Lead Data Engineer

Our client is the fastest-growing Google-first technology consultancy based in the Philippines, working with global brands including PayPal, Snapchat, and SEGA.

We are looking for a Lead Data Engineer to join our client's Professional Services team.

This is a senior, client-facing leadership role responsible for setting the technical direction and leading the delivery of cloud-based data platforms for enterprise customers. You will own data architecture, engineering standards, delivery quality, and key technical decisions across complex engagements.

You will work closely with customers, Google, delivery teams, and engineering stakeholders to translate business challenges into scalable data solutions, while mentoring engineers and raising the technical capability of the wider team.

Key Responsibilities

Lead Data Architecture and Delivery

• Own the end-to-end design and delivery of scalable data platforms, pipelines, and models.
• Define target-state architectures and make informed trade-offs around scalability, reliability, security, performance, and cost.
• Translate ambiguous business requirements into clear technical strategies and delivery plans.
• Lead complex customer engagements from discovery through implementation and production support.

Build and Operate Data Platforms

• Oversee the development of automated pipelines using Python, SQL, BigQuery, and orchestration tools.
• Ensure data ingestion, transformation, storage, analytics, and reporting solutions are reliable and maintainable.
• Lead investigations into complex pipeline failures, data-quality issues, and performance problems.
• Drive root-cause analysis and implement lasting improvements across production environments.

Lead Customer Engagement

• Act as a trusted technical adviser to enterprise customers.
• Run discovery sessions, architecture discussions, and technical workshops.
• Present recommendations and design decisions to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Manage technical escalations and coordinate solutions across customers, Google, and engineering teams.
• Support scoping, estimation, proposal development, and pre-sales activity when required.

Set Engineering Standards

• Establish standards for data architecture, coding, testing, monitoring, documentation, and deployment.
• Promote consistent engineering patterns and reusable solutions across customer engagements.
• Review technical designs and ensure solutions meet quality, security, governance, and operational requirements.
• Identify opportunities to improve delivery processes, platform reliability, and engineering efficiency.

Lead and Develop the Team

• Provide technical leadership to data engineers across multiple projects.
• Mentor junior, mid-level, and senior engineers through coaching, design reviews, and code reviews.
• Delegate work effectively and ensure technical delivery remains aligned with project objectives.
• Support hiring, technical interviews, onboarding, and capability development.

Requirements

Experience Required

• 7+ years of experience designing, building, and maintaining production data engineering solutions.
• At least 3 years of hands-on experience with GCP, AWS, or Azure, with GCP strongly preferred.
• Experience leading the architecture or delivery of complex data platforms and pipelines.
• Proven experience working directly with enterprise customers and senior stakeholders.
• Experience mentoring engineers and providing technical leadership across delivery teams.
• Ability to translate complex business requirements into practical data strategies and solutions.

Technical Experience

• Deep Python experience, including building pipelines and automating data workflows.
• Advanced SQL skills, preferably including BigQuery SQL and large-scale datasets.
• Strong experience with ETL/ELT, data ingestion, transformation, storage, and data modelling.
• Experience with orchestration tools such as Apache Airflow.
• Strong experience designing data models for analytics and reporting.
• Experience implementing data-quality, testing, monitoring, and observability practices.
• Ability to diagnose complex issues across distributed data platforms.
• Experience with Git, CI/CD, and modern engineering practices.
• Understanding of data security, governance, access controls, and compliance requirements.
• Experience with Power BI, Looker, Looker Studio, Tableau, or comparable analytics platforms.

Leadership Capabilities

• Able to own data architecture and technical delivery across complex engagements.
• Comfortable leading customer workshops and presenting to senior stakeholders.
• Able to challenge requirements and defend technical recommendations.
• Strong judgement when working with ambiguity, risk, and competing priorities.
• Able to manage escalations and make sound decisions with limited direction.
• Strong written and verbal English communication.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers and raise team capability.
• Commercial awareness, including experience with scoping, estimation, or pre-sales support.

Desirable Experience

• Deep production experience with GCP and BigQuery.
• Experience within consulting, professional services, or managed services.
• Experience supporting machine learning workflows or models in production.
• Experience with Spark or other distributed data-processing technologies.
• Experience working with Google or another major cloud technology partner.
• Background in regulated or enterprise environments.
• Experience contributing to hiring, practice development, or thought leadership.

Benefits

• Compensation: Competitive base salary, de minimis allowance, and 13th-month pay.
• Health and Family: Employer-paid HMO for the employee and up to two dependants, plus maternity, paternity, and bereavement leave.
• Time Off and Development: 28 days of annual leave, 15 sick days, birthday leave, ten learning days, and Philippine statutory holidays.
• Work and Recognition: Hybrid setup with two to three office days per week and monthly Bonusly points.

Diversity and Inclusion

Our client is committed to providing an inclusive workplace and a fair, accessible hiring process. Applications are welcomed regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, or neurotype.