Director of Engineering, Data Platform

Liftoff is a leading AI-powered performance marketing platform for the mobile app economy. Our end-to-end technology stack helps app marketers acquire and retain high-value users, while enabling publishers to maximize revenue across programmatic and direct demand. Liftoff’s solutions, including Accelerate, Direct, Monetize, Intelligence, and Vungle Exchange, support over 6,600 mobile businesses across 74 countries in sectors such as gaming, social, finance, ecommerce, and entertainment. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Redwood City, CA, Liftoff has a diverse, global presence. As Director of Engineering, Data Platform, you will define and execute Liftoff’s long-term data engineering strategy, leading the teams that build the scalable, reliable foundations behind our products and ML systems. You will partner with R&D, Product, and ML leaders to translate company goals into clear priorities while setting a high bar for technical excellence and engineering culture. This role requires a leader who can operate at multiple altitudes—diving deep, driving complex initiatives, and growing strong leaders—while ensuring our data platforms power Liftoff’s AI-driven core, where advanced neural networks and massive datasets fuel smarter decisions and better ROI. With our success over the past 10 years, we are ready to move beyond our current technologies and push our Data Platform towards the state-of-the-art. In this dynamic environment, we have found the need for a Director of Engineering that will clarify the vision for Data at Liftoff. Key Responsibilities: • Define, shape, and clearly communicate our long-term Data engineering strategy, vision, and roadmap • Translate R&D and Product goals into Data engineering group- and team-level goals, working closely with cross-functional leaders. • Work closely with ML and Product stakeholders at Liftoff, ensuring our Data infrastructure meets their needs with a consistently high quality bar. • Balance short-term and long-term velocity, ensuring a steady stream of improvements as your team builds for the long term. • Set the bar for our engineering culture, encouraging the development of best practices, holding teams accountable for slippage, and improving processes. • Provide deep technical feedback on key projects as necessary. • Grow the next generation of data engineers and leaders. Requirements: • 10+ years in data/engineering leadership; 3+ leading managers/leads • Proven track record of building and scaling data platforms and leading data engineering teams required. • Excellent technical judgment; able to dive deep, review designs, navigate complex code bases, and give substantive feedback • Deep understanding of state-of-the-art data technologies and relevant SaaS offerings, in particular related to data reliability and quality, observability/monitoring, lineage/catalog, data contracts, and schema evolution. • Experience with managing petabyte-scale event-stream data. • Crisp communication and collaboration skills, particularly async written communication. • Superb management skills and a keen eye for talent. • B.S. or higher in Computer Science (or equivalent work experience). Bonus: • Experience with programmatic advertising is a big plus. • Experience with ML is a big plus. • Experience leading a global distributed team is a big plus. Location: This role is eligible for full-time remote work in one of our entities/states and Canada: CA, CO, ID, IL, FL, GA, MA, MI, MN, MO, NJ, NV, NY, OR, PA, TX, UT, and WA. We are a remote-first company with US hubs in Redwood City, Los Angeles, and New York City. Travel Expectations: We offer several opportunities for in-person team gatherings, including but not limited to project meetings, regional meetups, and company-wide events. We expect our employees to attend these gatherings at least once per quarter. These gatherings provide essential opportunities for collaboration, communication, and team building. Compensation: Liftoff offers all employees a full compensation package that includes equity and health/vision/dental benefits associated with your country of residence. Base compensation will vary based on candidate's location and experience. The following are the base salaries. • California, NYC, Seattle: $390,000 to $430,000 • All other cities and towns in our approved states: $360,000 to $400,000 #LI-VM1 We use Covey as part of our hiring and/or promotional process for jobs in NYC and certain features may qualify it as an AEDT. As part of the evaluation process, we provide Covey with job requirements and candidate-submitted applications. We began using Covey Scout for Inbound on January 22, 2024. Please see the independent bias audit report covering our use of Covey here. Liftoff offers a fast-paced, collaborative, and innovative work environment where employees are empowered to grow and make an impact. We’re shaping the future of the mobile app ecosystem—join us and help accelerate what’s next. Liftoff’s compensation strategy includes competitive salaries, equity, and benefits designed to support employee well-being and performance. We benchmark compensation based on role, level, and location to ensure fairness and market alignment. Benefits may include medical coverage, wellness stipends, and additional perks based on your country of residence. Liftoff is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Agency and Third Party Recruiter Notice: Liftoff does not accept unsolicited resumes from individual recruiters or third-party recruiting agencies in response to job postings. No fee will be paid to third parties who submit unsolicited candidates directly to our hiring managers or Recruiting Team. All candidates must be submitted via our Applicant Tracking System by approved Liftoff vendors who have been expressly requested to make a submission by our Recruiting Team for a specific job opening. No placement fees will be paid to any firm unless such a request has been made by the Liftoff Recruiting Team and such a candidate was submitted to the Liftoff Recruiting Team via our Applicant Tracking System. Apply tot his job Apply To this Job