Head of Data Engineering

Senior Associate | AI Futures | Filling the AI skills gap ®

Job Title: Head of Data Engineering

Employment Type: Full-Time | Hybrid Work Model

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and visionary Head of Data Engineering to lead our global data engineering strategy, operations, and team. You will play a critical role in shaping and delivering robust, scalable, and future-ready data infrastructure that supports our digital transformation initiatives across multiple industrial and business domains.

As the Head of Data Engineering, you will lead a team of engineers, architects, and data specialists focused on building secure, high-performance data pipelines, platforms, and services. This is a senior leadership position reporting directly to the Chief Data Officer, and it requires strong collaboration with data science, product, and enterprise IT stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership : Define and own the vision, roadmap, and execution of enterprise-wide data engineering initiatives, aligning with business and technology strategy.
• Architecture & Infrastructure : Design and oversee implementation of scalable data architectures, including data lakes, real-time streaming platforms, data warehouses, and distributed processing frameworks.
• Team Building & Management : Lead and grow a high-performing team of data engineers and architects across multiple locations. Establish best practices in development, deployment, testing, and monitoring.
• Innovation & Standardization : Drive innovation in data processing and storage technologies while ensuring compliance with data governance, security, and privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR).
• Collaboration : Partner with AI/ML teams, business units, product owners, and IT to ensure seamless data availability, quality, and usability across the organization.
• Tooling & Platform Selection : Evaluate and implement modern data engineering tools and platforms (e.g., Databricks, Kafka, Snowflake, Apache Airflow, Kubernetes).
• Operational Excellence : Ensure high availability, reliability, and performance of data pipelines and services. Establish KPIs, SLAs, and observability standards.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in data engineering, software development, or data architecture, with at least 4 years in a leadership role.
• Proven experience managing global data platforms and teams in a complex, enterprise-scale environment.
• Expertise in cloud-native architectures (Azure preferred, AWS or GCP also considered) and hybrid/on-prem environments.
• Deep knowledge of modern data tools, frameworks, and platforms, including distributed systems, batch and stream processing, and data quality solutions.
• Strong understanding of data governance, lineage, privacy, and regulatory frameworks.
• Experience working in industrial, engineering, or manufacturing-focused companies is a strong plus.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, including working with senior executives.
• Fluency in English is required; German language skills are a plus.

What We Offer

• Opportunity to shape the future of data engineering in a global, innovation-driven environment.
• Collaborative, diverse, and purpose-led culture focused on solving real-world industrial and technological challenges.
• Flexible work arrangements and hybrid workplace model.
• Professional development programs, including leadership and technical training.
• Attractive compensation and benefits package.

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