Director of IT Engineering

Our client, a large privately held organization in the distribution and business services sector, is seeking a Director of IT Engineering to join its technology organization. This is a hybrid role requiring three days per week in the office. The Technology team is focused on modernizing core business applications, enterprise integrations, and data capabilities through a multi-year technology transformation roadmap. The Director of IT Engineering will lead the engineering function, with a focus on enterprise integration, architecture strategy, engineering modernization, and the responsible adoption of AI-assisted development. This leader will manage through managers, oversee enterprise and integration architecture, and govern outsourced development and managed-services partnerships. The role will have ownership across integration platforms, API management, cloud integration architecture, ETL/data pipelines, and CRM technologies while driving engineering productivity, quality, reliability, and operational resilience. The Director will work closely with IT leadership, business stakeholders, and cross-functional teams to deliver scalable technology capabilities aligned with the organization's strategic roadmap. Requirements Bachelor's or Master's degree in Information Technology, Business, Computer Science, or a related field.10+ years of experience in application engineering, integration engineering, software engineering, or a related discipline.5+ years of management and leadership experience.Strong expertise in enterprise integration, iPaaS platforms, API management, ETL, and data-movement pipelines.Demonstrated experience with enterprise/integration architecture and data architecture, including establishing technical standards and making architecture decisions across complex application environments.Experience adopting and governing AI-assisted software development tools to improve engineering productivity, quality, and delivery.Ability to identify opportunities for AI-assisted development and AI agents across the enterprise and establish appropriate security, access-control, integration, and data-governance practices.Direct technical and business-process experience with ERP platforms and related business applications.Experience with CRM platforms and integrating ERP, CRM, financial systems, cloud services, and other enterprise applications.Proven experience managing technology vendors, systems integrators, offshore teams, and managed-services partners, including responsibility for scope, quality, performance, and cost.Experience with Agile/Scrum or other iterative delivery methodologies.Ability to operate effectively in a multi-product, matrixed organizational environment.Strong understanding of business operations and the ability to translate business requirements and processes into scalable technical solutions.Experience supporting wholesale distribution, B2B, retail, manufacturing, or another complex commercial environment preferred.Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills with demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders and lead organizational change.Results-oriented leadership style with the ability to set clear direction, modernize team practices, and balance innovation with appropriate structure and governance.Comfortable making decisions in ambiguous environments with a bias toward action and continuous improvement.Technically credible and data-driven, with the ability to engage deeply in architecture, integration, and modern software-development practices.Strong cross-functional leadership and influencing skills.Demonstrated ability to lead through managers, delegate effectively, and maintain high standards for technical quality and delivery.Innovative, adaptable, and resilient when navigating organizational and technical challenges. Responsibilities Lead, hire, mentor, and develop engineering leaders, architects, engineers, and developers while building a strong leadership and technical talent pipeline.Establish performance expectations, goals, development plans, and accountability across the engineering organization.Provide leadership and oversight for enterprise integration platforms, API management, cloud integration architecture, ETL/data pipelines, and CRM technologies.Own enterprise and integration architecture, including integration patterns, data-architecture standards, technical governance, and long-term architecture roadmaps.Drive the responsible adoption of AI-assisted software development, establishing standards, governance, training, security controls, and quality practices for AI-enabled engineering.Identify opportunities to leverage AI tools and agents across development and technology operations while ensuring appropriate access to enterprise data and systems.Govern outsourced development and managed-services relationships, including scope, quality, cost, delivery performance, and risk management.Manage the full lifecycle of engineering initiatives, from business requirements and process analysis through planning, development, testing, implementation, and ongoing support.Strengthen organizational resilience by reducing single points of dependency through cross-training, documentation, knowledge sharing, and succession planning.Partner with Data & Analytics, IT Operations, Business Applications, ERP, Finance, and other technology teams to coordinate platforms, dependencies, and delivery.Own engineering-related talent, budget, resource allocation, and vendor strategy.Provide engineering and architecture input into the broader technology roadmap, standards, governance framework, and performance metrics.Build strong partnerships with business and technology stakeholders to ensure alignment across enterprise technology initiatives.Conduct comprehensive assessments of application architecture, legacy technologies, integration patterns, and active technology initiatives, providing recommendations for modernization and improvement.Establish and standardize development practices across technology stacks, including CI/CD, release management, quality assurance, testing, and deployment processes.Establish and monitor KPIs related to system reliability, engineering productivity, delivery speed, quality, security, and operational performance.Conduct regular one-on-one meetings with engineering leaders, technical leads, and key stakeholders to identify development opportunities, address challenges, and continuously improve team effectiveness.