Lead Data Engineer

emagine; Warszawa; Hybrid; PLN 210,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work arrangement

Job summary

emagine is seeking an experienced Senior Data Engineer / Data Engineering Lead to own the Data Engineering domain within a BI-focused team. This hands-on role requires taking technical ownership, guiding other developers and improving data pipelines, models and reporting foundations.

The position is hybrid (2 days in the Warsaw office; rest remote), with onboarding to the current data landscape and architecture.

Qualifications

• Proven senior data engineering experience in a BI-focused team.
• Strong SQL and data modelling skills with hands-on Python work.
• Experience with Azure Data Factory or Apache Airflow and Azure data services.

Responsibilities

• Own the Data Engineering area within a BI-focused team.
• Design, build and optimize data pipelines and transformations.
• Create analytical data models and complex SQL transformations.
• Develop pipelines using Python, Azure Data Factory and/or Airflow.
• Identify gaps, bottlenecks and improvements; troubleshoot end-to-end data flows.
• Provide technical guidance to BI Developers and team members.
• Support engineering standards, design decisions and best practices.
• Collaborate with Power BI Developers, Architects and stakeholders.
• Ensure data layer reliability and scalable foundations for reporting.

Skills

Advanced SQL

Data modelling

Python

Power BI knowledge

Troubleshooting

Independent ownership

Communication

Technical leadership

Tools

Azure Data Factory

Apache Airflow

Job description

• Hybrid, 2 days from the Warsaw office; the rest remotely
• Start: 1 November 2026
• B2B contract, till April 2027 + possible extensions
• Project language: English
• Extended background verification is required before onboarding

We are looking for an experienced Senior Data Engineer / Data Engineering Lead to become the key Data Engineering expert within a team primarily composed of BI and Power BI Developers. This is a hands-on technical role, not a people-management position. You will take ownership of the Data Engineering area, help the team make better technical decisions, identify gaps and risks in the current setup, and proactively recommend improvements.

The role

You will initially receive a structured onboarding into the existing data landscape, architecture and ways of working. Once familiar with the environment, you will be expected to operate independently, challenge existing approaches where appropriate and take technical ownership of the Data Engineering domain.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Taking technical ownership of the Data Engineering area within a BI-focused team.
• Designing, developing and improving data pipelines and transformations.
• Building and optimizing analytical data models.
• Developing complex SQL-based data transformations.
• Working with Python or comparable Data Engineering technologies.
• Developing and supporting pipelines using Azure Data Factory and/or Apache Airflow.
• Identifying technical gaps, risks, bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement.
• Troubleshooting data issues end-to-end, from source systems through transformation layers to reporting.
• Providing technical guidance and recommendations to BI Developers and other team members.
• Supporting engineering standards, design decisions and best practices.
• Collaborating closely with Power BI Developers, Architects and business stakeholders.
• Ensuring that the data layer provides reliable and scalable foundations for reporting and analytics.

What we are looking for

• Strong commercial experience as a Senior Data Engineer.
• Advanced SQL skills.
• Strong experience with data modelling and analytical data structures.
• Hands-on experience with Python or a comparable programming language.
• Experience with Azure Data Factory and/or Apache Airflow.
• Good knowledge of Azure-based data environments.
• Understanding of Power BI and modern reporting architectures.
• Strong troubleshooting and root-cause-analysis skills.
• Ability to independently take ownership of complex technical topics.
• Proactive mindset and willingness to challenge existing solutions.
• Strong communication and technical leadership skills.

Valuable Additional Experience

• Azure Databricks.
• Azure Synapse Analytics.
• Azure Data Lake / ADLS.
• Microsoft Fabric / Fabric Data Factory.
• Spark / PySpark.
• Modern data warehouse architectures.
• Dimensional modelling / Kimball.
• Power BI semantic and reporting environments.

What does "Lead" mean in this role?

You will not manage a separate Data Engineering team. You will remain a hands-on Data Engineer within a BI-focused team while acting as the team's primary Data Engineering expert - taking ownership, providing technical guidance and helping other team members make sound engineering decisions.