Manager of Data Architecture & Automation

Who We Are  

At C.A. Carlin, we take brands to new heights. We are one of the leading privately held sales agencies in the industry. Thanks to nimble growth and associations with our operating partners, C.A. Fortune and C.A. Ferolie, we have built brand value that is unlike any other in the CPG industry.  

What We Do  

Since our start in 1962, we have built industry relationships on the foundation of trust and action. We turn information into insight. We convert insight into programs. We drive programs that consistently deliver results to our clients, on their timeline.  

We have more than 300 associates and multiple offices throughout the country. We represent top brands in many categories such as confection, snack, grocery, beverage, frozen, dairy etc. 

Overview of the Role 

• The Manager of Data Architecture & Automation Team will lead a team responsible for developing, maintaining, and optimizing the analytical and data infrastructure that powers retailer, category, and retail media insights across C.A.
• This position will perform as if they are an internal consultant and trusted advisor to our sales organization and clients. As a leader, they will help execute strategy through the development of tools, process, and people to drive productivity and effectiveness as well as optimize the full analytics process from data to insightful recommendations and action. 
• This leader will partner cross-functionally with Insights, Sales, E-commerce, Retail, and IT teams to ensure our data ecosystem is accurate, scalable, secure, and aligned with the long-term BI and data strategy.
• Fully remote but if local to Chicago, IL would observe a hybrid scheduled 3 days in-office 
• Salary range $100,000 - $110,000 based on experience, qualifications and skills
• Less than 10-20% travel requirements to aid in client presentations  
• At C.A. we’re not looking for perfection, just people that want to commit to a us and grow their careers long-term. If you’re looking for a sign to apply, here it is! 

What You’ll Do at C.A. Carlin 

Data Architecture & Engineering Leadership

• Architect, design, and maintain end-to-end data models supporting omnichannel analytics, retail media measurement, and category insights.
• Establish database standards, schemas, naming conventions, governance rules, and documentation for multi-source datasets.
• Build and optimize ETL/ELT pipelines to ingest, normalize, and unify data from retail media networks, syndicated data providers, e-commerce platforms, and internal sources.
• Partner with IT/Data Engineering to evaluate, configure, and scale data warehouse environments (e.g., Snowflake, Databricks, Redshift, BigQuery).
• Oversee data quality frameworks, automated validation, anomaly detection, and audit processes.
• Implement best practices in version control, data lineage, security, access management, and architecture that supports future automation.

Business Intelligence & Automation Ownership

• Lead development of strategic category reviews, business reviews, and selling stories powered by integrated datasets.
• Own the enterprise Power BI ecosystem: data models, dataset refresh strategies, RLS, gateway management, and dashboard standards.
• Build scalable, reusable BI templates and automation protocols for weekly, monthly, quarterly, and ad-hoc reporting.
• Lead integration of complex datasets into unified semantic models for stakeholder consumption.
• Drive continuous improvement in BI performance, governance, documentation, and training across the organization.

Advanced SQL & Data Engineering

• Write complex SQL to manage queries, data transformations, intermediate tables, and long-running extract workloads.
• Build automated pipelines that integrate into central reporting environments.
• Support attribution modeling, reach/frequency analysis, audience segmentation, and MMM/MTA inputs where applicable.

People Leadership & Cross-Functional Enablement

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of 2–5 analysts focused on insights, automation, and reporting.
• Build capability across the department in technical tools, analytical methodologies, and storytelling.
• Assign resources to ensure smooth execution of recurring deliverables and strategic projects.
• Serve as a trusted consultant to Sales, E-commerce, Retail Media, Marketing, and client stakeholders.

What You Should Bring to the Table 

• Bachelor’s degree plus 5–7 years of experience in data engineering, BI architecture, insights, category management, or e-commerce analytics. 
• Proven leadership experience developing and managing technical and analytical teams.
• Strong SQL expertise (authoring complex queries, optimizing performance, working with cloud-scale data environments).
• Experience building and maintaining data models and pipelines across multiple sources.
• Expert-level Power BI (Power Query, DAX, M scripting, dataflows, semantic modeling).
• Strong understanding of database design (star/snowflake schema, normalization, indexing, data governance).
• Advanced Excel and PowerPoint for communication and analysis.
• Experience with retail media or CPG datasets (Amazon, Instacart, Walmart Connect, Kroger, SPINS, Nielsen, IRI, etc.).
• Strong strategic thinker who can translate complex data environments into actionable insights.
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to simplify highly technical concepts.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable managing multiple simultaneous priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to drive efficiency, automation, and scalable systems.

You Will Stand Out If You Have 

• Experience with cloud data warehouses (Snowflake, Databricks, Redshift, BigQuery, Azure Synapse).
• Proficiency in Python or R for automation, API ingestion, and data manipulation.
• Experience with AMC, TTD, DSPs, or retail media modeling frameworks.
• Background in system architecture, workflow automation, or enterprise data governance.

Perks 

• 16 days of PTO
• 11 paid company holidays per year 
• 2 paid volunteer days per year 
• 3 months fully paid parental leave (regardless of gender) 
• Medical, dental, and vision 
• Paid company life insurance 
• 401k with company match 
• Summer hours (half day Fridays from Memorial Day thru Labor Day) 
• Work from home flexibility 

Come As You Are 

C.A. is committed to making our company more inclusive. Diversity fuels our innovation and better connects us to our clients, our colleagues, and our communities. Based on research, we know that women and other marginalized groups tend to apply to roles only when their experience perfectly matches the job description. That said, we encourage you to apply if you meet the majority of qualifications, especially if this role aligns with your career trajectory.