Lead Data & AI Engineering Manager

Job Location: hybrid in Bucharest

Recruitment process:

• HR discussion
  
• Tech interview
• Management interview

Our client ( a retail company) is building new Data & AI delivery unit in Romania.

We are looking for a technically strong and inspiring Lead Data & AI Engineering Manager to build and lead an initial team of approximately five to six specialists in Romania. Reporting directly to the GenAI & Agentic AI team in Germany, you will be the founding leader of our Romanian unit — combining disciplinary and professional people leadership with technical depth, business acumen and hands-on delivery.

Your responsibilities:

Build and lead the Romanian Data & AI unit

• Establish and develop a new Data & AI delivery team in Romania.
• Lead, coach and mentor a team of approximately five to six employees.
• Provide both disciplinary and professional leadership.
• Create a collaborative, inclusive and high-performing team culture.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, professional development and performance management.
• Act as the primary contact for technology, project and people-related topics in Romania.
• Enable team members to take ownership of projects and deliver results independently.
• Represent the Romanian unit at industry events, tech conferences and recruiting fairs in Bucharest
• and across Romania — actively positioning the company as a leading Data & AI employer in the market.
• Drive local employer branding initiatives to give the company a distinctive and visible presence in the Romanian tech and AI talent community.

Drive end-to-end project delivery

• Take responsibility for Data Engineering, GenAI and Agentic AI initiatives based on internal frameworks and standards.
• Lead projects from initial idea and requirements through architecture, implementation and production deployment.
• Ensure that projects are delivered with a high level of quality, transparency and accountability.
• Coordinate closely with the Data & AI organization in Hamburg.
• Gradually establish independent project ownership within the Romanian team.
• Take full operational responsibility for Data & AI solutions in production — including monitoring, maintenance, incident response and continuous improvement of deployed systems.
• Set priorities and ensure alignment with business objectives and the wider company Data & AI roadmap.

Shape our technology landscape

Data Engineering and modern data platforms

• Data Warehousing based on the company framework and standards
• Generative AI, Agentic AI and Large Language Model (LLM) applications
• Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), MCP server integrations and intelligent business applications
• Productionisation, monitoring and operational responsibility for AI solutions in production

Depending on your background and the needs of the team, you will contribute to and lead initiatives involving:

• Data Engineering and modern data platforms
• Data Warehousing based on the company framework and standards
• Generative AI and Agentic AI
• Large Language Models and LLM applications
• Retrieval-Augmented Generation and intelligent business applications
• MCP servers and integrations with internal systems and services
• Software factory process
• APIs, data products and scalable platform services
• Productionisation, monitoring and operation of AI solutions
• You will not only manage these topics — you will also actively contribute to their technical direction, implementation and operational support.

Your profile

Leadership and collaboration

• Several years (8 years) of experience leading technical teams, delivery teams or engineering
• organizations.
• Proven ability to build and develop a new team or organizational unit.
• Experience with professional and/or disciplinary leadership.
• Strong coaching and mentoring skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with both technical experts and business stakeholders.
• Confidence in working across locations, cultures and organizational boundaries.
• A collaborative leadership style combined with decisiveness and accountability.
• Ability to translate strategic goals into clear priorities and actionable plans.

Technical expertise

You have a strong background in several of the following areas:

• Data Engineering
• Data Science
• Machine Learning
• Generative AI and Agentic AI
• Large Language Models and LLM-based applications
• Data Warehousing
• Cloud platforms, particularly Google Cloud Platform
• Open-source technologies
• Streaming and distributed data processing
• Data architecture and platform engineering
• Software engineering and modern development practices
• AI and data solution integration with business applications
• Production deployment, monitoring, security and operational responsibility

Experience with technologies such as Python, SQL, APIs, modern data platforms, containerization, orchestration, CI/CD and cloud-native services is highly desirable.

Experience with MCP servers, AI agents, RAG architectures or similar GenAI integration patterns is a must-have.

Business and delivery orientation

• You understand how Data and AI create measurable value for business functions.
• You are comfortable working with Marketing, Online, Customer Intelligence, IT and other corporate functions.
• You can connect technical decisions with business needs and customer value.
• You have experience delivering complex projects in an agile or otherwise structured environment.
• You are comfortable taking ownership in situations that are not yet fully defined.
• You combine strategic thinking with a hands-on mindset.
• You are willing to write code, review architectures, solve technical problems and support the team when needed.
• You are able to drive initiatives forward with energy, persistence and a clear sense of responsibility.

Communication

• Excellent English skills, both written and spoken.
• Strong communication skills with international and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to explain complex technical subjects clearly to non-technical stakeholders.
• German language skills are beneficial but not required.

What you can expect

• The opportunity to build a new Data & AI unit in Romania from the ground up.
• A key leadership role with significant influence on the future of the company's Data and AI capabilities.
• Close collaboration with an experienced and diverse Data & AI organization in Germany.
• The opportunity to work on strategic topics such as GenAI, Agentic AI, Data Engineering, Machine Learning and modern cloud platforms.
• A role combining people leadership, architecture, project responsibility and hands-on technology.
• An international working environment with colleagues from engineering, data, marketing, online IT and business teams.
• Access to established development guidelines, cloud infrastructure, technologies and engineering practices.
• The chance to establish scalable, reusable and business-oriented solutions for a well-known international company.
• The backing of a mature, experienced Data & AI organization in Hamburg with a proven track record of delivering complex projects — providing real support, established standards and a clear path forward from day one.
• The rare privilege of being the founding leader of the company's Romanian Data & AI capability — with the influence, visibility and lasting impact that this pioneering role carries.

Your impact

• As Lead Data & AI Engineering Manager in Romania, you will be one of the key drivers in establishing he company's Romanian Data & AI capability.
• You will connect people, technology and business. You will help transform strategic ideas into reliable products and services, empower your team to take ownership and create a strong bridge between Romania and Germany.
• If you are passionate about Data and AI, enjoy building teams and want to combine leadership with hands-on technical work, we would be happy to hear from you.