Lead Data Engineer

VML group; Greater London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

VML group in Greater London is seeking a Data Engineering Manager to lead their Data Engineering practice. The ideal candidate will provide technical leadership while mentoring a team of engineers and influencing project direction through strategic guidance.

Responsibilities include shaping data solutions, advising clients, and establishing standards for modern data stacks. Strong expertise in tools like dbt, Airflow, and cloud platforms is essential for this crucial leadership role.

Qualifications

• Extensive years of hands-on data engineering experience building production data pipelines.
• Management experience of data teams.
• Deep expertise in modern data stack and cloud platforms.
• Strong architectural skills with data modeling and governance understanding.
• Proficiency in SQL, Python, and modern engineering workflows.
• Proven experience mentoring engineers and building trust with colleagues.
• Commercial awareness with ability to connect technical solutions to business value.
• Practice-building mindset and enthusiasm for developing new service offerings.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical efforts in data engineering practice.
• Collaborate with architects to define standards for data pipelines.
• Ensure correct adoption of modern data stacks.
• Act as trusted technical advisor for clients.
• Develop engineers through mentorship and guidance.
• Shape practice direction, standards, and growth.

Skills

Data engineering experience

Management experience

DBT and Airflow

SQL proficiency

Python proficiency

Commercial awareness

Excellent communication skills

Tools

GCP BigQuery

Snowflake

Terraform

Job description

We are seeking a Data Engineering Manager to lead our Data Engineering practice. This is a role for a hands‑on technical expert who can contribute to shape data solutions for world‑renowned brands while leading a team of talented engineers. As a leader, you will set the vision and standards for how VML MAP delivers data infrastructure, integrations, governance & orchestration. You will influence outcomes through your expertise and strategic guidance.

What will your day look like?

This is a hands‑on technical leadership role where you will both build solutions and shape the practice. This role will have direct people management.

• Architecture: Collaborate with architects to define standards for data pipelines, transformations, and integrations across cloud platforms (GCP, Snowflake, Azure) and CRM platforms (Salesforce DataCloud, Adobe Experience Platform, etc.), spanning both traditional data engineering and marketing technology ecosystems.
• Implementation: Ensure correct adoption of modern data stacks using dbt, orchestration tools (Airflow), infrastructure-as-code (Terraform), and ELT/ETL frameworks, with a focus on analytics‑ready data models. Serve as the final technical escalation resource when projects face complex implementation challenges.
• Client Advisory: Act as the trusted technical advisor for clients, providing strategic guidance on their data architecture and identifying opportunities where data infrastructure can drive business value.
• Practice Innovation & Acceleration: Pioneer emerging capabilities—including agentic automation and AI‑driven engineering—while building repeatable solution frameworks and service offerings that reduce time‑to‑value and enable consistency across client engagements.
• Mentor & Coach: Develop engineers through hands‑on mentorship, code reviews, and technical guidance, empowering them to solve complex challenges.
• Practice Leadership: Work closely with the Global Data Practice Lead and domain practice peers to shape practice direction, standards, and growth.
• Collaborate: Partner with Architects, Strategy Consultants, and client services teams to deliver integrated, winning solutions.

Who are you going to work with?

You will join a team of hands‑on Data Engineers who are passionate about building reliable, scalable data infrastructure. They're technically strong but need someone who can provide architectural direction and help them take their Data Practice to the next level. Although not direct people management, you'll lead through coaching, and setting the technical vision. Beside your team, you will collaborate with a wide array of stakeholders across our organization (strategy leads, account directors, etc.)

What do you bring to the table?

You are a natural technical leader who thrives on both hands‑on coding and high‑level architectural strategy. You excel at mentoring engineers and can clearly communicate complex technical trade‑offs to clients and stakeholders.

• Extensive years of hands‑on data engineering experience building production data pipelines and data warehouses.
• Management experience of data teams
• Deep expertise in the modern data stack: dbt, Airflow, Terraform, and cloud data platforms (GCP BigQuery, Snowflake).
• Strong architectural skills with a deep understanding of data modeling, quality, and governance.
• Proficiency in SQL, Python, and modern engineering workflows (Git, CI/CD, testing).
• Proven experience mentoring other engineers and building trust with both technical and non‑technical colleagues.
• Commercial awareness and client‑facing skills, with an ability to connect technical solutions to strategic business value. Agency or consulting experience is a strong advantage.
• Practice‑building mindset: a track record or genuine interest in developing new service offerings, establishing standards, and contributing to organizational capability development.
• Ownership and drive: comfort taking full accountability for your domain while navigating ambiguity and evolving organizational needs.
• Intellectual curiosity and learning agility: enthusiasm for exploring emerging technologies, testing new approaches, and continuously expanding your technical repertoire.
• Excellent communication skills in English.

A plus if you have:

• Experience with CRM data platforms (Salesforce Data Cloud, Adobe AEP).
• Familiarity with data governance and privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA).
• Cloud or dbt certifications.
• Experience building data pipelines for AI/LLM applications.

WPP (VML MAP) is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.