Aramark

Director, Data Engineering & AI

Aramark • $150K — $160K *
Philadelphia, PA 19120In-Person
Information Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Today
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Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Expert-level proficiency in modern data engineering tools and languages: Python, SQL, Spark, and cloud platforms like Snowflake and Azure.
  • Proven experience developing and deploying machine learning models and generative AI applications directly.
  • Hands-on experience with MLOps practices, including CI/CD and model monitoring tools.
  • Familiarity with diverse enterprise data domains rather than specialization in one area is preferred.
  • Demonstrated history of delivering AI products with measurable business impact.
  • Strong engineering leadership with a record of being an active technical contributor.
  • Ability to balance hands-on work with strategic decision-making.

Responsibilities

  • Architect and build production-grade data pipelines for critical initiatives across various data domains.
  • Develop and deploy machine learning models and generative AI applications, especially in new use cases.
  • Stay actively involved in debugging issues and reviewing production code to maintain technical credibility.
  • Define and execute the AI/ML roadmap to identify and implement high-value use cases.
  • Oversee enterprise data architecture standards and ensure engineering solutions align with these standards.
  • Establish and mature MLOps practices for model lifecycle management.
  • Lead a cross-functional team focused on embedding AI into applications and data products.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans.
  • Work/life resources to support employee well-being.
  • Retirement savings plans such as 401(k).
  • Paid leave options including parental leave and disability coverage.
Full Job Description
Job Description

The Director, Data Engineering & AI Enablement is the senior-most technical leader and active builder for the data engineering and artificial intelligence capability supporting the Facilities Management line of business. This is explicitly not a role defined by supervision alone - the person in this seat is expected to personally design, build, and ship production systems (pipelines, models, and AI applications) while also setting the technical strategy and leading the team that scales that work.

The Director operates at two altitudes at once: deciding where the AI/ML roadmap and data architecture should go, and getting directly into the work - writing code, prototyping, and solving the hardest, highest-ambiguity problems personally - especially in the early stages of a new initiative, before it's handed off to the broader team. The data surface this role owns spans the full breadth of the business - financial data, labor and workforce data, IoT and smart building sensor data, employee work and activity data, and client/operational data - not any single domain. The role also carries overarching technical oversight of enterprise data architecture standards and governance, ensuring all engineering and AI solutions align with enterprise data principles. The Director manages a cross-functional team of data engineers, ML engineers, data scientists, data architects, and BI developers.

Compensation Data

COMPENSATION: The hourly rate or salary range for this position is $150,000 to $160,000. If both numbers are the same, that is the amount that Aramark expects to offer. This is Aramark's good faith and reasonable estimate of the compensation for this position as of the time of posting.

BENEFITS: Aramark offers comprehensive benefit programs and services for eligible employees including medical, dental, vision, and work/life resources. Additional benefits may include retirement savings plans like 401(k) and paid days off such as parental leave and disability coverage. Benefits vary by location and are subject to any legal requirements or limitations, employee eligibility status, and where the employee lives and/or works. For more information about Aramark benefits, click here Aramark Careers - Benefits & Compensation.

Job Responsibilities

Build
  • Architect and build production-grade data pipelines (batch and streaming) for the highest-priority or highest-ambiguity initiatives - spanning financial, labor/workforce, and smart building sensor, employee work, and client/operational data - setting the technical pattern the team scales from.
  • Write code, design model architectures, and personally develop and deploy machine learning models and generative AI applications (including LLM-based solutions), particularly for new or unproven use cases before delegating to the team.
  • Stay hands-on in production: debug critical-path issues, review production-critical code and model logic, and remain a credible technical authority by virtue of doing the work, not just overseeing it.


Set the strategic direction
  • Define and execute the AI/ML roadmap for the line of business, identifying high-value use cases across the full data landscape - predictive maintenance, demand forecasting, workforce and labor optimization, financial and margin analytics, smart building performance, and intelligent client reporting.
  • Provide overarching oversight and governance of enterprise data architecture standards, design patterns, and data modeling principles - ensuring all engineering solutions, vendor integrations, and AI workloads conform to the established framework.
  • Review and approve solution designs across engineering, AI, and vendor deliverables for alignment with data architecture standards; serve as the senior technical authority for data design decisions.
  • Evaluate emerging AI technologies and vendors; build-versus-buy analysis with a bias toward owned, scalable capabilities.


Operationalize and govern
  • Stand up and mature MLOps practices: CI/CD for data and models, automated testing, model monitoring, drift detection, and retraining pipelines.
  • Engineer real-time and near-real-time data products supporting operational dashboards, alerting, and client-facing analytics across data domains - personally, where the problem is novel enough to require it.
  • Establish responsible AI practices, including model governance, bias evaluation, explainability standards, and compliance with emerging AI regulations.
  • Optimize cloud data and AI infrastructure for performance, reliability, and cost, partnering with enterprise platform teams.


Lead the team
  • Recruit, lead, and develop a cross-functional team of data engineers, ML engineers, data scientists, and data architects - building a delivery-focused, AI-first engineering culture where the Director is seen as the strongest technical contributor in the room.
  • Partner with product and operations leaders to embed AI capabilities into frontline applications, IoT platforms, and client dashboards.


Qualifications

  • Expert-level, current proficiency in modern data engineering: Python, SQL, Spark, streaming frameworks (e.g., Kafka), orchestration tooling, and cloud data platforms (e.g., Snowflake, Azure) - able to write and review production code personally, not only at a conceptual level.
  • Proven, personal experience developing and deploying machine learning models and generative AI/LLM applications into production - this should reflect direct authorship, not solely direction of others' work.
  • Hands-on experience with MLOps tooling, CI/CD pipelines, containerization, and model monitoring frameworks.
  • Experience working across diverse, often messy enterprise data domains (financial, labor/workforce, IoT/sensor, employee activity, client/operational) preferred over deep specialization in any single domain.
  • Demonstrated track record of delivering AI products that generated measurable business outcomes.
  • Strong engineering leadership skills with experience building and scaling delivery-oriented technical teams - paired with a clear, recent record as a top individual technical contributor, not a manager who has drifted away from the technical work.
  • Comfortable moving fluidly between hands-on building (coding, prototyping, debugging production issues) and strategic work (roadmaps, architecture decisions, executive communication).


Education & Experience
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or a related field; advanced degree in a quantitative discipline preferred.
  • 7+ years of data and software engineering experience, including 4+ years building AI/ML solutions and 2+ years in engineering leadership roles.
  • Experience should reflect both strategic ownership (roadmap, architecture, team leadership) and sustained, recent hands-on technical contribution - candidates who have moved fully into management with no recent shipping experience are not a fit for this role.


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About Aramark

Aramark provides food services, facilities management, and uniform and career apparel to health care institutions, universities and school districts, stadiums and arenas, and businesses around the world. ARAMARK’s position as a world leader in facility services stems from decades of experience and superior service in the diversified outsourcing industry. From their humble beginnings in 1936 at the helm of Davre Davidson and his peanut vending machines to our place — for the sixth time in nine years — at the top of Fortune magazine’s list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies,” ARAMARK has maintained an unwavering focus on providing world-class experiences, environments, and outcomes for their clients. At ARAMARK, they take care of buildings and infrastructure so that their customers can take care of their core business. They are proud to provide exceptional facility management services for 1,600 companies in 16,000 facilities — about 1.8 billion square feet worldwide. ARAMARK provides comprehensive facility service solutions that enable its clients to maximize safety, productivity, and reliability. Their success is the result of their steadfast commitment to service excellence. They pride themselves on delivering customizable, sustainable solutions in a wide range of facilities by working closely with their clients to achieve mutual goals. Self-performed services, ongoing client communication, performance metrics, and an environment of team learning and development enable us to perform beyond expectations in virtually every client engagement. Whatever the company’s facility needs, ARAMARK is here to consistently exceed the expectations for service excellence with the best people, the most innovative processes, and the latest technologies.

Aramark Careers

Join Aramark's vibrant team today and be part of a company that values innovation, leadership, and diversity. As a global leader in food, facilities, and uniform services, Aramark offers unparalleled job opportunities designed to enhance your professional growth and development. Work You’ll Do At Aramark, we are committed to fostering a culture of growth and innovation. Our team members are at the heart of our operations, providing essential services across various industries. By joining our team, you will collaborate with skilled professionals dedicated to making a meaningful impact every day. Aramark offers a wide range of employment opportunities, from frontline positions to executive roles, each contributing to our mission of delivering experiences that enrich and nourish lives. Whether you are looking for a full-time position or an internship, Aramark provides a path that will advance your career and expand your skills. Leadership and Development Step into a role that challenges you to be your best. Aramark’s leadership is committed to nurturing talents through robust training programs and diversity initiatives that ensure all team members are valued and have the opportunity to succeed. Our leadership training equips you with the tools necessary to lead with confidence and integrity. Innovation at Work Innovation is at the core of Aramark, where we continuously seek cutting-edge solutions to improve our services and operations. Engage in work that pushes the boundaries and leads to transformative outcomes, not just for our company but for the industries we serve. Join Our Team Explore the multitude of job opportunities at Aramark, where your career aspirations can take flight. We are actively hiring creative, curious, and motivated individuals who are ready to contribute to a team that celebrates diversity and is driven by excellence. Internship Programs Kickstart your career with an Aramark internship, where you can apply your classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios. Our internships provide a foundation for learning and development, plus the opportunity to build professional networks that can be pivotal in your career journey. Benefits and Culture Aramark is dedicated to supporting our employees with a comprehensive benefits package that promotes a healthy, fulfilling life both inside and outside of work. Our culture thrives on teamwork, respect, and inclusivity, creating an environment where every employee can thrive. Stay Connected Search open positions that match your skills and interests on the Aramark Jobs portal. We look for passionate, solution-driven team players who are eager to make a difference. Keep Up to Date Stay ahead with career tips, insider perspectives, and industry-leading insights you can put to use today—all from the people who work at Aramark. Job Alert Emails Personalize your subscription to receive job alerts, latest news, and insider tips tailored to your preferences. Discover the exciting and rewarding career opportunities that await at Aramark. Join Aramark today and be part of a team that is dedicated to excellence and innovation in everything we do. Your future starts here!
Learn more about Aramark
Size
248,300 employees
Market Cap
$10.6 billion
Industry
Hospitality & Recreation
Net Income
-$688.5 million
Founded
1936
5 Year Trend
+2.3%
Revenue
$11.3 billion
NASDAQ
ARMK
* Ladders Estimates

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