Lead Data Consultant

Theta (NZ); Auckland; Hybrid; NZD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Fully subsidised medical insurance

Parental leave

Staff Assistance Programme

Remote working options

INZ accredited

Job summary

Theta (NZ) is seeking an experienced Lead Data Consultant to join our Data and Insights Practice, based in Wellington or Auckland. You’ll lead end-to-end data platform builds with a strong data engineering focus, partnering with clients, solution architects, and delivery teams to deliver reliable, production-grade pipelines that enable measurable business outcomes.

We welcome candidates with strong delivery experience on Databricks, Snowflake, Fabric, and related Azure services, and a commitment

Qualifications

• Eight years of data engineering experience delivering enterprise-scale data platforms.
• Strong experience on Databricks, Snowflake, Fabric or similar platforms with Azure services.
• Proficient in Python and SQL, with production-grade data pipelines.
• Git, CI/CD, DevOps/DataOps practices and testing frameworks.
• Excellent stakeholder communication and leadership abilities.
• Experience mentoring team members and leading technical initiatives.
• Certifications (Microsoft/Databricks/Snowflake) or commitment to ongoing learning.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end design, build and operation of modern data platforms.
• Develop reliable data pipelines and transformations for analytics and AI use cases.
• Shape architecture patterns (medallion, curated layers) and reusable data products.
• Write clean Python and SQL aligned with engineering standards and testing.
• Institute automated tests, monitoring, validation, and performance tuning.
• Conduct technical discovery and translate business needs into scope and deliverables.
• Collaborate with architects, delivery teams and client stakeholders; provide status reporting.
• Mentor peers, contribute to Theta templates/assets, and promote best practices.

Skills

Databricks

Snowflake

Fabric

Python

SQL

Git

CI/CD

DataOps

DevOps

Azure services

Stakeholder engagement

Mentoring

Tools

Python tooling

Delta Lake

Job description

Theta is seeking an experiencedLead Data Consultantto join theData and Insights Practice, based in ourWellington or Auckland office. This is a priority hire within a team that values delivery excellence and a sustainable pace of work.

The role has a strongdata engineering focus, with accountability for leading the end-to-end build of modern data solutions. You'll work closely with client stakeholders, solution architects, and delivery teams to design and deliver reliable, production-grade data platforms and pipelines that enable measurable business outcomes.

WhileMicrosoft Fabricis a key part of our delivery, we welcome candidates with strong delivery experience across modern platforms such asFabric, Databricks, and Snowflake(and related Azure services), with the ability to apply good engineering fundamentals regardless of tooling.

What the role delivers

• Lead thedesign, build, and optimisationof data pipelines across Lakehouse and warehouse patterns, with a focus on reliability, performance, and supportability
• Deliver robust data transformations that enablereporting, analytics, and AI use cases
• Shape and implement modern architecture patterns (e.g.,medallion/bronze-silver-gold, curated layers, reusable data products)
• Produce clean, maintainablePython and SQLaligned to agreed engineering standards
• Implement automatedtesting, monitoring, data validation, and performance tuningto support stable operations
• Lead technical discovery and solution walkthroughs, translating business requirements into clear engineering scope and deliverables
• Partner with architects and delivery teams to shape solution design, estimates, sequencing, and delivery plans
• Provide clear communication on progress, risks, dependencies, and technical blockers to client stakeholders and delivery leadership
• Conduct peer reviews and promote consistent patterns across coding, documentation, and deployment practices
• Mentor team members, supporting capability uplift and delivery confidence
• Contribute to Theta delivery assets including templates, reusable components, documentation, and continuous improvement initiatives
• At least eight yearsof data engineering experience delivering enterprise-scale data platforms and/or Enterprise Data Warehouses, including complex integration and production support requirements
• Strong experience delivering on one or more modern platforms such as:

b. Databricks(e.g., notebooks, workflows, Unity Catalog, Delta Lake, orchestration)

• AdvancedSQLcapability (performance-aware transformation and modelling)
• StrongPythoncapability (including PySpark where relevant)
• Strong experience with modern Lakehouse/warehouse concepts and scalable solution design
• Strong understanding ofDelta / table formats, medallion architecture concepts, and pragmatic data modelling patterns for analytics workloads
• StrongGit, CI/CD, DevOps and DataOpsexperience
• Experience implementingregression testinganddata-quality frameworks
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences
• Experience mentoring team members or providing technical leadership
• Experience using AI coding assistants (e.g.,GitHub Copilotor similar) with appropriate governance
• Relevant certifications (Microsoft/Databricks/Snowflake) or a demonstrated commitment to ongoing professional development

About You

A successful candidate will bring strong data engineering capability alongside a clear commitment to people and stakeholder engagement. You can build trust quickly, clarify expectations, and translate business needs into practical engineering scope.

You care about delivery standards—maintainability, reliability, and operational readiness—balanced with delivery timelines and commercial considerations. You're collaborative, constructive in peer feedback, and enjoy mentoring and uplifting others.

Applications are welcomed from experienced Senior Data Engineers who are seeking a role with meaningful client interaction and genuine team leadership, without being locked into a single technology.

We have 30 years of experience as a New Zealand-owned technology consultancy. We take pride in our multicultural and diverse team of circa 290 skilled professionals. Our offices are in Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington, and Christchurch.

Working with clients in both the public and private sectors, we strive to deliver innovative solutions and enable smarter outcomes. Our company attracts some of the brightest minds in the industry, as we foster a culture of excellence and continuous learning.

Theta values are at the heart of everything we do:

• Our people are our greatest asset
• We conduct business ethically
• Invention, imagination and creativity are the foundation for growth
• We work with positive energy, enjoyment, humour and work/life balance
• Excellence is our passion, and we deliver what we promise - or more!
• We strive to take a pragmatic approach to all our activities
• We value and appreciate our natural environment and seek to play our part to maintain it

Benefits of working at Theta |Ngāhuaka putaitemahi ki Theta

Theta offers a family friendly work environment with flexible work hours where practical; especially relevant for caregivers. We embrace gender equality and are committed to providing a supportive,diverseand inclusive work environment.

Theta is committed to giving back to the community and are avid supporters of Cure Kids. We compete in various adventure races and do many other things to raise money for Cure Kids. And wemake timefor the fun things in life!

We currently provide the following benefits to ensure your professional development and personal wellbeing:

• Professional growth and learning opportunities
• A competitive salary (commensuratewith experience)
• Hybrid working model- from a minimum of 2 days in the office
• Fully subsidised medical insurance for employees
• Heavily discounted medical insurance for immediate family of employees
• Enhanced parental leave payment - salary top-ups plus return-to-work incentive
• Internal Referral Incentive
• Staff Assistance Programme
• Sick leave from your first day on board
• Remote working options where practical and mutually agreedDaily fresh fruit basket, coffee machine, wide selection of teas and biscuits inall ofour offices.
• We are also an accredited employer with INZ

Please note, all potential employees will be required to consent to a Ministry of Justice and Credit Check.

We are only accepting applications from those alreadyresidingin NZ with the relevant visas.