Engineering Lead - Data

Trade Me; Auckland; Hybrid; NZD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

AI skilling program

10% dedicated learning time

Company lunches

Annual awards

Networking groups

Social sports clubs

Job summary

Trade Me is seeking an Engineering Lead - Data to lead the Data Platform squad responsible for Snowflake AI, analytics, and data-driven experiences. You will coach engineers, own delivery of the squad's roadmap, and shape architecture with the Principal Engineer and Principal Product Owner.

You’ll guide end-to-end data initiatives, ensure robust CI/CD, and uphold high standards for AI-assisted development while partnering with cross-functional teams in a flexible, innovation-driven environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in data engineering or related roles with leadership experience.
• Hands-on with Snowflake, dbt, SQL, Airflow, Python.
• Experience with cloud data tooling and orchestration (AWS/GCP, Airflow/Prefect) defined and deployed as code (Terraform).
• AI-focused mindset and experience with Snowflake AI capabilities (CoWork, Coco).

Responsibilities

• Line manage, coach, and unblock 7 direct reports in the Data Platform squad.
• Own squad operating cadence, delivery accountability, and team health.
• Oversee code reviews, dbt transformations, SQL, Python, testing, CI/CD, and observability.
• Apply Snowflake AI capabilities for self-service and AI-assisted development.
• Drive end-to-end delivery of roadmap, quarterly commitments, and incident response.
• Partner with Principal Engineer and Principal Product Owner on architecture alignment.
• Contribute to Data & AI leadership strategy across Technology, Data Science, Security and Architecture.

Skills

Snowflake

dbt

SQL

Airflow

Python

People leadership

AI experience

Tools

AWS

GCP

Terraform

Prefect

Job description

At Trade Me, we're about connecting Kiwi to create the life they want. Whether it's the big things like finding a home, a job, a car or growing their business, or the smaller things, like finding that right bedside table or parting ways with some old stuff. At Trade Me our vision is to be the place where Kiwi look first.

Data is the substrate powering everything in AI and analytics at Trade Me. As Engineering Lead - Data, you are the accountable leader for the Data Platform squad, managing 7 direct reports. You hold the day-to-day technical bar, coach engineers, and own squad delivery of the platform behind Snowflake AI, conversational search, personalisation, and analytics. Leading a modern stack, you'll drive what AI-first means for how Trade Me works with data.
Here is what you can expect from this role:

• Line manage, coach, and unblock 7 direct reports (junior, intermediate, and senior engineers) in the Data Platform squad.
• Own how the squad operates: ceremonies, ways of working, team health, psychological safety, and explicit delivery accountability.
• Hold the day-to-day technical bar across code reviews, merge requests, dbt transformations, Python/SQL, automated testing, CI/CD, and observability.
• Put Snowflake AI capabilities (CoWork, Coco) to work for business self-service and uphold standards for AI-assisted development (Claude Code).
• Own end-to-end delivery of the squad's roadmap, quarterly commitments, and incident response.
• Partner with the Principal Engineer and Principal Product Owner to align long-term architecture with customer and stakeholder needs.
• Sit on the Data & AI leadership team to contribute to the overarching strategy across Technology, Data Science, Security, and Architecture.

What you will bring to our team:

• 10+ years in data engineering or related roles, with material time as a senior or principal contributor and strong people leadership experience.
• Deep technical credibility and hands-on capability in Snowflake, dbt, SQL, Airflow, and Python.
• Deep experience with SQL-first transformation, dimensional modelling, and building an analytics engineering practice.
• Experience across cloud data tooling and orchestration (AWS/GCP, Airflow/Prefect) defined and deployed as code (Terraform).
• A strong AI lens on modern data practice, agentic coding (Claude), and Snowflake's AI capabilities
• Proven ability to manage, progress, and lead engineering teams in a full agile framework
  Outstanding communication skills to explain complex technical concepts simp

You’ll have the best time working at Trade Me, and this is why:

#AI and Tech: We live and breathe AI in our daily tasks. We value curiosity and an open mind towards new tech, offering dedicated AI skilling to help you grow and thrive in a fast-changing landscape.

#Flexibility: We support various work arrangements for this role, including part-time work, job sharing, and flexible working hours to help you achieve a healthy work-life balance.

#Invest In Your Family: We offer comprehensive parental leave policies to support parents..

#Dedicated 10% Learning and Development: Enjoy 10% dedicated time for ongoing learning and skill enhancement.

#Strong Social Culture: Company-paid shared lunches, regular social events, annual awards, employee networking groups, social sports clubs and more

Our Commitment to Diversity:
We’re firm believers that diversity fuels progressality for women in technical leadership, we will be applying a preference for women when filling this role. The successful candidate will of course need to meet the core criteria for the role, and Trade Me will also take a broader perspective weighing up skills and experience alongside other factors such as future potential, diversity and the unique contribution you could make at Trade Me.