Sr. Director, Enterprise Data and AI Platform

Dayforce is a global human capital management (HCM) company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, with operations across North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA), and the Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) region.

Our award-winning Cloud HCM platform offers a unified solution database and continuous calculation engine, driving efficiency, productivity and compliance for the global workforce.

Our brand promise - Makes Work Life Better™ - Reflects our commitment to employees, customers, partners and communities globally.


Location: Work is what you do, not where you go. For this role, we are open to remote work and can hire anywhere in the United States or Canada
About the opportunity
We are seeking an experienced and visionary Sr. Director of Enterprise Data and AI Platform to lead the strategic direction, design, and execution of our global enterprise data and AI capabilities to support our business functions such as Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR, Customer success, support and services, legal etc. This role will be responsible for architecting and maintaining our modern data estate, enabling advanced analytics and machine learning on Azure Data Lake, driving data needs for enterprise reporting, and leading the strategy, platform selection, and implementation of Agentic AI capabilities.
The successful candidate will manage a diverse global team—including direct reports, managers, and external partners—and oversee platform architecture, data engineering, and vendor relationships. This role is both highly strategic and hands-on, demanding deep technical expertise, cross-functional leadership, and a passion for data-driven innovation.
This role will report to VP, Enterprise Data, analytics and governance.

What you'll get to do
Enterprise Data Leadership
• Lead and grow a global data and AI engineering team
• Set strategy for enterprise data architecture and engineering
• Oversee execution of large-scale, complex data initiatives
Agentic AI Strategy & Implementation
• Lead platform selection, POC, and buildout of Agentic AI capabilities
• Define long-term AI strategy and drive innovation
• Build and Lead the AI Platform COE
• Oversee the design, development, and deployment of machine learning models and AI solutions that address key business challenges.
Modern Data Platform & Architecture
• Design and manage Azure-based data platforms (Data Lake, Synapse, Data Factory, Data Fabric)
• Own data pipeline, data product, and asset delivery
• Align platform architecture with business goals and roadmaps
Analytics & Intelligence Enablement
• Partner with business leaders to enable data-driven decisions
• Support advanced analytics, ML, and real-time enterprise reporting
Governance, Security & Standards
• Define and enforce data governance and security practices
• Ensure data availability, protection, and SLA performance
Architecture & Vendor Management
• Participate in architecture governance (ARB) and enterprise IT strategy
• Manage platform budgets and third-party vendor relationships
Skills and experience we value

• Expertise in modern data stack and infrastructure: Azure Cloud, Data Lake/Warehouse/Mesh, Data Fabric, data integration tools, Power BI, Tableau.
• Proven leadership of Data & ML Engineering/Analytics in global environment.
• Deep understanding of ML operations (MLOps) practices, including model monitoring, retraining, and lifecycle management.
• Strong expertise in machine learning techniques, statistical modeling, and AI technologies, with hands-on experience in deploying models at scale
• Hands-on experience with AI techniques such as natural language processing, computer vision, and deep learning (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, Hugging Face).
• Experience building cross-functional enterprise data warehouses for business analytics.
• Strong background in AI/ML technologies, with familiarity in Agentic AI platforms such as Replit, Vercel etc
• Knowledge of Agile methodologies, particularly SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework).
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects, budgets, and vendor relationships.
• Strong business partnership and change management skills.
• Skilled at cross-functional collaboration and aligning delivery with enterprise priorities.
• Advanced degree in computer science, data science, machine learning, or a related field is a plus.
• 10+ years of experience in Enterprise data and AI leadership roles.


What’s in it for you
Dayforce is fueled by the diversity of our talented employees. We are an equal opportunity employer and consider and embrace ALL individuals and what makes them unique. We believe our employees should be happy and he