Lead Data Engineer

Publicis Groupe Holdings B.V; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 98,000 - 182,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading advertising technology firm in Chicago is looking for a Senior Data Engineer to work on their Epsilon Activation Delivery Platform. This role involves building and maintaining data pipelines, optimizing data connectors, and mentoring junior engineers. Candidates should have a solid background in Spark, Python, and SQL, with at least 5 years of relevant experience. The position offers a competitive salary range of $98,000.00 – $182,000.00 depending on skills and experience.

Qualifications

• 5+ years building and maintaining big data pipelines.
• Deep knowledge of Apache Spark and distributed computing.
• Ability to independently resolve production issues.

Responsibilities

• Write robust, scalable, and maintainable code using Spark and SQL.
• Build, maintain, and optimize data connectors for external publishers.
• Lead code reviews and mentor mid/junior engineers.

Skills

Apache Spark

Scala/Python programming

SQL

AWS

Databricks

Education

B.S. in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Airflow

Kafka

Job description

Overview

The Epsilon Activation Delivery Platform team builds the core framework and connectors powering our audience activation business. We are a small, high‑impact team of engineers operating at massive scale—trillions of user events flow through our pipelines every month. By building and maintaining integrations with major advertising players (Meta, Google, Amazon) and Connected TV publishers (LG, Samsung), your work directly connects our data ecosystem to the biggest platforms in the world.

Reporting & Collaboration

This role reports to the Engineering Director and collaborates closely with fellow data engineers, product managers and partner teams. You will participate in design reviews, code reviews and end‑to‑end delivery of critical business features in a highly collaborative environment.

Why This Role Loves You

• Operate at True Scale: Work in a high‑volume data environment where your pipelines process and route trillions of records monthly.
• Work with Modern Data Tech: Get hands‑on with an innovative big data stack using Spark, Scala, Python, AWS EMR and Databricks.
• See Your Impact: Your code will directly enable our business to interface with the world’s largest tech, social media and CTV platforms.
• Own the Solution: The small team gives you autonomy to take complex problems from ingestion to production.

What You’ll Achieve

• Core Contribution: Write robust, scalable, and maintainable code using Spark (Scala/Python) and SQL to build our framework and data pipelines.
• Pioneer AI‑Assisted Engineering: Leverage tools like Cursor and Amazon Q Developer to accelerate coding, debugging, and testing while experimenting with AGI workflows.
• Scale Integrations: Build, maintain and optimize high‑concurrency data connectors for external publishers and ad networks.
• Optimize & Solve: Dive deep into complex processing on EMR and Databricks, fix production issues, tune queries and improve performance.
• Team Mentorship & Quality: Lead code reviews, enforce standards and mentor mid‑/junior engineers.
• Continuous Improvement: Build and maintain automated production routines that integrate with cloud infrastructure.

Who You Are

• Education: S. in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or related field.
• Experience: 5+ years building and maintaining big data pipelines.
• Technical Skills: Deep knowledge of Apache Spark, distributed computing, Scala/Python programming, fluent SQL, AWS (preferred) and managed platforms such as Databricks or EMR.
• Problem Solving: Ability to independently resolve production issues and own problems to the end.
• Communication: Excellent skills to work with partners, ask questions and translate business requirements into technical solutions.
• Bonus: AdTech/MarTech experience (programmatic advertising, identity resolution, audience activation), orchestration tools such as Airflow, high‑concurrency API integration, streaming technologies (Kafka) or NoSQL databases.

Compensation

Base Salary: $98,000.00 – $182,000.00. Compensation within the range depends on skills, experience, location and employment laws.

Application Deadline

05/26/2026

Equal Opportunity Employer

Epsilon is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, age, sex or gender, marital status, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, disability, religion, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We prohibit harassment and provide accommodations to applicants who need them. Please contact [e-mail] for accommodations.