VP- Data Platforms - Personal Banking

First Abu Dhabi Bank; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 500,000 - 750,000; Full time

Job summary

First Abu Dhabi Bank is seeking a senior Data Architect/Data Engineer to lead the design of dimensional models and conformed dimensions for a robust lakehouse architecture. You will build Gold layers in lakehouse environments using Databricks and Unity Catalog, ensuring strong data governance and lineage across banking domains.

The role focuses on SQL/Dynamic pipelines, model optimization, and collaboration with governance councils to push back against spaghetti data ingestion while delivering

Qualifications

• 10 years of work experience in Data Architect, Data Modeler or Data Engineer roles.
• Expert in dimensional modeling and conformed dimensions.
• Strong knowledge of Lakehouse architectures and Databricks SQL.

Responsibilities

• Design and optimize data models (star/snowflake) and Gold layers in lakehouse.
• Manage Unity Catalog schemas, access controls and data lineage.
• Implement metadata governance, data dictionary and business glossary.
• Build and productionize data pipelines with Airflow within Databricks.
• Collaborate with governance councils and business units to ensure semantic consistency.

Skills

Dimensional Modeling

Lakehouse Architecture

Databricks

Unity Catalog

Delta Lake

SQL

PySpark

Airflow

Data Governance

Metadata Tagging

Lineage

Star Schema

Data Modeling

Coding in SQL

Tools

Databricks (Delta Lake)

Collibra/Atlan

Job description

Data Modeling & Architecture

• Expert in Dimensional Modeling fact/ dimension design conformed dimensions late-arriving facts
• Expert building Gold layers in Lakehouse architectures
• Understands business domain granularity e.g. Account Customer Product Transaction Channel Campaign etc.

Databricks & Unity Catalog

• Unity Catalog admin-level experience:
• Managing schemas tables access controls and lineage
• Tagging and auditing assets
• Proficient in Delta Lake DBSQL and Spark optimizatio
• Familiar with Lakehouse gold-tier architecture performance tuning: z-ordering caching file sizes partitioning

Metadata & Data Governance

• Experience locking data definitions and enforcing semantic consistency
• Build and maintain a data dictionary and business glossary
• Knows how to push back against spaghetti data ingestion from bronze/ silver
• Has worked closely with data governance councils or stewards

Lineage & Observability

• Able to implement or integrate lineage tools (Unity Catalog native or third-party like Collibra/ Atlan)
• Can build transparency pipelines that map gold back to source
• Hands-On Build & Optimization
• Writes performance SQL in Databricks SQL
• Experience in productionizing Gold tables: batch orchestration validation rollback strategies
• Can debug joins deduplication and mismatched grain scenarios quickly

Banking Domain Experience (strongly preferred)

Familiarity with:

• Core banking products (cards loans deposits etc.)
• Customer lifecycle metrics and KPIs
• Regulatory concerns (e.g. record retention masking PII etc.)
• Understands business units like Products Distribution & Sales Portfolio Marketing Digital etc.
• Understands business units like Products Distribution & Sales Portfolio Marketing Digital etc.

Qualifications :

Required Experience and Skills:

• 10 years of work experience in Data Architect Data Modeler Data Engineer.

Domain

Tools/ Skills

Lakehouse Engine

Databricks (Delta Lake DBSWL Spark)

Governance

Unity Catalog metadata tagging

Modeling

Star Schema Dimensional Modeling

Workflow

Airflow/ Workflows in Databricks

Metadata/ Lineage

Unity Lineage Collibra Atlan

Coding

SQL (Advanced) PySpark (Intermediate)

Infra/ Access

IAM token management workspace admin

Remote Work :

No

Employment Type :

Full-time