Senior Director, Engineering - Loyalty Platform

JOB SUMMARY:

If you're looking to build leading technology that enables the future of global travel while transforming your career - step out of the status quo and join Global Technology at Marriott International.

Reporting to the Managing VP, Application Development - Core Platforms, the Senior Director, Engineering - Loyalty Platform will serve as a key member of the senior leadership team, responsible for defining, leading, and executing the technology vision for the company's global loyalty program. This role will be central to building a world-class, data-driven loyalty ecosystem that enhances customer experience, deepens engagement, and drives revenue growth across all digital and physical channels. The Senior Director will oversee the full lifecycle of loyalty platform development, from ideation and design to deployment and ongoing optimization, ensuring it remains scalable, secure, and aligned with the company's strategic objectives. This role is accountable for architecture, development, and delivery of innovative, flexible, and performant Loyalty real-time capabilities.

This leader will work in close collaboration with senior executives, marketing, product, data, operations teams and vendors to create an integrated, omni-channel loyalty solution that provides compelling value to customers while delivering measurable results for the business. The role will require a deep understanding of the loyalty landscape, customer behavior, and digital technologies, coupled with a relentless drive for innovation and excellence.

The Senior Director will be instrumental in driving the company's digital transformation agenda, leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), big data, and cloud computing to build personalized, adaptive, and engaging customer experiences. This role ensures that teams develop and follow standard application development tools, processes, and practices to promote industry leading solutions in the Loyalty space. This position manages day-to-day relationships with global information technology teams to promote client satisfaction with all technology teams and business partners. The Senior Director will establish a culture of continuous improvement and innovation, fostering an agile environment where creative problem-solving is the norm, and data-driven decision-making is paramount while consistently delivering high value features.

The ideal candidate will be a dynamic leader with a demonstrated ability to lead complex, multi-disciplinary projects, a passion for delivering high-quality software at scale, and a proven track record in managing and growing large engineering teams. This individual will possess a strong technical background combined with strategic business insight, exceptional communication skills, and a deep commitment to developing and mentoring talent. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of our loyalty program, driving meaningful differentiation and sustained competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving market.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Education and Experience
Required:

• 12+ years of application architecture and development leadership experience, including:
  • Direct experience leading technology teams in defining, creating and supporting enterprise-scale loyalty or digital platforms with strong knowledge of customer engagement and travel or hospitality industry best practices.
  • Direct experience in architecture and migration of multi-billion revenue building modern loyalty platforms.
• Demonstrated experience in Agile development methodologies, specifically with large-scale initiatives and geographically distributed teams.
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale engineering organizations (50+ members) with direct responsibility for hiring, mentoring, and developing engineering talent, including managers and directors.
• Direct management of cross-functional, sourced, and matrixed teams
• Management of complex budgets in excess of $25-50M direct and indirect costs
• Demonstrated thought leadership commensurate with the scale of Marriott Bonvoy Program
• Demonstrated experience with large scale Reservation (e.g. Amadeus, Sabre) and Loyalty (e.g. IBS, Salesforce) platforms
• Demonstrated enterprise technology leadership experience in hospitality, travel or retail industry.
• Experience in building partnerships with external technology vendors and service providers.

Preferred:

• Proven track record of building, scaling, and managing loyalty programs, customer engagement platforms, or similar high-volume, customer-facing applications.
• Experience leading digital transformation initiatives, including migrating legacy systems to cloud-based platforms, implementing microservices architecture, and adopting modern engineering practices.
• Deep understanding of the technologies, tools, and frameworks used to develop and enhance loyalty programs, including CRM systems, marketing automation platforms, customer data platforms (CDPs), and analytics tools.
• Experience with cloud-based platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and microservices architecture.
• Proficiency in software development methodologies, including Agile, DevOps, CI/CD pipelines, and version control systems (e.g., Git).
• Strong understanding of data architecture, and analytics platforms, including experience in data integration, ETL processes, real-time data processing, and AI/ML applications.
• Experience with API development, RESTful services, and middleware technologies to ensure seamless integration between loyalty platforms and other enterprise systems.
• Demonstrated success leading medium- to large-scale initiatives/transformations
• Demonstrated success in leading the development and deployment of scalable, high-performance software systems with a focus on quality, reliability, and security.
• Experience in setting and meeting ambitious engineering goals, managing trade-offs between speed, quality, and cost, and delivering projects on time and within budget
• Proven executive experience in strategic planning and budgeting within one or more business groups
• Experience with building highly productive and efficient engineering teams with mixed sourcing strategies
• Strong process management, negotiating, influencing, and problem resolution skills
• Proven ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment
• Experience in business systems and process planning
• Knowledge of business environment, service requirements and hospitality culture
• Demonstrated ability to assess customer/client needs, creatively approach solutions, decide and influence appropriate courses of action
• Ability to understand and communicate the lifecycle of technologies and applications and to translate into business strategies for the client organizations
• Solid understanding of IT financial structures and ability to manage to corporate financial processes and standards - including drivers of process costs
• Expertise in transformational change management, leading the organization through complex changes, from adopting new technologies to shifting organizational mindsets and behaviors, to achieve strategic goals.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to articulate complex technical ideas in easy-to-understand business terms
• Ability to accomplish results through others, particularly by establishing relationships, effective controls and leading in a managed service environment
• Experience representing the company at industry events, conferences, or on panels, showcasing the organization's technology leadership in loyalty programs and customer engagement.

CORE WORK ACTIVITIES

Lead Large-Scale Transformation from Mainframe to Cloud-Based SaaS Platform:

• Strategic Planning and Roadmap Development
  • Develop a comprehensive strategy and multi-year roadmap to transition the existing mainframe-based loyalty platform to a modern, scalable, cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) architecture.
  • Define key objectives, milestones, timelines, and resource requirements for the transformation, ensuring alignment with the company's broader transformation goals.
• Architecture and Design Oversight
  • Oversee the design and architecture of the new cloud-based platform, ensuring it meets business requirements for performance, scalability, flexibility, and security.
  • Ensure the architecture supports multi-tenancy, high availability, and disaster recovery, and integrates seamlessly with other enterprise systems, including CRM, data analytics platforms, and third-party service providers.
• Technology Selection and Vendor Management
  • Lead the evaluation, selection, and onboarding of cloud service providers and SaaS platform vendors.
  • Manage relationships with external partners, ensuring adherence to timelines, budgets, and quality standards.
  • Negotiate contracts and service level agreements (SLAs) to ensure the best value for the organization.
• Data Migration and Management
  • Oversee the migration of data from legacy mainframe systems to the new cloud-based platform, ensuring data integrity, accuracy, and security throughout the process.
  • Implement robust data governance practices, including data cleansing, validation, and transformation, to enable seamless transition and operational continuity.
  • Develop data migration tools, scripts, and procedures to automate and streamline the migration process.
• Re-platforming of Core Applications
  • Lead the re-architecting and re-platforming of existing mainframe-based applications and services to a microservices-based, cloud-native model.
  • Ensure that all core loyalty program functionalities, including customer data management, rewards processing, and real-time transactions, are effectively migrated and optimized for cloud environments.
• Security, Compliance, and Risk Management
  • Implement robust security controls, data protection measures, and compliance protocols to safeguard customer information and ensure regulatory compliance throughout the migration process.
  • Collaborate with the cybersecurity team to conduct security assessments, vulnerability testing, and risk mitigation activities for the new cloud-based platform.
• Performance Monitoring and Optimization
  • Establish and implement monitoring tools and performance metrics to track the efficiency and effectiveness of the new cloud-based platform post-migration.
  • Continuously analyze performance data to identify areas for improvement, optimize resource utilization, and ensure the platform delivers a seamless and high-quality customer experience.
• Operational Continuity and Disaster Recovery
  • Develop and execute a comprehensive disaster recovery and business continuity plan to minimize downtime and ensure rapid recovery in the event of unforeseen disruptions during the migration process.
  • Regularly test and update the plan to account for new risks and changes in the operating environment.
• Post-Migration Review and Continuous Improvement
  • Conduct a thorough post-migration review to assess the success of the transformation against defined objectives, KPIs, and stakeholder expectations.
  • Gather feedback from end-users, partners, and internal teams to identify lessons learned and areas for further optimization.
  • Promote a culture of continuous improvement by iterating on the platform and making enhancements based on ongoing feedback and data-driven insights.

Innovation, Long-Term Vision and Market Leadership

• Position the company as a market leader in customer loyalty and engagement through the use of cutting-edge technologies and innovation.
• Lead industry thought leadership initiatives, representing the company at key conferences, speaking engagements, and in media, further establishing the company's leadership in the loyalty space.
• Identifying and capitalizing on emerging market opportunities, partnerships, and new technologies to drive competitive advantage and foster long-term growth.
• Balance short-term tactical execution with long-term strategic vision, ensuring the loyalty platform is adaptable to rapidly changing market dynamics, customer expectations, and competitive pressures.
• Anticipate future trends and challenges, proactively evolving the technology roadmap to keep the company ahead of the curve.

Global Scale and Multi-Market Execution

• Leading technology initiatives across multiple geographies and markets, each with unique regulatory, cultural, and business requirements, adding a layer of complexity to the role.
• Manage global teams across different time zones, languages, and regulatory environments, ensuring the loyalty platform delivers consistent, high-quality experiences worldwide.
• Responsible for coordinating technology rollouts, upgrades, and transformations in multiple regions, requiring advanced project management and organizational skills.

Developing and Managing Application Development Standards, Processes, And Tools

• Works with the Enterprise Architecture and Products to lead and facilitate consistency of delivery across client groups
• Builds and maintains a standard set of application development tools and processes that will drive consistency and predictability throughout the SDLC for all client groups including:
  • SDLC standard tools and processes for both waterfall and agile development
  • Estimating standard tools and processes, incorporating flexibility for small and large projects
  • Deployment standard tools and processes
• Monitors projects for adherence to defined application development processes
• Works with IT organization to create broader IT related and corporate standards and policies where necessary
• Communicates important application development policy changes that affect service provider and/or Marriott operations

Managing Day-To-Day Relationships with IT Teams

• Manages application development projects in partnership with Loyalty - Product Leadership, business partners and providers
  • Provides input into overarching technology roadmaps
  • Defines and oversees effective reporting
  • Provides overall project management of business projects/portfolios
  • Manages day-to day relationships with all IT teams to promote the delivery of services that meet or exceed the client expectations
  • Monitors all projects for alignment with defined business case process
  • Drives timely resolution of escalated service delivery problems and minimizes the impact of any client service delivery issues
  • Defines, manages, and improves service level reporting for application development
  • Provides early warning to the appropriate Product leaders and team regarding degraded or missed service levels
  • Leads application development and maintenance of service provider project management standards and tools
  • Participates in client portfolio and demand management processes, and engages service providers to promote client satisfaction
  • Ensures effective software engineering resourcing of engineers across Loyalty
  • Drives talent development and best practices for team
• Works with application development service providers
  • Validates that the service provider(s) performs the services agreed to by the master services agreement in a manner that is consistent with both the spirit and the letter of the agreement.
  • Works with all IT teams to progress the service providers services to match client needs
  • Facilitates team and service provider compliance with the agreement
  • Defines and facilitates service levels to meet business needs
• Supports the IT organization
  • Participates in the creation and maintenance of IT's business strategy and planning
  • Supports and follows defined IT Governance decision rights, standards and practices
  • Emphasizes accuracy and effectiveness of estimating and planning management with team
  • Assists all IT teams with the preparation and monitoring of business/discipline and continent IT budgets
• Manages and supports Loyalty Mainframe
  • Oversee the day-to-day operations of the mainframe-based loyalty platform, ensuring system reliability, availability, and performance.
  • Manages day to day development in relation to Growth initiatives, partner onboarding.
  • Support migration of Reservation and PMS rollout.
  • Manage L3 support team that works on the resolution of production incidents, including root cause analysis, issue tracking, and implementation of preventative measures.

Quality Engineering Leadership

• Establish and enforce rigorous quality standards, performance benchmarks, and metrics for all loyalty platform components, including software applications, APIs, data pipelines, and integrations.
• Lead the development and implementation of advanced testing strategies, including automated testing, performance testing, load testing, and security testing, to ensure the platform's robustness, reliability, and scalability. Promote the use of test-driven development (TDD) and behavior-driven development (BDD) methodologies to enhance software quality and reduce defects.
• Manage and monitor the quality performance of external technology vendors, service providers, and third-party developers.

Financial Leadership

• Lead the development of systems for real-time tracking, validation, and adjustment of loyalty points earned, redeemed, or expired by customers. Ensure the systems can handle high transaction volumes, support multi-channel interactions, and maintain data integrity across all touchpoints, including online, in-store, and partner channels.
• Ensure seamless integration and synchronization of data between the loyalty platform, financial systems, and external partner networks.
• Implement advanced monitoring and risk management tools to detect and prevent fraudulent activities related to points earning, redemption, and reimbursement.
• Work closely with external partners, including banks, airlines, hotels, and other affiliates, to ensure accurate points tracking, reconciliation, and reimbursement across partner ecosystems. Develop APIs and data-sharing agreements that facilitate seamless integration and real-time data exchange with partners' loyalty systems.

Implementing and Managing Continuous Improvement Program

• Implements CMMi or similar metrics to demonstrate continuous improvement and alignment with the industry
• Demonstrates continuous improvement through metrics of quality consistency and client satisfaction
• Works with application development service providers, IT teams, and business partners to implement continuous improvement activities
• Designs and administers project surveys or other feedback processes, to continually improve client satisfaction

Operational Excellence and Performance Management:

• Establish clear goals, objectives, and performance metrics for the engineering organization, regularly assessing progress against targets.
• Implement efficient processes and tools to maximize productivity, reduce cycle times, and ensure the timely delivery of projects.
• Drive operational improvements through automation, process optimization, and effective resource management.
• Conduct regular reviews and retrospectives to identify lessons learned, share best practices, and continuously improve team performance.

Change Management and Transformational Change Leadership:

• Responsible for driving a culture of innovation, agility, and continuous improvement within the engineering organization and beyond, influencing broader company culture.
• Lead organizational change initiatives related to digital transformation, ensuring successful adoption of new technologies, tools, and practices.
• Communicate effectively with all stakeholders to manage expectations, minimize resistance, and ensure alignment with strategic objectives.
• Develop and implement change management strategies, including training programs, communication plans, and feedback mechanisms

Crisis Management and Problem Resolution:

• Serve as the point of escalation for complex technical issues, guiding teams through critical problem-solving processes and crisis management.
• Ensure robust incident management processes are in place to minimize downtime and quickly resolve any disruptions to the loyalty platform.
• Develop contingency plans and disaster recovery strategies to protect the platform against unexpected events and ensure business continuity

Talent Development and Team Building:

• Attract, hire, and retain top engineering talent, building a diverse and high-performing team that reflects the company's values and culture.
• Mentor and coach engineering leaders and team members, providing opportunities for career growth, skills development, and leadership training.
• Create an inclusive work environment that encourages collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning.
• Foster a culture of accountability, where teams are empowered to take ownership of their work and deliver high-quality results
  

Leadership
• Communication - Conveys information and ideas to others in a convincing and engaging manner through a variety of methods.
• Leading Through Vision and Values - Keeps the organization's vision and values at the forefront of employee decision making and action.
• Managing Change - Initiates and/or manages the change process and energizes it on an ongoing basis, taking steps to remove barriers or accelerate its pace; serves as role model for how to handle change by maintaining composure and performance level under pressure or when experiencing challenges.
• Problem Solving and Decision Making - Identifies and understands issues, problems, and opportunities; obtains and compares information from different sources to draw conclusions, develops and evaluates alternatives and solutions, solves problems, and chooses a course of action.
• Professional Demeanor - Exhibits behavioral styles that convey confidence and command respect from others; makes a good first impression and represents the company in alignment with its values.
• Strategy Development - Develops business plans by exploring and systematically evaluating opportunities with the greatest potential for producing positive results; ensures successful preparation and execution of business plans through effective planning, organizing, and on-going evaluation processes.

Managing Execution
• Building a Successful Team - Uses an effective interpersonal style to build a cohesive team; inspires and sustains team cohesion and engagement by focusing the team on its mission and importance to the organization.
• Strategy Execution - Ensures successful execution across of business plans designed to maximize customer satisfaction, profitability, and market share through effective planning, organizing, and on-going evaluation processes.
• Driving for Results - Sets high standards of performance for self and/or others; assumes responsibility for work objectives; initiates, focuses, and monitors the efforts of self and/or others toward the accomplishment goals; proactively takes action and goes beyond what is required.

Building Relationships
• Customer Relationships - Develops and sustains relationships based on an understanding of customer/stakeholder needs and actions consistent with the company's service standards.
• Global Mindset - Supports employees and business partners with diverse styles, abilities, motivations, and/or cultural perspectives; utilizes differences to drive innovation, engagement and enhance business results; and ensures employees are given the opportunity to contribute to their full potential.
• Strategic Partnerships - Develops collaborative relationships with fellow employees and business partners by making them feel valued, appreciated, and included; explores partnership opportunities with other people in and outside the organization; influences and leverages corporate and continental shared services and/or discipline leaders (e.g., HR, Sales & Marketing, Finance, Revenue Management) to achieve objectives; maintains effective external relations with government, business and industry in respective countries; performs effectively as a liaison between locations, disciplines, and corporate to ensure needed resources are received and corporate strategies are understood and executed.

Generating Talent and Organizational Capability
• Developing Others - Plans and supports the development of others' skills and capabilities so that they can fulfill current or future job/role responsibilities more effectively; provides high visibility to individuals with potential; offers challenging assignments that build confidence and credibility and provides such individuals with a personal vision for their future.
• Organizational Capability - Evaluates and adapts the structure of assignments and work processes to best fit the needs and/or support the goals of an organizational unit.

Learning and Applying Professional Expertise
• Business Acumen - Understands and utilizes business information to manage everyday operations and generate innovative solutions to approach business and administrative challenges.
• Technical Acumen - Understands and utilizes professional skills and knowledge in a specific functional area to conduct and manage everyday business operations and generate innovative solutions to approach function-specific work challenges.

• Technical Intelligence: knowledge and ability to identify technological opportunities and threats that could affect the future growth and survival of the business.
• Technology Life Cycle: knowledge of the Life Cycle of technologies and how applications, infrastructure, and processes relate to these timelines.
• Development Methodologies: knowledge of development methodologies as well as new/upcoming development methodologies.
• Information Security: knowledge of the security considerations relevant within the development space, including industry best practices related to information security

• Continuous Learning - Actively identifies new areas for learning; regularly creates and takes advantage of learning opportunities; uses newly gained knowledge and skill on the job and learns through their application.
• Strategy Knowledge - Understanding and utilizing professional skills and knowledge in a specific functional area to conduct and manage business operations and generate innovative solutions to approach function-specific strategic work challenges.
• Basic Competencies - Fundamental competencies required for accomplishing basic work activities.

• Basic Computer Skills - Uses basic computer hardware and software (e.g., personal computers, word processing software, Internet browsers, etc.).
• Mathematical Reasoning - Adds, subtracts, multiplies, or divides quickly, correctly, and in a way that allows one to solve work-related issues.
• Oral Comprehension - Listens to and understands information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Reading Comprehension - Understands written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicates effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

The salary range for this position is $169,700 to $277,700 annually.

Marriott International is an equal opportunity employer. We believe in hiring a diverse workforce and sustaining an inclusive, people-first culture. We are committed to non-discrimination on any protected basis, such as disability and veteran status, or any other basis covered under applicable law.

Notification to Applicants: Canada Regional Office takes seriously its obligations under provincial human rights and accessibility legislation (such as the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, and Nova Scotia Accessibility Act). We are happy to provide accommodations to job applicants needing assistance. If you require an accommodation in relation to this job posting, our online application or an interview, please call 905-366-5227 or email CanadaApplicationAccommodation@marriott.com and a member of our Human Resources team will respond to your request. Please note that this phone number and email are only for those individuals who would like to request an accessibility accommodation as part of the recruiting process.

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