Associate Director, Operational Data Engineering

Optus is an Australian telecommunications company, delivering more than 11 million services to our customers every day across mobile, broadband and digital solutions. As AD, Operational Data Engineering, you will lead the engineering and evolution of Optus’ cross-domain operational data capability, providing the trusted data foundation for 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. Working across Network Operations, Engineering, OSS, Enterprise Data and Architecture, you will reduce integration complexity, improve data quality and accelerate intelligent and automated operational capabilities. What You’ll Do Own and evolve the cross-domain operational data engineering strategy and capability 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. Establish and govern operational data quality, lineage, lifecycle, metadata and engineering standards, aligned with enterprise architecture, security, privacy and governance requirements. Drive operational data capabilities from engineering through validation into sustained production use, with clear ownership and measures of quality, reliability and cost. Influence senior stakeholders on operational data priorities, investment decisions and standards, while managing strategic technology and delivery partners. Build and lead a high-performing operational data engineering capability, developing people through coaching and structured knowledge transfer. What makes you perfect for the role? Extensive leadership experience across telecommunications, operational data engineering, data platforms, OSS or large-scale technology environments. Demonstrated experience leading enterprise-scale data engineering capabilities across complex, distributed and real-time operational environments. Strong knowledge of data product engineering, streaming and batch pipelines, APIs, data models, data quality, lineage and lifecycle management. Strong understanding of network and service operational data and its use across observability, analytics, AI and automation. Proven ability to define capability strategy, engineering standards and roadmaps, and translate them into measurable operational outcomes. Demonstrated 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. Excellent strategic thinking, communication and executive stakeholder engagement skills. Relevant tertiary qualifications in Engineering, Telecommunications, Computer Science, Data Engineering, Technology or equivalent significant industry experience. The good stuff… Competitive remuneration and employee discounts. Make life easier (and more affordable) with $80 monthly credit and 25% off Optus products and unique shopping discounts with our retail partners. Flexible working arrangements with opportunities to work three days in the office, two days remote or home. Vibrant and collaborative office campus that includes cafes, convenience store, chill out zones, GP, post office, gym and on-site childcare centre. Competitive leave policies, including additional ‘Connected’ days to focus on culture, family, health, community, or whatever’s important to you. We support growing families with inclusive, carer-neutral paid Parental Leave of up to 16 weeks. Build meaningful connections through employee-led networks and diversity initiatives including Culture Connect, Elevate Women, Disability Network and Express Yourself (LGBTQIA+). Put your wellbeing first with free access to counselling and support services, 24/7 — in-person, by phone, SMS, or video. Free Optus bus from Macquarie University Metro Station (every 6-8 minutes); morning and afternoon. At Optus, we are strengthened by others and that means valuing diversity and saying ‘yes’ to embracing individual differences. We are committed to ensuring that our application process provides an equal employment opportunity to all job seekers, including individuals from diverse gender, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, individuals with a disability, individuals identifying as being part of the LGBTQIA+ community, individuals who may have served in the armed forces or who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. We also want to do our best to make our recruitment process inclusive. If you require any adjustments or accessibility support to participate fairly and equitably in the recruitment process, please email or call 1800 309 170. For more information on Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Optus, please visit #LI-EB1