Data Services Operations Manager

Data Services Operations Manager

Cognizant is seeking an experienced Data Services Operations Manager to support a major healthcare payer in California. The candidate will oversee end-to-end on-premises data platform stability, lead a 30+ member onshore-offshore delivery team, and ensure high-quality, SLA-driven data operations across enterprise reporting and business-critical data services. The ideal candidate brings strong healthcare data operations experience, proven delivery governance skills, and hands-on expertise in Informatica and Netezza environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Own production support and operational stability of the enterprise on-prem data platform, including ETL pipelines (Informatica) and Netezza data warehouse environments.
• Lead and coordinate a 30+ member onshore-offshore delivery team; manage work allocation, delivery governance, and cross-time-zone collaboration.
• Drive incident management, root cause analysis, and resolution of production data issues with full accountability for SLA adherence and business continuity.
• Partner with BA, Dev, QA, and Operations teams across the full SDLC — from requirements through UAT and production deployment in an Agile delivery model.
• Identify process gaps, data quality risks, and design flaws early; implement corrective actions to protect project timelines and client reputation.
• Manage stakeholder communication with directors and client leadership; maintain high client satisfaction through regular Weekly status review (WSR), MSP (managed service program), and QBR (Quarterly business review) engagements.
• Champion delivery automation, defect prevention, and continuous improvement initiatives to reduce support ticket volume and regression effort.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience spanning data operations, ETL development, delivery management, and QA leadership across the full SDLC.
• Hands-on experience with Informatica PowerCenter and IBM Netezza in enterprise production environments.
• Proven track record managing large onshore-offshore teams (20–30+ members) in multi-vendor, multi-environment programs.
• Healthcare payer domain experience (member, claims, eligibility, provider data) strongly preferred; Life Sciences background also considered.
• Strong SQL proficiency; experience with Teradata, Oracle, or MySQL in high-volume data platforms.
• Familiarity with Agile/SAFe delivery frameworks, project governance tools (JIRA, TFS), and reporting platforms (Tableau, MicroStrategy, Business Objects).
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills; demonstrated ability to achieve high client satisfaction (4.5+/5) and client retention.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; Agile or Scrum certification is a plus.

Our strength is built on our ability to work together. Our diverse backgrounds offer different perspectives and new ways of thinking. It encourages lively discussions, creativity, productivity, and helps us build better solutions for our clients. We want someone who thrives in this setting and is inspired to craft meaningful solutions through true collaboration.

If you are content with ambiguity, excited by change, and excel through autonomy, we'd love to hear from you!