Director, Data Strategy & AI – Remote
Lead high-impact data, analytics, and AI initiatives for private equity-backed and mid-market organizations in a remote direct-hire role with travel of up to 30%. Earn $235,000 to $305,000 based on experience while advising CFOs and CIOs, shaping growth opportunities, and leading modern cloud data architecture and transformation programs.
Quick Facts
- Location: Remote, anywhere in the U.S.; up to 30% travel
- Employment Type: Direct hire
- Experience: Executive-level consulting, data strategy, solution architecture, and client leadership experience
- Industry Focus: Private equity and mid-market portfolio companies
Pay & Benefits
- $235,000 to $305,000 (based on experience).
What You’ll Do
- Lead client engagements involving data strategy, cloud data architecture, enterprise reporting, analytics, automation, and AI implementation.
- Advise CFOs, CIOs, and other executive stakeholders on data maturity, AI roadmaps, governance, and technology investments.
- Design scalable data foundations across platforms such as Azure, Databricks, Snowflake, and Microsoft Fabric, including ingestion, storage, transformation, semantic modeling, and integrations.
- Develop solutions that support finance analytics, ERP and EPM integration, financial reporting, planning, forecasting, and management reporting.
- Architect AI-ready data environments and guide use cases involving data quality, metadata, lineage, retrieval-augmented generation, vector search, governance, and monitoring.
- Oversee engagement plans, staffing, timelines, budgets, deliverables, risk mitigation, and client communications.
- Lead business development, create new service offerings, develop client relationships, and mentor consulting teams and future leaders.
What You Need
Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, Computer Science, or a related field.
- Private equity experience working with CFOs and CIOs at mid-market, PE-backed portfolio companies.
- Hands-on experience designing and implementing cloud data environments, including data architecture modernization, integration, lakehouse or warehouse architecture, and data modeling.
- Experience with one or more of the following platforms: Databricks, Snowflake, Microsoft Fabric, or Azure.
- Experience developing data strategies and solutions that support AI, analytics, finance, ERP, or EPM initiatives.
- Understanding of finance and business processes such as Lead to Cash, Procure to Pay, Record to Report, or Hire to Retire.
- Experience leading client engagements, managing teams, identifying growth opportunities, and developing strong executive relationships.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to explain complex data and AI concepts to executive audiences.
- Willingness to travel up to 30%, based on client needs.
Preferred
- Big Four or large consulting firm experience.
- Experience with Power BI, Tableau, dbt, semantic layers, or governed metrics.
- Knowledge of platforms and tools such as Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock, Databricks Mosaic AI, Snowflake Cortex, or Azure AI Foundry.
- Experience with data catalogs, lineage, observability, unstructured data processing, vector search, RAG pipelines, role-based security, and AI governance.
- Familiarity with Agile, Scrum, Lean, or Waterfall methodologies.
About the Assignment
This direct-hire leadership opportunity supports a growing Data Transformation & Analytics practice focused on helping private equity sponsors and mid-market portfolio companies build scalable data foundations. You will serve as a trusted advisor and practice leader, combining client delivery, business development, team leadership, data and AI strategy, and solution architecture to create measurable business value.
NextPath is an Equal Opportunity Employer (“EEO”)/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities/E-Verify Employer and welcomes all to apply to NextPath. #LI-DV1 #LI-REMOTE
Unfortunately, at this time our client is unable to sponsor or transfer visas. Only candidates authorized to work in the US without sponsorship should apply.