Senior Data Engineer → Head of Data

This is a moderate transition with a typical 15-month runway and 52% skill overlap. Expect a +40% salary change, with strongest hiring demand in USA, UK, Canada. Employers hiring today include Series-B+ SaaS, Fintech. Focus your first 60 days on closing the gap in role-specific tooling and vocabulary.

1. 1Audit your Senior Data Engineer experience for transferable skills that map to Head of Data.
2. 2Close the top skill gap: role-specific tooling.
3. 3Build 2–3 portfolio artifacts that demonstrate Head of Data outcomes.
4. 4Reshape your resume and LinkedIn around Head of Data keywords and outcomes, not job titles.
5. 5Run a targeted outreach loop to Head of Data hiring managers at Series-B+ SaaS, Fintech.

• ▸Why are you moving from Senior Data Engineer to Head of Data?
• ▸Walk me through a Senior Data Engineer project where you applied skills relevant to Head of Data.
• ▸Which parts of a Head of Data role are new to you, and how are you closing that gap?
• ▸Where do you see yourself as a Head of Data in 3 years?
• ▸Tell me about a stakeholder disagreement and how you resolved it.

• ▸Lead with a positioning line: "Senior Data Engineer transitioning to Head of Data, focused on Leadership and Stakeholder Management."
• ▸Reframe Senior Data Engineer accomplishments using Head of Data vocabulary — outcomes, not tasks.
• ▸Surface 52% of overlapping skills at the top; put Senior Data Engineer-only work later.
• ▸Add a "Selected projects" section featuring 2 artifacts aligned to Head of Data.
• ▸Quantify impact: dollars, users, uptime, cycle time — whatever a Head of Data manager cares about.