Lead Data Engineer

Job Details

  • Salary
  • Experience 8 Years Experience

Lead Data Engineer

  • Sri Lanka

About the Role

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Lead Data Engineer to join our dynamic data team. In this role, you will take ownership of the data pipeline infrastructure, drive improvements in our ETL processes, and play a key role in shaping our data governance and analytics readiness. You’ll collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to ensure data quality, accessibility, and performance across our GCP-based data stack.

Key Responsibilities

  • Take full ownership of pipeline stability and performance across the GCP data stack (BigQuery, GCS, Dataprep/Dataflow).

  • Lead the enhancement of ETL workflows with a focus on modularity, reusability, and robust error handling.

  • Introduce and improve lightweight data governance practices, including column-level validation, source tracking, and transformation transparency.

  • Support the development of a semantic layer (KPI definitions, normalized metrics) to streamline downstream data use.

  • Collaborate with analysts and dashboard developers to deliver well-structured, user-friendly data outputs.

  • Work closely with leadership to prioritize initiatives based on impact and feasibility.

  • Prepare data platforms for advanced use cases such as automated reporting, predictive modeling, and AI-driven insights.

  • Mentor junior engineers, lead code reviews, and contribute to a strong, collaborative team culture.

  • Assist in hiring and onboarding efforts, and help evolve internal engineering standards.

Required Qualifications

  • 7+ years of hands-on experience in data engineering, ideally in a fast-paced agency or multi-client environment.

  • Strong command of Google Cloud Platform (GCP), especially BigQuery, Google Cloud Storage (GCS), and Cloud Dataprep (Alteryx) or Dataflow.

  • Advanced SQL and Python skills focused on transformation and data reliability.

  • Proven experience building and maintaining production-grade ETL pipelines.

  • Familiarity with metadata-driven development, version control, and workflow orchestration tools like Airflow (or equivalents).

  • Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.

  • Demonstrated ability to lead and collaborate effectively across teams.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience applying data governance practices such as lineage tracking, validation frameworks, and naming conventions.

  • Familiarity with building or maintaining a semantic layer (e.g., using dbt, LookML, etc.).

  • Exposure to AI/ML workflows or tools for automated insight generation.

  • Understanding of marketing/media datasets and/or experience with custom marketing attribution models.

  • Background in mentoring junior engineers and contributing to code or process standardization.

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