Principal Data Engineer – CPS DataValidation Platform (OmniShopper & Homescan)

NielsenIQ; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working environment

Volunteer time off

LinkedIn Learning

Employee-Assistance-Program (EAP)

Job summary

NielsenIQ is seeking a Principal Engineer to provide technical leadership for the CPS DataValidation platform powering OmniShopper and Homescan. The role oversees production support, platform reliability, and strategic initiatives across on-premise and Azure, collaborating with global teams in US Eastern Time.

You will drive modernization, own incident management, and define roadmaps, KPIs, and cross-functional governance to ensure scalable, secure, and cost-effective data solutions.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience.
• 5+ years in Staff Engineer, Principal Engineer, Architect, or equivalent leadership roles.
• Experience owning mission-critical production systems.
• Experience supporting enterprise-scale data platforms.
• Proven success influencing multiple organizations and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own the overall health, reliability, performance, and scalability of the DataValidation platform.
• Serve as the primary engineering escalation point for production incidents and business-critical issues.
• Lead incident management, root cause analysis, and post-incident remediation activities.
• Drive improvements in observability, monitoring, alerting, and operational excellence.
• Establish and maintain operational KPIs, SLAs, and platform health metrics.
• Define and execute the technical strategy and roadmap for the DataValidation platform.
• Participate in architecture decisions across on-premise and Azure-based systems.
• Ensure solutions are scalable, maintainable, secure, and cost-effective.
• Review system designs and provide technical guidance to development teams.
• Balance technical debt reduction with business delivery commitments.
• Act as the engineering lead for strategic OmniShopper initiatives.
• Collaborate with Product Leadership and PMO to define technical solutions.
• Coordinate execution across multiple engineering and business teams.
• Ensure DataValidation capabilities align with future OmniShopper and Homescan requirements.

Skills

10+ years software engineering

Staff/Principal engineer leadership

Mission-critical production systems

Enterprise-scale data platforms

Stakeholder influence

Tools

Python

Oracle Database

Linux environments

SQL performance tuning

Azure Data Services

PySpark

Parquet datasets

ETL/Data engineering frameworks

Data quality and validation platforms

Job description

We are seeking a highly experienced Principal Engineer to provide technical leadership and operational ownership for the CPS DataValidation platform supporting NielsenIQ's OmniShopper and Homescan solutions. This role serves as the primary technical point of contact for production support, platform reliability, and strategic OmniShopper initiatives.

The successful candidate will drive modernization across a hybrid ecosystem spanning on-premise and Azure platforms while partnering closely with Data Science, PMO, Operations, Product Leadership, and Engineering teams located primarily in the US Eastern Time zone.

Platform Ownership & Production Leadership

• Own the overall health, reliability, performance, and scalability of the DataValidation platform.
• Serve as the primary engineering escalation point for production incidents and business-critical issues.
• Lead incident management, root cause analysis, and post-incident remediation activities.
• Drive improvements in observability, monitoring, alerting, and operational excellence.
• Establish and maintain operational KPIs, SLAs, and platform health metrics.

Technical Leadership

• Define and execute the technical strategy and roadmap for the DataValidation platform.
• Participate to architecture decisions across both on-premise and Azure-based systems.
• Ensure solutions are scalable, maintainable, secure, and cost-effective.
• Review system designs and provide technical guidance to development teams.
• Balance technical debt reduction with business delivery commitments.
• Act as the engineering lead for strategic OmniShopper initiatives.
• Collaborate with Product Leadership and PMO to define technical solutions supporting business objectives.
• Coordinate execution across multiple engineering and business teams.
• Ensure DataValidation capabilities align with future OmniShopper and Homescan requirements.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Partner closely with:

• Data Science teams
• PMO
• Operations teams
• Product Leadership
• Global Engineering teams

Responsibilities include

• Translating business requirements into technical solutions.
• Managing technical risks and dependencies.
• Driving prioritization discussions.
• Communicating platform health and roadmap updates to stakeholders.
• Influencing decision-making without direct authority.

Qualifications

Experience

• 10+ years of software engineering experience.
• 5+ years in Staff Engineer, Principal Engineer, Architect, or equivalent technical leadership roles.
• Experience owning mission-critical production systems.
• Experience supporting enterprise-scale data platforms.
• Proven success influencing multiple organizations and stakeholders.

Technical Skills

Strong hands-on experience with:

• Python
• Oracle Database
• Linux environments
• SQL performance tuning
• Azure Data Services
• PySpark
• Parquet datasets
• ETL and data engineering frameworks
• Data quality and validation platforms

Leadership Skills

• Strong stakeholder management skills.
• Excellent communication with technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to work effectively across global teams.
• Strong ownership mindset and bias for action.
• Experience leading complex incident resolution efforts.

Preferred Qualifications

• Retail measurement, consumer panel, or syndicated data domain experience.
• Experience working with OmniShopper, Homescan, or similar consumer analytics platforms.
• Experience working with Data Science and advanced analytics teams.
• Knowledge of modern data quality, governance, and observability frameworks.

Additional Information

Our Benefits

• Flexible working environment
• Volunteer time off
• LinkedIn Learning
• Employee-Assistance-Program (EAP)

NIQ may utilize artificial intelligence (AI) tools at various stages of the recruitment process, including résumé screening, candidate assessments, interview scheduling, job matching, communication support, and certain administrative tasks that help streamline workflows. These tools are intended to improve efficiency and support fair and consistent evaluation based on job-related criteria. All use of AI is governed by NIQ’s principles of fairness, transparency, human oversight, and inclusion. Final hiring decisions are made exclusively by humans. NIQ regularly reviews its AI tools to help mitigate bias and ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. If you have questions, require accommodations, or wish to request human review were permitted by law, please contact your local HR representative. For more information, please visit NIQ’s AI Safety Policies and Guiding Principles: https://nielseniq.com/global/en/info/niqs-ai-safety-policies/

About NIQ

NIQ is the world’s leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. In 2023, NIQ combined with GfK, bringing together the two industry leaders with unparalleled global reach. With a holistic retail read and the most comprehensive consumer insights—delivered with advanced analytics through state-of-the-art platforms—NIQ delivers the Full View™. NIQ is an Advent International portfolio company with operations in 100+ markets, covering more than 90% of the world’s population.

For more information, visit NIQ.com

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Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At NIQ, we are steadfast in our commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace that mirrors the rich diversity of the communities and markets we serve. We believe that embracing a wide range of perspectives drives innovation and excellence. All employment decisions at NIQ are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws. We invite individuals who share our dedication to inclusivity and equity to join us in making a meaningful impact. To learn more about our ongoing efforts in diversity and inclusion, please visit the https://nielseniq.com/global/en/news-center/diversity-inclusion