Director Data Engineering Jobs in Reston, VA (NOW HIRING)

Surescripts serves the nation through simpler, trusted health intelligence sharing, in order to increase patient safety, lower costs and ensure quality care. We deliver insights at critical points of care for better decisions - from streamlining prior authorizations to delivering comprehensive medication histories to facilitating messages between providers.
Job Summary:
The Director Data Trust and Enablement leads the governance function within our Enterprise Data Platform organization. This role is responsible for stewarding data policy, catalog, data quality standards, and compliance, but is built on a fundamentally different philosophy than traditional governance functions.
At Surescripts we believe governance should be an enabler, not a gate - and this role is responsible for making that a reality. The Trust & Enablement team makes it structurally easy for every team across the platform to do the right thing with data: to build products that are trustworthy, consumable, and compliant by design rather than by audit.
This role will report to the VP of Enterprise Data Platform and lead a team that owns the data catalog, business glossary, stewardship workflows, data policy, certification standards, and the critical data element program that underpins Surescripts' ability to commercialize and externalize data products. This role will operate as a peer to the leaders of our Unified Data Fabric, Data Product Delivery, Architecture and Semantic Intelligence, and Platform Engineering teams.
Responsibilities

• Redefine what governance means at Surescripts. Lead the cultural and operational shift from governance as policy enforcement to governance as platform capability. Design a Trust & Enablement function that teams want to engage with because it makes their work faster, cleaner, and more impactful.
• Own the data catalog and business glossary. Lead the strategy and operation of Surescripts' Collibra environment. Ensure that certified, trusted data assets are discoverable, described, and understood by technical and business consumers alike. Drive adoption of the catalog as the authoritative reference for what data exists, what it means, and whether it can be trusted.
• Define and manage the data certification program. Establish the standards by which a data asset earns certified status and the workflow through which it gets there. Work across Enterprise Data Platform teams to automate certification pathways and ensure that certification is meaningful.
• Lead the Critical Data Element program. Identify, define, and govern the critical data elements that matter most to Surescripts: patient identity, provider identity, drug reference data, transaction records, in partnership with business stakeholders and the Architecture and Semantic Intelligence team. Ensure these elements are owned, stewarded, and certified.
• Own data policy and compliance. Develop and enforce the data policies that govern how data is accessed, used, shared, and retained at Surescripts. Navigate HIPAA and other applicable regulatory requirements with confidence. Serve as the internal authority on what is permissible with Surescripts data - including what can be externalized to partners and what can be exposed to machine and AI consumers.
• Build and lead the stewardship community. Establish a network of data stewards across business and technical domains. Equip stewards with the tools, processes, and support they need to take genuine ownership of data within their domain(s).
• Partner across the platform. Work closely with Architecture and Semantic Intelligence to ensure canonical model definitions are reflected in the business glossary and governed appropriately. Partner with Data Product Delivery to embed trust and certification checkpoints into the product development lifecycle. Support the Unified Data Fabric team with domain-level data quality standards and SLA definitions.
• Represent trust in stakeholder reporting. Own the Trust & Enablement workstream in Surescripts' Enterprise Data Platform stakeholder reporting. Translate governance metrics into a narrative that connects to business outcomes.
• Contribute to platform strategy. Participate as a senior leader in the Enterprise Data Platform leadership team. Bring the perspective of the data foundation into roadmap planning, organizational decisions, and executive reporting through the VP of Enterprise Data Platform.

Qualifications:
Basic Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, business administration, or related field
• 10+ years of experience in data governance, data management, or a closely related discipline, with at least 3 years leading a governance or stewardship function at an enterprise level.
• A demonstrated philosophy of governance as enablement; a track record of building governance programs that increase team velocity and data trust simultaneously (vs programs that create compliance overhead).
• Hands-on experience with Collibra or a comparable enterprise data catalog platform including stewardship workflow design, business glossary management, lineage configuration, and policy management.
• Deep familiarity with data governance frameworks (DAMA-DMBOK, DCAM, or equivalent) and the ability to adapt framework concepts into a practical operating model.
• Experience defining and managing critical data element programs, including business definition ownership, certification workflows, and cross-functional stewardship.
• Strong understanding of HIPAA and healthcare data compliance requirements. Experience in healthcare, life sciences, or similarly regulated industry is strongly preferred.
• Ability to operate effectively across both technical and business audiences, translating between engineering rigor and business language without losing either audience.
• Experience building and leading teams, including hiring and developing governance professionals and data stewards.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in healthcare, life sciences, financial services, or other highly regulated industries
• Experience implementing platform capabilities supporting synthetic data, data observability, metadata management, and data trust frameworks

Keywords: data trust, data enablement, data adoption, data catalog usage, stewardship
Surescripts embraces flexibility through its Flexible Hybrid Work model for most positions. This model allows employees to work virtually while still utilizing our offices as collaboration centers. With alignment and agreement from your leadership, you can come and go from the office as needed.
To be considered for employment, applicants must have a valid U.S. work authorization allowing work without restrictions with Surecripts in the U.S. At this time, we are unable to provide support or provide sponsorship for immigration benefits such as work visas. Additionally, we do not participate in academic training programs or work-study programs through an academic institution that require employer endorsement of F-1/CPT or F-1/STEM.
Why Wait? Apply Now
We're a midsize company. This means you're not just another employee ID number. Here, you can build real relationships and feel supported by truly awesome people with diverse backgrounds and talents in an innovative and collaborative work culture. We strive to create an environment where you can be yourself, share your ideas and work your way. We offer opportunities for employee development, as well as competitive compensation packages and extensive benefits.
At Surescripts, base pay is one part of our Total Rewards Package (which may also include bonus, benefits etc.) and is determined within a range. The base pay range for this position is $190,900 - $233,300 per year. Your base pay may vary within or outside of this range depending on a number of factors, including (but not limited to) your qualifications, skills, experience, and location.
Benefits include, but are not limited to, comprehensive healthcare (including infertility coverage), generous paid time off including paid childbirth and parental leave and mental health days, pet insurance, and 401(k) with company match and immediate vesting. To learn more, review the Keep You and Yours Healthy, Balancing Work and Life, and Where Talent Takes Shape links under the Better Benefits. Better Work. Better Life section of our careers site.
Physical and Mental Requirements
While performing duties of this job, an employee may be required to perform any, or all of the following: attend meetings in and out of the office, travel, communicate effectively (both orally and in writing), and be able to effectively use computers and other electronic and standard office equipment with, or without, a reasonable accommodation. Additionally, this job requires certain mental demands, including the ability to use judgement, withstand moderate amounts of stress and maintain attention to detail with, or without, a reasonable accommodation.
Surescripts is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.