Executive Director, Big Data & Analytics, Digital Automotive

A Career at HARMAN

As a technology leader that is rapidly on the move, HARMAN is filled with people who are focused on making life better. Innovation, inclusivity and teamwork are a part of our DNA. When you add that to the challenges we take on and solve together, you’ll discover that at HARMAN you can grow, make a difference and be proud of the work you do every day.

About the Role

We are seeking a visionary and transformational Director – Data Products, Big Data & Analytics to lead the data, analytics, and AI enablement strategy for the Automotive division. This role is a senior leadership and transformation mandate, responsible for defining and executing a data products–driven, data mesh–oriented architecture that accelerates the company’s AI and Advanced Analytics roadmap. The role combines strategic leadership with tactical analytics ownership, ensuring measurable business outcomes across Automotive domains. The leader will reshape how data is owned, governed, built, and consumed, enabling domain teams to innovate independently while operating on a trusted, scalable, and secure data foundation.

What You Will Do

• Define and own the Data & Analytics vision and roadmap for the Automotive division, aligned with enterprise digital and AI strategy
• Act as a transformation leader, driving a shift from centralized data platforms to domain-driven, product-oriented data capabilities
• Partner with executive leadership to shape long-term AI, analytics, and data monetization strategies
• Champion a data-as-a-product mindset across business and technology teams
• Lead the design and rollout of a Data Mesh architecture, enabling domain-owned data products with federated governance

• Establish standards and best practices for data product ownership, including lifecycle management, SLAs, quality, security, and value measurement
• Enable interoperability, discoverability, and trust across data products through shared platforms and enablement services
• Balance innovation with scalability, reliability, and cost efficiency across cloud and big data ecosystems
• Provide strategic oversight of big data platforms and engineering capabilities supporting batch, streaming, and real-time analytics

• Ensure scalable, secure, and resilient data pipelines across cloud and hybrid environments
• Guide platform evolution to support AI/ML workloads, feature stores, and analytics at scale
• Align data architecture with modern cloud-native and event-driven design principles
• Accelerate the AI and Advanced Analytics roadmap by enabling high-quality, reusable, and trusted data products

• Collaborate with AI/ML, software, and product teams to operationalize analytics and models into production
• Drive analytics maturity across descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive use cases
• Enable AI-driven decision-making across Automotive domains, including connected vehicles, software-defined vehicles, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and customer experience
• Own and drive tactical analytics execution within the Automotive division

• Prioritize and deliver high-impact analytics initiatives tied to business KPIs and operational outcomes
• Provide hands-on leadership and direction to analytics teams delivering insights, dashboards, and advanced models
• Ensure analytics outputs translate into actionable decisions and measurable value
• Define and implement federated data governance, including data quality, security, privacy, and compliance

• Establish a clear data operating model between central platforms and domain teams
• Ensure compliance with internal policies, regulatory requirements, and industry standards
• Enable responsible AI and ethical data usage practices
• Build, lead, and mentor high-performing teams across data engineering, analytics, and data product management

• Foster a strong culture of data-driven decision-making and ownership
• Develop talent strategies to scale data, analytics, and AI capabilities globally
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders, technology partners, and ecosystem vendors

What You Need

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or a related field
• 15+ years of experience in data, analytics, and big data platforms, with significant senior leadership responsibility
• Proven experience leading enterprise-scale data and analytics transformation initiatives
• Strong expertise in data products, data mesh concepts, and modern data architectures
• Hands-on understanding of cloud-based big data platforms, streaming technologies, and analytics ecosystems
• Demonstrated experience accelerating AI/ML-enabled analytics at scale
• Strong executive communication, stakeholder influence, and change leadership skills

Nice to Have

• Experience in Automotive, Mobility, or Industrial domains
• Exposure to connected vehicles, software-defined vehicles, IoT, or manufacturing analytics
• Background in data product management or product-led operating models
• Experience working in large, global, matrixed organizations

What Makes You Eligible

• Willingness to travel up to 5%, domestic and international
• Ability to work in an office or home office located in Novi, MI (hybrid)
• Successful completion of background investigation and other employment requirements

#Hybrid

$ 210,000 - $ 308,000

HARMAN is proud to be an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.