Principal Data Engineer

Serko Ltd; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base pay

Medical benefits

Discretionary incentive plan

Learning & development platform

Flexible work policy

Job summary

Serko Ltd is seeking a Principal Data Engineer based in Bengaluru. You’ll influence data engineering across teams, drive scalable data models, and guide engineers on best practices. You will collaborate with leadership on discovery and delivery, balancing speed with quality and business value.

You will mentor others, design robust data platforms, and help shape Serko's data strategy while working with cross-functional partners in a fast-growing global tech environment.

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, Engineering or equivalent practical experience.
• Strong hands-on experience with Java, Kotlin or .NET.
• Good understanding of data engineering, architecture and design patterns.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Engineering & Product teams to address data needs.
• Design for performance, security, durability and scalability of data models.
• Mentor data engineers and guide best practices across teams.
• Lead proof-of-concept projects to validate new data solutions.
• Partner with Platform, Security, Engineering and Architecture teams on data platforms.

Skills

Java

Kotlin

.NET

Software architecture

System design

Performance

Mentoring

Agile & CI/CD

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Tools

CI/CD pipelines

Job description

Serko is a cutting-edge tech platform in global business travel & expense technology. When you join Serko, you become part of a team of passionate travellers and technologists bringing people together, using the world's leading business travel marketplace. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, we embrace the richness of diversity, showing up authentically to create a positive impact. There's an exciting road ahead of us, where travel needs real, impactful change. With offices in New Zealand, Australia, North America, and China, we are thrilled to be expanding our global footprint, landing our new hub in Bengaluru, India. With rapid a growth plan in place for India, we're hiring people from different backgrounds, experiences, abilities, and perspectives to help us build a world‑class team and product.

As a Principal Data Engineer based in our Bengaluru office, you are a high‑performing and influential individual contributor interfacing with engineering and product leadership on discovery and delivery work. Focused on enabling teams to deliver reliable, scalable and commercially viable software that balances speed to market, business need, quality and craft. Has deep functional knowledge of data best practices. Comfortable scoping complex initiatives and tasks focused on data and guiding data engineers and generalist software engineers on how to solve these technical problems. Influences engineering culture and outcomes with exemplary working behaviour, collaboration, data engineering and technology practices. Acts as an escalation point for senior data engineers on complex day‑to‑day engineering tasks where needed.

What You'll Do

• Works closely with stakeholders, including Engineering & Product Management, to assist with data‑related needs.
• Supports Senior Principal Engineers in data architecture, design and implementation, driving alignment and adoption across engineering.
• Designing for performance, security, durability and scalability of data models, with version changes.
• Championing good data engineering choices and practices aligned with the wider Serko Engineering standards and practices.
• Advises on any data design's technical limitations and provides alternative solutions aligned with the broader data strategy and approach outlined by Snr Principal Engineers and Architects.
• Leads the development of proof‑of‑concept projects to validate new data models and data solutions.
• Works with Platform, Security, Engineering and Architecture teams to design, implement, and enhance our data platforms.
• Mentoring and coaching other data engineers (senior and rising talent engineers) to help them further develop their technical and business‑influencing skills.
• Assembles large, complex data sets that meet functional / non‑functional business requirements.
• Be a champion of Engineering standards and Serko's sensible conventions, drive alignment and consistency on data engineering approaches and techniques.
• Be an active participant in the communities of practice in Engineering.
• Contribute to a learning culture, continuously improving our craft, and role‑modelling the right technical and behaviour capabilities.

What You'll Bring

• Strong hands‑on experience in modern technologies relevant to your stream (e.g. Java, Kotlin or .NET)
• A solid grasp of software architecture, system design, and performance considerations in production environments
• Demonstrated experience solving complex engineering challenges in a collaborative, team‑based setup
• A pragmatic approach to problem‑solving-balancing short‑term needs with long‑term scalability and maintainability
• Clear, effective communication skills and a collaborative working style
• Experience mentoring or guiding engineers through design and development
• Familiarity with agile software development and CI/CD practices
• A degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field-or equivalent practical experience

Benefits

• A competitive base pay
• Medical Benefits
• Discretionary incentive plan based on individual and company performance
• Focus on development: Access to a learning & development platform and opportunity for you to own your career pathways
• Flexible work policy.