Associate Director, Operational Data Engineering

About the role

Optus, an Australian telecommunications company, is looking for an Associate Director of Operational Data Engineering in Macquarie Park, NSW. You will lead the engineering and evolution of the cross-domain operational data capability that underpins Operational Intelligence, Automation and AI-driven Network Operations. You will own the strategy, standards, data products and integration patterns that make network, OSS, BSS and cloud data reliable, accessible and reusable at enterprise scale.

Key responsibilities

• Own and evolve the operational data engineering strategy and roadmap across Network Operations.
• Define the target operational data capability, information model and maturity pathway to support Operational Intelligence, Automation and AI.
• Lead the engineering and lifecycle management of trusted operational data products across network, OSS, BSS and cloud domains.
• Establish reusable patterns for real-time and batch ingestion, transformation, enrichment and delivery of operational data.
• Lead integration of operational data with enterprise and operational data platforms, including streaming, data lake and network data capabilities.
• Define and govern standard operational data models, APIs and integration patterns that reduce duplication and simplify interoperability.
• Govern data quality, lineage, lifecycle, metadata and engineering standards aligned with enterprise architecture, security, privacy and governance.
• Drive capabilities from engineering through validation to sustained production use, with clear ownership and measures of quality, reliability and cost.
• Influence senior stakeholders on priorities, investment and standards, and manage strategic technology and delivery partners.
• Build and lead a high-performing team, developing people through coaching and structured knowledge transfer.

Required profile

• Extensive leadership experience in telecommunications, operational data engineering, data platforms, OSS or large-scale technology environments.
• Demonstrated experience leading enterprise-scale data engineering in complex, distributed and real-time operational environments.
• Proven ability to define capability strategy, engineering standards and roadmaps and turn them into measurable outcomes.
• Ability to lead cross-domain teams and influence senior stakeholders across Operations, Engineering, Architecture, Data and Technology.
• Strong commercial, financial and vendor management capability, including investment prioritisation and value realisation.
• Relevant tertiary qualification in Engineering, Telecommunications, Computer Science, Data Engineering, Technology or equivalent significant industry experience.

Required skills

• Data product engineering, streaming and batch pipelines, APIs and data models.
• Data quality, lineage and lifecycle management.
• Knowledge of network and service operational data used in observability, analytics, AI and automation.

What we offer

• Competitive remuneration and employee discounts, including $80 monthly credit and 25% off Optus products.
• Flexible working, with the option of three days in the office and two days remote or home.
• A campus with cafes, a convenience store, chill out zones, GP, post office, gym and on-site childcare.
• Leave policies including extra 'Connected' days and up to 16 weeks of paid parental leave.
• Employee-led networks and diversity initiatives, plus free 24/7 counselling and support services.
• Free Optus bus from Macquarie University Metro Station.