Staff Data Engineer – Data Quality & Governance

Depop

Greater London

Hybrid

GBP 80,000 - 100,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare access

Cycle to Work scheme

25 days annual leave

Life insurance

Pension matching up to 6%

Job summary

A forward-thinking fashion marketplace headquartered in London is seeking a Staff Data Engineer to lead the creation of frameworks and tools for data quality and governance. You'll focus on making sure data is reliable, observable, and compliant, while collaborating with various teams. Ideal candidates have substantial experience in driving data governance and observability, and proficiency in Python, Java, or Scala. Join us in reshaping the fashion industry with robust data initiatives.

Qualifications

Proven experience as a Staff Data Engineer or in an equivalent technical leadership role in data quality.
Deep knowledge of data observability frameworks and data validation tools.
Experience designing and enforcing data contracts and quality SLAs.

Responsibilities

Define and execute the vision for data quality and governance frameworks.
Develop systems to detect and resolve data quality issues.
Lead GDPR initiatives ensuring compliance across datasets.

Skills

Data observability frameworks

Data validation tools

Python

Java

Scala

Data governance principles

Communication skills

Education

Experience as a Staff Data Engineer

Understanding of GDPR and CCPA

Tools

Databricks

Spark

Kafka

DataHub

Collibra

Job description

Company Description

Depop is the community‑powered circular fashion marketplace where anyone can buy, sell and discover desirable secondhand fashion. With a community of over 35 million users, Depop is on a mission to make fashion circular, redefining fashion consumption. Founded in 2011, the company is headquartered in London, with offices in New York and Manchester, and in 2021 became a wholly‑owned subsidiary of Etsy. Find out more at www.depop.com.

We’re proud to be an equal‑opportunity employer, providing employment opportunities without regard to age, ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy or maternity, marriage and civil partnership, or any other protected status. We’re continuously evolving our recruitment processes to ensure fairness and are open to accommodating any needs you might have. If, due to a disability, you need adjustments to complete the application, please let us know by sending an email with your name, the role to which you would like to apply, and the type of support you need to complete the application to adjustments@depop.com. For any other non‑disability related questions, please reach out to our Talent Partners.

Role

We’re building a Data Quality, Observability & Governance Team to improve the reliability, trust, and compliance of Depop’s data ecosystem.

As a Staff Data Engineer in this team, you’ll lead the design and implementation of frameworks, tools, and processes that strengthen our data foundations - ensuring our data is accurate, observable, and compliant.

Your mission will be to reduce the mean time to detection and resolution of data incidents, by establishing data contracts between producers and consumers, developing robust data observability systems, and embedding governance and GDPR compliance principles across the data lifecycle.

You’ll collaborate with product engineering, data platform, analytics, and legal teams to build confidence in data as a product - one that’s reliable, auditable, and actionable.

Responsibilities

Define and execute the vision for Depop’s data quality, observability, and governance frameworks.
Establish data contracts between producers and consumers to ensure schema integrity and data reliability.
Develop and maintain systems that detect, alert, and resolve data quality issues with minimal latency.
Build automation and tooling to reduce MTTD (Mean Time to Detection) and MTTR (Mean Time to Resolution) for data incidents.
Partner with data platform engineers to integrate observability at every layer - ingestion, transformation, and consumption.
Lead GDPR and privacy‑by‑design initiatives, ensuring compliance and traceability across all datasets.
Define standards for metadata management, lineage tracking, and access control.
Collaborate with analytics and product teams to ensure data definitions and quality metrics are consistent across domains.
Mentor engineers and analysts, fostering a culture of data stewardship and accountability.
Continuously improve data governance maturity through automation, documentation, and measurable quality KPIs.

Qualifications

Proven experience as a Staff Data Engineer or in an equivalent technical leadership role in data quality, observability, or governance.
Deep knowledge of data observability frameworks (Monte Carlo, Soda, or equivalent) and data validation tools (Great Expectations, DBT tests, etc.).
Deep understanding of data‑as‑a‑product principles and experience applying them to improve data reliability and ownership.
Experience designing and enforcing data contracts and quality SLAs in distributed data ecosystems.
Proficiency in Python, Java, or Scala, and experience building pipelines with Databricks, Spark, or Kafka.
Strong understanding of data governance principles, privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA), and secure data handling practices.
Familiarity with metadata management and data catalog tools (e.g. DataHub, Collibra, etc.).
Demonstrated success improving data reliability and observability in large‑scale data platforms.
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills; you can bridge technical depth with operational impact.

Bonus Points

Experience implementing automated compliance monitoring or policy‑as‑code systems.
Familiarity with real‑time anomaly detection for data pipelines.
Experience contributing to or leading cross‑functional data reliability initiatives.
Prior experience in consumer or marketplace platforms.
Passion for data as a product - building reliable, observable, and compliant data systems that teams love to use.

Health + Mental Wellbeing

PMI and cash plan healthcare access with Bupa
Subsidised counselling and coaching with Self Space
Cycle to Work scheme with options from Evans or the Green Commute Initiative
Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for 24/7 confidential support
Mental Health First Aiders across the business for support and signposting

Work/Life Balance

25 days annual leave with option to carry over up to 5 days
1 company‑wide day off per quarter
Impact hours: Up to 2 days additional paid leave per year for volunteering
Fully paid 4‑week sabbatical after completion of 5 years of consecutive service with Depop, to give you a chance to recharge or do something you love.
Flexible Working: MyMode hybrid‑working model with Flex, Office Based, and Remote options *role dependant
All offices are dog‑friendly
Ability to work abroad for 4 weeks per year in UK tax treaty countries

Family Life