Lead Data Engineer - Founding Data Engineering Role

• Startup / Data Orchestration Platform

About the Role

• We are a startup building a data orchestration platform, and data is at the core of our business.
• We are looking for a highly capable, forward-thinking Lead Data Engineer who can help shape our data engineering journey from the ground up.
• This is a unique opportunity for someone who enjoys building from scratch, thinking through complexity, solving challenging problems, and making critical architectural decisions.
• We are looking for an individual who can take ownership of our data engineering foundation and help define how data powers our platform and business as we scale.
• We are looking for a builder, problem-solver, and technical thinkernot just someone who executes predefined tasks.
• The ideal candidate will combine strong technical expertise with critical thinking, design capabilities, excellent articulation, and a forward-looking perspective on AI.

What You Will Own

• Shape and build the company's data engineering foundation from scratch.
• Define the data architecture, engineering practices, and long-term technical direction.
• Translate complex business problems into scalable, reliable, and maintainable data solutions.
• Design and build data pipelines, orchestration workflows, and data processing systems.
• Establish data quality, validation, observability, and governance practices.
• Make architectural decisions that balance immediate business needs with long-term scalability.
• Work closely with the founders, product, and engineering teams to connect business requirements with technical solutions.
• Identify opportunities to leverage AI in data engineering, orchestration, automation, and platform capabilities.
• Take end-to-end ownership of the data engineering function as the company grows.

What We Are Looking For

• Core Thinking & Problem-Solving Skills These are critical selection criteria, alongside technical expertise.
• Problem Solver: Ability to break down ambiguous, challenging problems and develop practical solutions.
• Critical Thinking: Evaluate trade-offs, challenge assumptions, and make sound technical decisions.
• Design Thinking: Ability to design systems and architectures that address complex requirements.
• Connect the Dots: Understand relationships between data, systems, business requirements, and product capabilities.
• Handle Complexity: Comfort working through uncertainty, evolving requirements, and interconnected technical challenges.
• Good Articulation: Clearly communicate ideas, architectural decisions, technical trade-offs, and complex concepts.
• Forward-Looking Mindset: Understand emerging technologies and identify opportunities to incorporate AI into data engineering and platform development.
• Ownership: Take responsibility for shaping the data function and driving outcomes independently.

Technical Skills & Experience

• 8-10 years of relevant data engineering experience preferred.
• Strong experience in designing and building data platforms, pipelines, and architectures.
• Experience building data engineering solutions from scratch, rather than working exclusively on established systems.
• Strong understanding of data orchestration, workflow management, and distributed data processing.
• Experience with data modeling, data integration, transformation, and processing.
• Expertise in designing scalable, reliable, and maintainable data systems.
• Strong understanding of data quality, observability, performance optimization, and system reliability.
• Experience with cloud-based data infrastructure and modern data engineering technologies.
• Familiarity with AI-powered engineering tools, AI-assisted workflows, and emerging AI capabilities in data platforms.

Preferred Background

• Experience working in a startup or high-growth product company.
• Prior experience building a data platform, data engineering function, or significant data infrastructure from scratch.
• Experience working in an early-stage environment where architecture, technical direction, and engineering practices need to be established.
• Exposure to data orchestration platforms or complex data-intensive products.
• Experience working closely with founders and product teams to translate business vision into technical execution.

Who Will Thrive in This Role

• Someone who: Enjoys solving problems without always having a predefined answer.
• Can think deeply about architecture, design, and system complexity.
• Is comfortable taking ownership and making decisions in an evolving startup environment.
• Can connect business needs with technical possibilities.
• Thinks beyond immediate implementation and considers the future of the platform.
• Is curious about how AI can change the way data systems are designed and built.
• Wants to create something meaningful from the ground up.

Why Join Us

• This is an opportunity to play a pivotal role in shaping the data engineering journey of a startup where data orchestration is central to the product.
• You will have the opportunity to influence architecture, establish engineering foundations, solve meaningful technical challenges, and help define how the platform evolves.
• If you are someone who loves building from scratch, thinking through complexity, and shaping the future of data with AI, we would love to connect with you.