Growing Beyond Technical Expertise as a Data Leader with Capital One's Senior Director of Data Engineering
Show notes
Technical expertise can only take you so far. At some point, career growth depends on earning trust, asking better questions, and learning how to see beyond your own area of expertise.
In this episode, Jess Carter sits down with Colleen Tartow, Senior Director of Enterprise Data Engineering at Capital One. After starting her career as an astrophysicist, Colleen moved into enterprise data engineering. She shares what that transition taught her about leadership, trust, and making better decisions. Jess and Colleen also discuss what it means to be truly data-driven and why the best leaders are willing to change their minds when the evidence points in a new direction.
In this episode, you'll learn:
How to balance confidence in your expertise with humility
When to go deep into technical details and when to focus on the bigger picture
How evidence should shape strategy instead of simply validating it
Things to listen for:
(00:00) Introduction to the episode with Colleen Tartow
(04:00) How astrophysics mirrors modern data engineering
(11:25) Building trust quickly in new companies and industries
(14:54) Why listening is a critical leadership skill
(17:34) The transition from IC to leadership roles
(27:34) How to tell if a company is truly data-driven or not
Colleen's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleen-tartow-phd/