Lead Data Platform Engineer

Job Location: hybrid in Bucharest

Recruitment process:

• HR screening
  
• 2 X Technical Discussion

Role description:

Our client is modernizing its complete application landscape - moving from classic fat clients toward containerized web, mobile, and event-driven integration workloads, running on a new GCP-based DevOps Platform with a central managed GitLab at its core.

As Lead Data Platform Engineer, you build and lead a new Data Platform team in Bucharest and Ulm from the ground up. You shape the technical vision and architecture for this multi-year transformation, set the technical direction, and make data quality and governance built-in properties of how the organization runs its Enterprise Data & Analytics Platform. 

Tasks:

• Several years of hands-on experience as a Lead Data Platform Engineer, Principal Data Engineer, or Tech Lead, with end-to-end ownership of building and operating an Enterprise Data & Analytics Platform on a public cloud
• Deep technical expertise in the Google Cloud Data Stack (BigQuery, Dataflow, Managed Airflow, Dataplex, Pub/Sub, Cloud DLP), or comparable solid experience with modern data platforms on AWS/Azure
• Proven track record designing and operating scalable Lakehouse architectures, with consistent use of Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform), modern data transformation frameworks (e.g., dbt Core), and CI/CD practices
• Solid knowledge of integrating hybrid data landscapes and diverse source systems, including SAP (S/4HANA, CDC, ODP/CDS) and high-volume streaming workloads
• Experience implementing Data-as-a-Product and self-service concepts using modern governance solutions (e.g., Collibra), along with robust security and compliance standards (e.g., VPC Service Controls, Policy Tags, GoBD)
• Strong architectural judgment to balance speed, scalability, governance, vendor lock-in, and total cost of ownership
  Experience in technical leadership and coaching of data engineers across all seniority levels, and in establishing clear quality standards (code reviews, RFCs, Architecture Decision Records)
• Excellent stakeholder communication — equally comfortable in C-level presentations and hands-on code reviews with developers
• Business-fluent English, plus very good German or Romanian

What You Will Drive With Us

• Shape and own the technical vision, target architecture, and ongoing development of our new GCP-based Enterprise Data & Analytics Platform, anchored on Data-as-a-Product principles of self-service, data quality, and governance
• Develop robust integration and data architectures to merge complex, heterogeneous data sources from SAP, e-commerce, and corporate systems
• Own the technical excellence of the platform — availability, performance, security, scalability, and cost efficiency
• Take technical leadership of the new Data Platform team in Bucharest and Ulm, shaping how architectural decisions are made, data models are developed, and technical standards are set
• Work closely with the Head of Data & AI on strategic and technical decisions, translating platform strategy into concrete technical roadmaps
• Partner with business departments to ensure data products solve real business problems
• Drive the cultural shift from traditional DWH structures to agile, domain-oriented data product teams built on a strong, centrally provided platform

What We Offer

• A greenfield opportunity to shape a new GCP Data & Analytics Platform from day one, for a major European retailer
• High visibility, short decision-making paths, and direct impact on the data and technology landscape of the entire organization
• The chance to build, grow, and shape an international data platform team
• Modern technologies, challenging architectural work, and an environment where technical excellence is genuinely valued
• Flexible working model (desk sharing and mobile working)