Data Governance Lead

Job Summary
Our client, a leading financial services organization, is seeking a Data Governance Lead for a contract opportunity. This hands-on leadership role is responsible for establishing and executing enterprise data governance strategies while implementing governance controls across Databricks, Unity Catalog, and Snowflake environments. The ideal candidate combines strong technical expertise with data governance leadership experience and can drive enterprise-wide adoption of data quality, metadata management, data lineage, security, and compliance standards.

Contract Details

• Duration: 13 Weeks
• Location: Irving, TX
• Work Arrangement: Hybrid
• Schedule: 3 Days Onsite Weekly

Core Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise data governance strategy, policies, standards, controls, and stewardship programs
• Define governance roles, KPIs, maturity metrics, reporting, and adoption initiatives
• Drive governance across analytics, reporting, AI/ML, data products, and data-sharing solutions
• Administer Databricks Unity Catalog, including catalogs, schemas, tables, views, storage credentials, and external locations
• Implement security, access controls, lineage monitoring, metadata management, and governance standards across Bronze, Silver, and Gold data layers
• Develop governance automation using Databricks SQL, Spark SQL, PySpark, Python, and SQL
• Configure and govern Snowflake security, access controls, masking policies, row access policies, object tagging, and data-sharing controls
• Support metadata reporting, lineage integration, access reviews, compliance monitoring, and governance risk assessments within Snowflake
• Define and monitor data quality frameworks, scorecards, and automated governance controls
• Support audits, regulatory compliance, remediation efforts, and data protection initiatives in partnership with security and risk teams

Required Skills/Experience (Must-Haves)

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Data Management, or related field
• 10+ years of experience in data governance, data architecture, data engineering, or information management
• 5+ years leading enterprise data governance programs within complex organizations
• Recent hands-on Databricks and Unity Catalog implementation experience
• Strong Snowflake governance and security administration experience
• Advanced SQL skills with experience supporting data profiling, reconciliation, metadata analysis, and audit reporting
• Experience implementing enterprise data quality frameworks and controls
• Strong understanding of metadata management, lineage, data lifecycle management, and stewardship processes
• Experience translating governance policies into technical controls and operational processes
• Experience working with Agile teams and collaborating across engineering, architecture, security, compliance, and business organizations
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills

Preferred Skills/Experience (Nice-to-Haves)

• Financial services industry experience
• Experience supporting PCI DSS, SOX, GLBA, GDPR, CCPA, or similar regulatory environments
• Experience with Data Mesh architectures and modern data platforms
• Knowledge of DevOps, CI/CD, and governance automation practices
• Experience implementing enterprise data catalogs and business glossaries
• Background supporting AI/ML governance initiatives
• Expertise in data observability and automated quality monitoring solutions

Key Competencies & Behaviors

• Strategic thinker with strong execution capabilities
• Hands-on technical leadership approach
• Ability to influence across business and technology organizations
• Strong facilitation and governance decision-making skills
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Executive-level communication and presentation skills
• Strong mentoring and coaching mindset
• Commitment to operational excellence and continuous improvement
• Ability to balance governance requirements with business objectives

Work Environment

• Location: Irving, TX
• Work Arrangement: Hybrid
• Schedule: 3 Days Onsite Weekly

Compensation & Benefits

• Pay Range: The approximate pay range for this position is between $46.00 and $66.00. Please note that the pay range provided is a good faith estimate. Final compensation may vary based on factors including but not limited to background, knowledge, skills, and location. We comply with local wage minimums.
• Medical, Dental, & Vision Insurance Plans
• Employee-Owned Profit Sharing (ESOP)
• 401K offered