Director Data Jobs in Minnesota (NOW HIRING)

Overall Summary:

The Senior Data Analyst is responsible for the operational integrity of IWCO Direct’s reporting ecosystem and for leading the migration from legacy platforms to Microsoft Fabric and Power BI. This role sits at the intersection of hands-on technical delivery and strategic data governance; maintaining the reporting infrastructure the business depends on today while building the governed, self-service data platform it needs tomorrow. The right candidate brings deep SQL expertise, practical experience with modern BI platforms, and the ability to think architecturally about how data flows from source systems to business decisions.

Primary Duties/Responsibilities

• Lead the migration of IWCO Direct’s analytics platform from SQL Server–based data warehouse and SSRS/Qlik reporting to Microsoft Fabric, including lakehouse design, data pipelines, and Power BI semantic models.
• Define and execute a phased migration roadmap that balances business continuity with modernization progress.
• Design and implement data pipelines that replace legacy ETL processes with Fabric-native workflows (Data Factory, dataflows, notebooks).
• Architect Power BI semantic models with governance, row-level security, and reusability as core design principles.
• Maintain and support existing SSRS reports, Qlik Sense dashboards, and SQL Server stored procedures/views that drive daily business operations.
• Triage and resolve data quality issues, report failures, and performance problems across the current reporting stack, while identifying legacy reports and data flows that are candidates for retirement, consolidation, or migration.
• Develop, document, and maintain governed data pipelines and curated datasets that internal departments use as the foundation for their own reporting and analysis.
• Establish naming conventions, documentation standards, data dictionaries, and lineage tracking practices that make the data platform navigable and trustworthy.
• Partner with business SMEs to understand their data needs, then deliver governed data products that enable self-service analytics at scale.
• Define data quality standards and monitoring to ensure the reliability of data streams downstream consumers depend on.
• Contribute to the department’s technology roadmap, including evaluation and adoption of AI capabilities as IWCO Direct’s data platform needs evolve.
• Identify opportunities to apply automation, AI, and modern tooling to reduce manual reporting effort and improve data accessibility.
• Stay current with Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, and broader data platform developments; bring recommendations for adoption back to the team.

Required Skills/Abilities/Competencies:

• Advanced ability to problem-solve creatively and analyze processes and systems.
• Ability to prioritize with minimal supervision while working independently or in a team environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with proficiency in documenting data models and explaining technical decisions to business audiences.
• Strong understanding of data governance principles: data quality, documentation, lineage, access control, and naming standards.
• Working knowledge of SSRS report development and maintenance.
• Advanced SQL skills, comfortable writing and optimizing complex queries, stored procedures, views, and ETL logic against large-scale SQL Server databases.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in mathematics, computer science, economics, statistics, data science, engineering, or related quantitative field; equivalent experience considered in lieu of education.
• 5+ years of experience in data analytics, business intelligence, or data engineering roles.
• Hands-on experience with Power BI development, including data modeling, DAX, and report/dashboard design.
• Experience with data warehouse design concepts: dimensional modeling, star/snowflake schemas, slowly changing dimensions, ETL/ELT patterns.
• Demonstrated experience leading or significantly contributing to a BI platform migration or major data infrastructure modernization effort.
• Experience gathering business requirements from non-technical stakeholders and translating them into technical data solutions.
• Experience with Microsoft Fabric (lakehouses, Data Factory, OneLake) or demonstrated ability to ramp quickly on emerging Microsoft data stack technologies preferred.
• Familiarity with Qlik Sense development and administration preferred.
• Experience building self-service analytics frameworks, including semantic models, curated datasets, or data products designed for business user consumption preferred.
• Exposure to AI/ML concepts in an analytics context, including AI-driven data quality, automated insight generation, or AI assistant tooling preferred.
• Experience working in manufacturing, direct mail, or marketing services industries preferred.
• Familiarity with Azure DevOps or similar project management and CI/CD tooling preferred.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to work 8 hours consecutively
• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Local, MN-based Candidates are prioritized and preferred

Salary:
The starting salary range for this position is $100,000-$125,000.

At IWCO, base pay is determined by job-related knowledge, skills, credentials, and experience, along with factors such as role scope and location. Candidates seeking compensation outside of the posted range are encouraged to apply and will be considered based on their individual qualifications and/or may be considered for other positions.

Pay is influenced by a variety of factors specific to the position, including market conditions and, in some cases, education, work experience, and certifications. Beyond competitive pay, IWCO is committed to supporting our team members and their families with comprehensive benefits. These may include health, dental, and vision insurance, life insurance, and other wellness programs. Eligible employees also enjoy 401(k) plans, paid holidays, vacation time, sick leave, and more. At IWCO, we invest in you so you can take care of what matters most.

IWCO is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome diversity and provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, veteran status, or any protected status as defined by law. Accommodations are available for individuals with disabilities upon request. Contact our HR Department for more information.

Eligibility: Authorization to work for any employer in the United States is required. IWCO will not sponsor a work visa for this role.