineering and big data with ownership of platform strategy, scalability, and operational excellence.Discover the RoleAs Associate Director – Data Platform & Operations, you will lead the architecture and operations of a large-scale data platform supporting AI, data engineering, and analytics use cases.You will oversee platform engineering, DevOps, and operations teams, ensuring the platform is scalable, reliable, cost‑efficient, and enables self‑service capabilities for downstream teams.This role requires a highly technical leader who is hands‑on, capable of driving platform modernisation while ensuring strong delivery, governance, and performance across a complex data ecosystem.Discover the ResponsibilitiesLead architecture and operations across hybrid environments including Azure, Kubernetes/OpenShift, and on‑prem storageBuild and scale modern data platforms using technologies such as Spark, Kafka, Delta Lake, Parquet, and distributed storage solutionsDrive CI/CD, infrastructure‑as‑code (Terraform, Ansible), and platform automation across data and AI environmentsImplement observability frameworks including monitoring, logging, lineage, and alerting to ensure platform reliabilityOwn platform performance, scalability, and cost optimisation strategies (FinOps) across cloud and on‑prem environmentsEnable self‑service capabilities for Data, AI, and BI teams to accelerate development and deploymentManage end‑to‑end platform delivery, dependencies, production readiness, and performance benchmarkingLead and mentor platform engineering, DevOps, and operations teams, embedding DataOps and DevOps best practicesPartner with senior stakeholders across technology and business functions to align platform strategy with organisational prioritiesDiscover the Requirements8+ years of experience in platform engineering, DevOps, or data infrastructure roles4+ years of leadership experience managing platform or engineering teamsStrong hands‑on experience with Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure‑as‑code frameworksProven expertise in big data technologies such as Spark, Kafka, Delta Lake, and modern data platformsExperience working across hybrid cloud and on‑prem environmentsStrong understanding of observability frameworks, platform performance tuning, and self‑service architecturesExperience working with senior stakeholders and contributing to platform strategy and roadmap deliveryBachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field#J-18808-Ljbffr