Senior Data Operations Manager

Are you a proven operations leader with a strong technical background in modern data architecture? Do you excel at analytics engineering and have a passion for guiding complex data projects and delivering results? Then keep reading below and apply for this Senior Data Operations Manager opportunity!

This is a hybrid position; you must be able to reliably commute to Scottsdale AZ three days a week.

EdPlus at ASU is a dynamic unit of Arizona State University focused on the design and scalable delivery of digital teaching and learning models to increase student success and reduce barriers to achievement in higher education. We advance the economic, social, cultural, and overall health of the local, national, and international communities served by ASU.

Want to know more about working at EdPlus? Click here!

Action Lab is a data-driven, research-focused service organization—an impact hub—that supports ASU and EdPlus initiatives by equipping leaders with the insights and analyses they need to make informed, evidence-based decisions. Action Lab drives transformational change in education through data and research, focusing on learner behaviors and the factors that drive success. Our goal is to improve access and achievement while bolstering the development of quality education for all learners.

We are seeking a highly motivated Senior Data Operations Manager to join our dynamic Action Lab team. Every day you’ll make a difference in the lives of others by being at the forefront of educational transformation, leveraging cutting-edge technologies like AWS and GCP to design and optimize robust data pipelines. You'll guide projects from conception to deployment, driving informed, evidence-based decisions that directly improve learner success.

Essential Duties:

Leadership & Management:

• Plan, develop, implement, and manage an analytics engineering team.
• Coach, mentor, and evaluate team members, ensuring they have resources and growth opportunities.
• Hold accountability for technical decisions and engineering output.
• Participate in strategic planning and decision-making, leading workstream teams to deliver high-quality work.

Operational Excellence:

• Drive operational excellence by establishing robust monitoring tools and practices that ensure continuous reliability and optimal performance of our data systems.
• Champion a culture of reliability and ownership by designing and enforcing engineering best practices around monitoring, incident response, and service-level expectations.
• Establish robust observability and alerting frameworks using tools like CloudWatch, DataDog, Prometheus, Grafana, or equivalent, ensuring continuous visibility into pipeline and system health.
• Implement and maintain CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Bitbucket Pipelines, GitHub Actions) to ensure fast, secure, and traceable deployments across environments.
• Own operational metrics (e.g., uptime, latency, throughput, recovery time) and build internal dashboards to track progress and proactively identify areas for optimization.
• Lead root cause analysis (RCA) efforts and maintain documentation and knowledge transfer practices that support both rapid incident resolution and long-term prevention.

Technical Expertise:

• Master analytics engineering and related skills (AWS, GCP, Redshift, BigQuery, dbt, Apache Airflow, dbt, Git/BitBucket, CI/CD).
• Support and identify architectural and development guidelines and best practices.

Portfolio & Governance:

• Help define and implement portfolio management policies and processes for data and technology investments.
• Continuously improve governance and planning capabilities.
• Ensure on-time, on-budget, and on-quality delivery of projects.

Relationship Building & Communication:

• Build trusted relationships with project managers and product/service owners.
• Translate business needs into data solutions.
• Act as a technical point of contact for subject matter experts.

Assume or coordinate other duties or projects as assigned or directed.

NOTE: This is not a fully remote position. Must be able to reliably commute to Scottsdale, Arizona.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree and five (5) years of experience appropriate to the area of assignment/field including two (2) years managerial experience; OR, Any equivalent combination of experience and/or training from which comparable knowledge, skills and abilities have been achieved

Desired Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, Business Analytics, or a related field.
• Evidence of certifications in AWS (e.g., AWS Certified Solutions Architect, AWS Certified Data Analytics) or GCP (e.g., Professional Data Engineer).
• Demonstrated ability to design and operate scalable data pipelines with an emphasis on reliability, observability, performance tuning, and operational readiness, including monitoring, alerting, incident response, and continuous improvement practices in cloud-native platforms.
• Proven track record of managing complex data projects and delivering results.
• Demonstrated experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP).
• Demonstrated experience with analytics engineering tools Apache Airflow and dbt required.
• Demonstrated strong background in data modeling, data warehousing principles (Kimball, Inmon), and ETL processes, with databases such as Redshift, BigQuery.
• Evidence of expert-level SQL skills, including experience with complex queries, stored procedures, and performance tuning. Proficiency in data manipulation languages (e.g., Python with Pandas).
• Demonstrated experience with data visualization tools such as Tableau, Power BI, or Looker, with the ability to create insightful dashboards and reports.
• Demonstrated familiarity with Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban) and project management tools such as Jira or Asana.
• Demonstrated experience working in or with educational technology, understanding the specific data challenges and requirements of the field.
• Evidence of participation in leadership development programs or training, demonstrating a commitment to continuous growth as a manager.
• Evidence of basic understanding of statistical concepts and methodologies.
• Demonstrated high technical judgment, innovation, and execution in tackling complex problems.
• Demonstrated strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.

NOTE: Please answer the following questions in your cover letter:

• Describe your experience managing complex data projects and your familiarity with cloud platforms such as AWS or GCP.
• Describe your operational approach to managing modern data applications such as dbt and Apache Airflow.
• Are you able to reliably commute to Scottsdale AZ three days a week?

Salary & Benefits:

$106,000 - $116,000 per year; DOE

ASU offers a total compensation package that includes valuable employee benefits. Click here to explore options.

• Healthcare
• Financial Security
• Retirement
• Family Resources
• Tuition Reduction (Eligible ASU Employee, their dependents and spouse.)
• Discounts

Department Statement:

EdPlus defines itself through a culture of curiosity, risk-taking and refusing to accept the status quo. As a central enterprise unit for ASU focused on the design and scalable delivery of digital teaching and learning models to increase student success and reduce barriers to achievement in higher education, our commitments support the University charter. ASU is a national service university and aspires to accelerate positive social outcomes through the seamless integration of cutting-edge technological innovation and scalability.

EdPlus employees are valued, respected, and encouraged to be their unique selves. We know that our ability to deliver high-quality services and educational experiences is strengthened by our culture of inclusion. Our innovative approach drives outcomes through serving learners, achieving milestones, striving for excellence, solving problems, embracing urgency, and being bold.

EdPlus at ASU

Working Environment:

Your desk will be in the beautiful, cutting-edge, and collaborative workspace at SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center. The Center houses a diverse business community that links technology, research, education, and entrepreneurship to position ASU and Greater Phoenix as global leaders in the knowledge economy.

Activities are primarily performed in a regular, climate-controlled office setting subject to extended periods of sitting or standing. Daily use of desktop or laptop computer is required, along with the ability to clearly communicate in English to perform essential duties.

EdPlus at ASU supports flexible work options, ranging from alternate work schedules to hybrid remote work schedules, subject to approvals per ASU policy. (This is NOT a fully remote position.)

Applicant must be eligible to work in the United States. EdPlus at ASU will not be a sponsor for this position.

Apply before midnight Arizona time: July 8, 2025