Lead, Data Platform Engineer - Data Governance

Location: Washington - Seattle, Illinois - Chicago

Remote Type: Office Tech-Flexible

Time Type: Full time

Job Description

To get the best candidate experience, please consider applying for a maximum of 3 roles within 12 months to ensure you are not duplicating efforts.

Job Category

Software Engineering

Job Details

About Salesforce

Salesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans with agents drive customer success together. Here, ambition meets action. Tech meets trust. And innovation isn’t a buzzword — it’s a way of life. The world of work as we know it is changing and we're looking for Trailblazers who are passionate about bettering business and the world through AI, driving innovation, and keeping Salesforce's core values at the heart of it all.

Ready to level-up your career at the company leading workforce transformation in the agentic era? You’re in the right place! Agentforce is the future of AI, and you are the future of Salesforce.

We are seeking a Senior Lead Data Platform Engineer to drive the technical implementation of Trust and Data Governance within our Customer Success Data Platform. In this role, you will architect systems that ensure our product and customer data—both structured and unstructured—is reliable, compliant, and AI-ready. You’ll work at the intersection of data engineering, metadata management, and AI, building frameworks that empower our enterprise to innovate with confidence.

Our ideal candidate has extensive engineering experience, a strong track record of implementing data governance at scale, and a passion for enabling AI-ready data platforms.

What You’ll Do

1. Architect Governance for AI Readiness

• Define and execute the technical strategy for data trust, ensuring both structured metrics and unstructured datasets are AI-ready.

• Build and scale discovery capabilities and metadata frameworks so users can find and apply trusted datasets efficiently.

• Improve data quality through well-governed instrumentation and schema practices across the platform.

2. Metadata & Semantic Engineering

• Design and implement automated ways to expose data quality and usability metadata through knowledge graphs.

• Enable semantic understanding and automated reasoning to accelerate AI-powered application development.

• Manage metadata as a product, leveraging Graph Databases or ontology management tools to bridge raw data and AI agents.

3. Frameworks & Compliance

• Establish and maintain quality assessment frameworks, benchmarks, and automated reporting to align with global data standards.

• Implement technical controls for data retention, access, and classification.

• Ensure the platform meets rigorous external regulatory requirements, including GDPR, CCPA, and SOX.

4. Champion the Data Marketplace

• Operate the platform as a two-sided marketplace, supporting both data engineers producing data and application developers consuming it.

• Partner with users to understand pain points in data usability and build solutions that reduce time-to-find and time-to-use.

What We’re Looking For

Engineering Expertise

• 8+ years in data platform or infrastructure engineering, with experience in data streaming, telemetry, or observability domains.

Governance Mastery

• Proven track record implementing internal data policies (classification, access) and external regulations (GDPR, CCPA).

Technical Proficiency

• Deep knowledge of event-driven architectures, instrumentation schemas, Kafka, and real-time data pipelines.

• Hands-on experience with Graph Databases or Ontology management to support AI consumption.

• Experience in the Salesforce ecosystem (Data360, Agentforce, Service Cloud, etc.) is a plus.

Strategic Execution

• Ability to align technical roadmaps with industry trends and deliver high-impact features in complex enterprise environments.

Communication

• Exceptional skill in distilling technical complexity for diverse audiences and driving functional alignment.

Why Join This Team?

At Salesforce, we are shaping the future of business at the intersection of AI + Data + CRM. You will be at the heart of this mission, building the foundation of trust that enables our global customers to innovate and succeed. Join us to empower enterprise-scale AI initiatives with data you can trust.

Unleash Your Potential

When you join Salesforce, you’ll be limitless in all areas of your life. Our benefits and resources support you to find balance and be your best, and our AI agents accelerate your impact so you can do your best. Together, we’ll bring the power of Agentforce to organizations of all sizes and deliver amazing experiences that customers love. Apply today to not only shape the future — but to redefine what’s possible — for yourself, for AI, and the world.

Accommodations

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Posting Statement

Salesforce is an equal opportunity employer and maintains a policy of non-discrimination with all employees and applicants for employment. What does that mean exactly? It means that at Salesforce, we believe in equality for all. And we believe we can lead the path to equality in part by creating a workplace that’s inclusive, and free from discrimination. Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal. Any employee or potential employee will be assessed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications – without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, transgender status, age, disability, veteran or marital status, political viewpoint, or other classifications protected by law. This policy applies to current and prospective employees, no matter where they are in their Salesforce employment journey. It also applies to recruiting, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, assessment of job performance, discipline, termination, and everything in between. Recruiting, hiring, and promotion decisions at Salesforce are fair and based on merit. The same goes for compensation, benefits, promotions, transfers, reduction in workforce, recall, training, and education.

In the United States, compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, job level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for incentive compensation, equity, and benefits. Salesforce offers a variety of benefits to help you live well including: time off programs, medical, dental, vision, mental health support, paid parental leave, life and disability insurance, 401(k), and an employee stock purchasing program. More details about company benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.salesforcebenefits.com.

At Salesforce, we believe in equitable compensation practices that reflect the dynamic nature of labor markets across various regions. The typical base salary range for this position is $172,500 - $260,100 annually. The range represents base salary only, and does not include company bonus, incentive for sales roles, equity or benefits, as applicable.