Sr. Director, Engineering (Shared Services)

Backblaze is a leader in object storage within the open cloud movement, aiming to empower customers with innovative cloud storage solutions. They are seeking a Sr. Director, Engineering - Shared Services to oversee Quality Engineering, Data Engineering, and the Project Management Office, while driving the company's AI strategy and operational excellence.

Responsibilities:

• Lead Quality Engineering & Automation: Spearhead the strategy for a modern Quality Engineering organization. Transition the team toward a heavy focus on automated testing and continuous integration to ensure appropriate levels of robustness without sacrificing speed
• Modernize Data Engineering & Infrastructure: Lead the Data Engineering function to build and maintain scalable data pipelines, warehousing, and governance frameworks. Ensure data is accessible, reliable, and actionable to support business intelligence and cross-functional decision-making
• Operationalize AI in Quality: Guide the development and application of AI/ML tools directly into quality operations. Transform testing by leveraging AI for generation and anomaly detection, ensuring Backblaze is leading - not following - the AI curve in its internal processes
• Drive Internal AI Transformation: Spearhead the evolution of internal workflows by integrating AI tools into the Project Management Office and general engineering practices to increase efficiency and reduce toil
• Elevate the PMO: Oversee the Project Management Office to drive predictability and alignment across complex engineering initiatives. Ensure the PMO acts as an enabler of velocity rather than a bottleneck
• Scale Organizational Capability: Recruit, develop, and mentor a diverse and high-performing technical leadership team within Shared Services that can drive large, complex new initiatives
• Collaborate Across the Business: Partner with peers in Product, Cloud Operations, and other functional areas to align quality standards, data availability, and project delivery with customer and commercial outcomes

Requirements:

• Significant leadership experience in scale-up or mid-to-large tech environments, with specific focus on Quality Engineering, Data Engineering, Release Management, or Shared Services
• Experience leading data engineering teams, with a strong grasp of modern data stacks, ETL/ELT pipelines, and data governance needed to support AI and analytics
• Proven expertise in shifting quality organizations from manual to automated frameworks. Deep technical understanding of CI/CD pipelines and modern testing infrastructure
• Experience building and scaling AI/ML initiatives within internal operations to deliver measurable value
• Experience overseeing a Project Management Office (PMO) or Technical Program Management (TPM) function, ensuring projects are delivered with clarity and predictability
• Successfully built and led high-performing, distributed teams across geographies with emotional intelligence and cultural fluency
• Ability to communicate complex data regarding quality and project health clearly to executive peers and partners. Builds alignment through clarity
• Experience leading teams through technical modernization and cultural transformation, specifically regarding the adoption of new AI tools and agile methodologies