Head of Data Engineering

M2 Exchange; Dubai; On-site; AED 300,000 - 450,000; Full time

Job summary

A financial services exchange in Dubai is seeking a Head of Data Engineering to design and maintain a scalable data architecture. You will lead a team of data engineers and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements while driving best practices in data engineering. The ideal candidate has significant experience in the field, especially within regulated industries, and is proficient in SQL, Python, and cloud platforms. This role offers an opportunity to work in a high-growth environment.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in data architecture and engineering, preferably in a regulated financial environment.
• Strong proficiency in SQL, Python, or Scala.
• Hands-on experience with real-time data processing.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement data modeling, governance, and security frameworks.
• Build and maintain ETL / ELT data pipelines.
• Lead and mentor a team of data engineers.

Skills

SQL

Python

Scala

Data governance

Cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)

Real-time processing (Kafka, Spark)

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Airflow

Databricks

Snowflake

BigQuery

Job description

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As the Head of Data Engineering, you will be responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining a robust, scalable, and compliant data architecture that supports our exchange’s operations, analytics, and regulatory reporting requirements. You will lead a team of data engineers, ensuring high availability, security, and performance of our data infrastructure. You will work closely with stakeholders across technology, compliance, risk, and product teams to develop data pipelines, warehouses, and real-time analytics capabilities.

This is a strategic yet hands-on role where you will drive data engineering best practices, scalability, and automation while ensuring compliance with regulatory data requirements for a financial services entity.

Key Responsibilities

Data Architecture & Strategy :

• Define and own the data architecture strategy for the exchange, ensuring it is scalable, secure, and regulatory-compliant.
• Design and implement data modeling, governance, and security frameworks to meet financial and regulatory requirements.
• Architect real-time and batch processing data pipelines to handle trade data, order books, user activity, and market analytics.
• Optimize data storage and retrieval for performance and cost efficiency, leveraging cloud-based and hybrid solutions.

Data Engineering & Infrastructure :

Build and maintain ETL / ELT data pipelines for operational, analytical, and compliance-related data.

Ensure high data quality, reliability, and availability through robust monitoring, alerting, and data validation techniques.

Manage and enhance data warehouses, data lakes, and streaming platforms to support business intelligence and machine learning use cases.

Oversee database design and optimization for transactional and analytical workloads (e.g., Aurora, Redis, Kafka).

Implement data lineage, metadata management, and access control mechanisms in line with compliance requirements.

Compliance, Security & Risk Management :

Work closely with compliance and risk teams to ensure data retention policies, audit trails, and reporting mechanisms meet regulatory requirements (e.g., FATF, AML, GDPR, MiCA).

Implement encryption, anonymization, and access control policies to safeguard sensitive user and transaction data.

Support fraud detection and risk monitoring through data analytics and alerting frameworks.

Leadership & Team Management :

Lead, mentor, and grow a small team of data engineers, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and accountability.

Drive best practices in data engineering, DevOps for data, and CI / CD automation for analytics infrastructure.

Collaborate with software engineers, DevOps, data analysis, and product teams to integrate data solutions into the broader exchange ecosystem.

Technical competencies and skills :

Proven experience in data architecture and engineering, preferably within a regulated financial or crypto environment.

Strong proficiency in SQL, Python, or Scala for data engineering.

Experience with cloud-based data platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and orchestration tools (Airflow, Prefect, Dagster).

Hands-on experience with real-time data processing (Kafka, Pulsar, Flink, Spark Streaming).

Expertise in data warehousing solutions (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Databricks).

Strong understanding of database design, indexing strategies, and query optimization.

Experience implementing data governance, lineage, and cataloging tools.

Familiarity with blockchain / crypto data structures and APIs is a plus.

Leadership & Strategic Skills :

Experience leading and mentoring a team of data engineers.

Ability to design data strategies that align with business goals and regulatory requirements.

Strong cross-functional collaboration skills with compliance, risk, and technology teams.

Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-growth startup environment with a hands-on approach.

Industry & Compliance Knowledge :

Experience in regulated financial markets, fintech, or crypto is highly preferred.

Familiarity with financial data standards, KYC / AML reporting, and regulatory requirements related to data handling.

Preferred Qualifications :

Bachelors or Masters degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, or a related field.

Certifications in cloud data engineering (AWS / GCP / Azure), data governance, or security are a plus.

Experience working in a crypto exchange, trading platform, or high-frequency trading environment is an advantage.

At M2, we believe in a workplace where talent, dedication, and passion are the only factors that count, regardless of gender, background, age, and other characteristics. We embrace diversity because we know that it fuels innovation, fosters creativity, and drives success. So, if you're ready to join a team where your potential is truly valued, welcome aboard!

Seniority level

Seniority level

Not Applicable

Employment type

Employment type

Full-time

Job function

Job function

Other

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