Lead / Principal Data Engineer – Snowflake & dbt
About the role
This contract role is for a Lead or Principal Data Engineer specializing in Snowflake and dbt, supporting enterprise data engineering and modernization projects. The position is hands-on and involves designing, developing, and optimizing scalable data transformation pipelines, modernizing legacy systems, and ensuring data accuracy and performance. The engineer will take ownership of technical deliverables, provide guidance to other engineers, and contribute to architectural decisions. The role requires strong problem-solving skills, independent decision-making, and the ability to deliver high-quality solutions with minimal supervision. The company is seeking candidates with significant experience in Snowflake, dbt, advanced SQL, and modern data engineering practices.
Must have
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, or a related field.
- 12–15 years of overall experience in data engineering, data warehousing, ETL/ELT, or related software engineering roles preferred.
- At least 5 years of substantial hands-on experience with Snowflake in production environments.
- At least 5 years of hands-on experience with dbt Core and/or dbt Cloud.
- Advanced proficiency in SQL, including complex joins, CTEs, window functions, aggregations, and query optimisation.
- Strong experience developing dbt models, incremental models, reusable macros, Jinja templates, and data transformation frameworks.
- Solid understanding of data modelling, enterprise data warehousing, and modern ETL/ELT architectures.
- Experience with data migration, legacy system modernisation, data reconciliation, and troubleshooting complex data issues.
- Strong knowledge of Git/GitHub, version control, code reviews, testing, and structured software release practices.
- Previous experience in a Senior, Lead, Staff, or Principal Data Engineer role, or equivalent technical leadership experience.
- Ability to independently analyse requirements, design solutions, and deliver production-ready implementations.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills.
Nice to have
- Experience with Python for data processing, automation, and testing.
- Familiarity with AWS services, particularly Amazon S3 and cloud-based data ingestion.
- Experience migrating legacy data pipelines from Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, SSIS, or other ETL platforms.
- Knowledge of CI/CD automation, dbt Fusion, and modern dbt development environments.
- dbt Analytics Engineering Certification or dbt Architect Certification.
- Experience with AI-assisted coding tools such as Claude Code or GitHub Copilot.
- Familiarity with enterprise ETL tools such as KNIME and experience working with multi-client data platforms.
- Experience working with JIRA and Agile delivery methodologies.
Technologies
- Agile
- AWS
- CI/CD
- Claude Code
- Data Engineering
- Data Ingestion
- Data Modeling
- Data Pipelines
- Data Warehousing
- dbt
- ELT
- ETL
- Git
- GitHub
- GitHub Copilot
- Jira
- PostgreSQL
- Python
- S3
- Snowflake
- SQL
- SQL Server
- SSIS
- Test Automation
Highlights
Interested candidates should send their CV to careers@talentstudio.io. The role is contract-based and requires 12–15 years of experience, with at least 5 years of hands-on Snowflake and dbt experience. A bachelor's degree in a relevant field is required. The position may involve working with offshore teams and collaborating with various stakeholders.
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