Lead Data Platform Engineer

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Lead Data Platform Engineer based in Italy.

Join a high-impact engineering team responsible for operating and evolving a large-scale cloud-native data platform that processes billions of events and delivers critical business insights. This role combines hands-on technical leadership with platform ownership, giving you the opportunity to shape architecture, establish engineering standards, and drive long-term scalability and reliability. You will work across the full data lifecycle, from data ingestion and processing to modeling, reporting, and operational excellence. The position offers significant autonomy, close collaboration with technical and business stakeholders, and the chance to influence platform strategy while remaining deeply involved in implementation. It is an ideal opportunity for an experienced data platform professional who enjoys solving complex challenges in a modern cloud environment while mentoring others and promoting engineering best practices.

• Own the end-to-end data platform roadmap, driving strategic decisions and execution across architecture, operations, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Take responsibility for the complete data lifecycle, including data ingestion, streaming and batch processing, data modeling, quality assurance, reporting, and delivery pipelines.
• Lead the ongoing optimization of a cloud-native platform, focusing on reliability, scalability, maintainability, operational efficiency, and cost management.
• Establish and strengthen monitoring, observability, alerting, and incident response processes to ensure business-critical systems remain highly available and performant.
• Conduct platform assessments, identify technical risks and improvement opportunities, and develop pragmatic roadmaps for platform evolution.
• Define and promote engineering standards covering documentation, testing, code reviews, infrastructure management, and operational excellence.
• Collaborate closely with product, customer-facing, and leadership teams to translate business objectives into scalable technical solutions.
• Drive the adoption of AI-assisted engineering practices, including coding, testing, documentation, refactoring, and incident analysis workflows.
• Mentor team members, provide technical leadership, and ensure sustainable ownership of critical platform components and processes.

Requirements

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in Data Engineering, Data Platform Engineering, Platform Engineering, or related roles within production environments.
• Strong proficiency in Go (Golang) with hands-on experience developing and maintaining backend systems and data processing applications.
• Extensive experience with Google Cloud Platform services, including Cloud Run, Pub/Sub, BigQuery, Dataflow, Cloud Storage, and Cloud SQL.
• Advanced SQL skills and solid expertise in analytical data modeling and large-scale data processing architectures.
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code practices using Terraform, CI/CD pipelines, containerized workloads, and modern cloud deployment methodologies.
• Familiarity with SQLMesh, dbt, or similar data orchestration and transformation frameworks is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of Protobuf or comparable schema definition and data serialization technologies.
• Experience implementing monitoring, observability, reliability, and operational best practices in production systems.
• Understanding of web analytics, audience measurement systems, or comparable large-scale data environments is advantageous.
• Practical experience using AI coding assistants and the ability to evaluate AI-generated code for quality, security, and maintainability.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Fluent German (C1 level) and good English communication skills for documentation and international collaboration.
• Strong problem-solving abilities, ownership mindset, and a proactive approach to technical leadership.

Benefits

• Fully remote work environment with the flexibility to work from anywhere.
• High degree of autonomy and trust, allowing you to shape solutions and influence technical direction.
• Opportunity to take ownership of a modern cloud-native platform with significant business impact.
• Collaborative and supportive team culture focused on knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.
• Minimal bureaucracy and streamlined processes designed to maximize productivity and innovation.
• Access to a broad network of SaaS professionals for learning, collaboration, and professional development.
• Exposure to cutting-edge technologies, cloud platforms, AI-assisted engineering practices, and large-scale data systems.
• Inclusive and diverse workplace committed to equal opportunities and professional growth.
• Transparent compensation practices, with salary information shared during the hiring process.