Looker Platform Engineer

GCS Recruitment; Annapolis (MD); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

GCS Recruitment is seeking a Senior Looker Platform Engineer in Annapolis, MD to lead Looker administration and platform modernization within a large-scale analytics environment. You will own Looker administration, LookML development, and oversee CI/CD workflows, API integrations, and governance practices.

The role emphasizes L3/L4 production support, platform upgrades, cloud migration initiatives, and performance optimization across Looker environments, data models, and security controls.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS, IS, engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience administering BI or analytics platforms.
• Hands-on Looker administration and LookML development.
• Strong GitHub version control and CI/CD deployment experience.
• Experience with Azure AD integration and identity management.
• Proficiency with REST APIs and platform automation.
• Experience supporting cloud-based analytics environments.
• Strong SQL skills and troubleshooting complex query performance.

Responsibilities

• Provide L3/L4 production support for Looker environments.
• Lead platform upgrades, releases, patch management, and validation activities.
• Support GitHub and LookML development workflows, including Dev/Prod deployments and coordination.
• Troubleshoot and resolve performance, scalability, and data modeling issues.
• Monitor platform health, reliability, and operational performance.
• Implement automated user provisioning and entitlement management processes.
• Investigate Azure AD synchronization and entitlement discrepancies.
• Establish governance standards, security controls, and platform usage guidelines.
• Create and maintain governance documentation and operational procedures.
• Support Looker APIs and analytics initiatives; assist with AI-powered reporting.
• Assist migration from customer-hosted to Google-hosted Looker Core; validate testing strategies.
• Collaborate to standardize semantic models and optimize query behavior.

Skills

Looker Administration

LookML Development

GitHub & Version Control

SQL Performance Tuning

REST APIs

Azure AD

Identity & Access Management

Cloud Analytics Platforms

Data Governance

Snowflake

Teradata

Documentation & Knowledge Transfer

Production Support (L3/L4)

Platform Upgrades & Release Management

Education

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

Tools

GitHub

Azure Active Directory

Looker API

Snowflake

Teradata

CI/CD

Job description

Role: Senior Looker Platform Engineer

Location: Annapolis, MD

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Looker Administrator to support platform engineering, cloud migration initiatives, data platform modernization, and operational excellence within a large-scale analytics environment. The ideal candidate will have strong expertise in Looker administration, LookML development, BI platform support, cloud technologies, identity management, and performance optimization.

Key Responsibilities

Platform Engineering & Operations

• Provide L3/L4 production support for Looker environments across development and production platforms.
• Lead platform upgrades, releases, patch management, and validation activities.
• Support GitHub and LookML development workflows, including Dev/Prod deployments and coordination.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex performance, scalability, and data modeling issues.
• Monitor platform health, reliability, and operational performance.

Access Management, Governance & Identity

• Implement and maintain automated user provisioning and entitlement management processes.
• Investigate and resolve access-related issues, including Azure AD synchronization and entitlement discrepancies.
• Establish governance standards, security controls, and platform usage guidelines.
• Create and maintain governance documentation and operational procedures.

API Integration & Advanced Analytics Use Cases

• Support and administer Looker APIs, including Inline Query APIs, Query ID APIs, and Administrative APIs.
• Validate platform performance, concurrency, and usage patterns.
• Enable API-driven analytics initiatives and AI-powered reporting solutions.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to support dynamic SQL generation and advanced automation requirements.

Cloud Migration & Modernization

• Support migration activities from customer-hosted environments to Google-hosted Looker Core.
• Define, execute, and validate testing strategies for migration initiatives.
• Participate in proof-of-concept (POC) activities while minimizing platform risk.
• Ensure platform stability, security, and performance during migration efforts.

Data Platform Modernization

• Support query validation and reporting consistency across modern cloud data platforms.
• Collaborate with data engineering teams to standardize semantic models, query behavior, and performance expectations.
• Validate data accuracy and reporting outcomes during platform transformation projects.
• Optimize reporting performance and data accessibility across enterprise analytics environments.

Documentation & Knowledge Transfer

• Develop comprehensive documentation, runbooks, operational procedures, and best practices.
• Conduct knowledge transfer sessions and mentor internal engineering teams.
• Support long-term platform ownership transition through training and process standardization.
• Maintain technical documentation for administration, troubleshooting, and operational support.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience administering Business Intelligence or Analytics platforms.
• Hands-on experience with Looker administration and LookML development.
• Strong knowledge of GitHub version control and CI/CD deployment practices.
• Experience with Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) integration and identity management.
• Proficiency in REST APIs and platform automation.
• Experience supporting cloud-based analytics environments.
• Strong SQL skills and experience troubleshooting complex query performance issues.
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and documentation skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
• Experience with Snowflake and Teradata environments.
• Knowledge of enterprise data governance and security frameworks.
• Experience supporting cloud migration and modernization initiatives.
• Exposure to AI-enabled analytics, automation, and API-driven reporting solutions.

Required Skills

• Looker Administration
• LookML Development
• GitHub & Version Control
• SQL Performance Tuning
• REST APIs
• Azure AD
• Identity & Access Management (IAM)
• Cloud Analytics Platforms
• Data Governance
• Snowflake
• Teradata
• Documentation & Knowledge Transfer
• Production Support (L3/L4)
• Platform Upgrades & Release Management

GCS is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.