Associate Director, Data Platform (Application Development)

About the Role

The incumbent is responsible for shaping AIA Singapore’s engineering strategy, building scalable and secure application platforms, and driving best-in-class engineering practices across multiple development teams.

This role manages multiple engineering teams delivering enterprise applications built using modern platform using Java, Python, SQL/Postgres/MS SQL, Kubernetes, deployed as microservices on Azure Cloud. The ideal candidate should bring deep hands-on engineering expertise, strong architectural thinking, and the ability to lead and grow technical teams.

The incumbent will partner closely with Technology, Product, AIA Group teams, and business stakeholders to deliver digital solutions that accelerate AIA’s transformation journey.

WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING

Strategic Leadership

• Define and drive the engineering roadmap aligned with AIA Singapore’s digital and data strategy.

• Design scalable, secure, high-performance application architectures leveraging cloud-native engineering on Azure.

• Establish engineering governance, coding standards, DevOps practices, and quality controls to ensure security, availability, and operational excellence.

• Stay current with emerging technologies and proactively introduce modern engineering capabilities (microservices, containerization, APIs, DevSecOps, data engineering practices, etc.).

Delivery Ownership

• Oversee delivery of complex, mission-critical applications across 5 engineering teams.

• Collaborate with AIA Group, Technology teams, and Product Managers to define, plan, and execute the technology roadmap.

• Ensure teams deliver high-quality, scalable and maintainable solutions within agreed timelines.

• Remove blockers, optimize engineering processes, and drive continuous improvement in speed, stability, and reliability.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Serve as primary point of contact for business units, translating outcomes to measurable deliverables (SLAs, KPIs, timelines).

• Drive prioritization and backlog management across multiple squads, balancing regulatory deadlines, business demand, and technical debt.

• Champion data product thinking—clearly defined ownership, contracts, SLAs, versioning, and standardized documentation (API specs, data dictionaries).

Governance Risk and Compliance

• Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory frameworks (e.g., MAS TRM, cyber hygiene, records retention), audit readiness, and evidence collection.

• Own access management and API policy governance (rate limits, quotas, consumer onboarding, keys, secrets).

Operational Excellence

• Define and monitor SLAs for system availability, performance, and reliability.

• Implement automation and monitoring solutions to ensure efficient operation and minimal downtime.

• Oversee capacity planning, mange budget, forecasting costs, optimizing platform usage and infra resources and cost optimization of infrastructure.

People leadership

• Build and lead a high‑performing team (platform engineers, leads, API developers).

• Foster a culture of customer focus, accountability, and continuous improvement; mentor managers and senior ICs.

• Develop talent pipelines, succession plans, and partner strategies (vendors, SIs, managed services).

WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE

• Degree from a recognized University in Information Technology, Computer Science, Computer Engineering or equivalent.

• 12+ years of total experience in which 10+ years of hands-on software development experience with strong proficiency in Java, Python, Microservices architecture, SQL & relational database design, Kubernetes & containerization, Cloud-native development and 8+ years of engineering leadership experience managing multiple technical teams or large-scale engineering organizations.

• Proven experience in designing and delivering enterprise-grade systems with high scalability, performance, and availability.

• Strong architectural mindset with the ability to guide technical direction and make informed engineering decisions.

• Ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders across business, technology, and group teams.

• Experience in coaching and developing engineering managers and senior engineers.

• Insurance/financial services experience is a plus but not mandatory.

• Highly technical and hands-on when necessary; able to engage deeply with engineers on architecture, design, and code-level challenges.

• Strong leadership presence with the ability to motivate and inspire high-performing teams.

• Growth mindset and willingness to continuously learn and adopt new technologies.

• Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.

• Passionate about building sustainable engineering culture, not just managing projects.