Senior Data Engineering Lead - Google Cloud Platform - (remote Europe)- Contract Role

We are looking for a Senior Data Engineer to lead high‑visibility migration initiatives. You will oversee the transition of a large‑scale enterprise data platform from AWS/Databricks to Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

In this role, you will be the bridge between the business stakeholders and the technical engineering team. You are not just building pipelines; you are designing the roadmap, managing the client relationship, and ensuring the technical delivery meets the highest standards of data integrity and governance.

Location: Remote – open to candidates in Europe.

Contract Type: Business‑to‑Business (B2B) contract position in countries in Europe.

What Will You Do?

Strategic Leadership & Migration Design

• Define the end‑to‑end migration strategy (lift‑and‑shift vs. re‑platforming), selecting the right GCP services (BigQuery, Dataflow, Composer) to replace legacy Spark/Databricks logic.
• Lead the technical roadmap, ensuring milestones are realistic and delivered on time.
• Identify technical risks early (e.g., feature parity gaps, cost spikes) and design mitigation plans.
• Act as the primary technical point of contact for business stakeholders and clients, translating complex technical challenges into clear business impacts.
• Convert high‑level business goals into detailed technical specifications for the engineering team.
• Manage expectations and navigate scope changes with senior management when challenges arise.

Technical Governance & Mentorship

• Approve the data models and transformation logic (dbt) designed by the engineering team.
• Define the strategy for “Data Parity” testing to ensure the new GCP system matches the legacy source system 100 %.
• Mentor Senior and Medior Data Engineers, helping them solve blockers related to Terraform, CI/CD, or SQL optimization.

What You Bring

Experience

• 8+ years in Data Engineering or Architecture, with at least 3 years in a Lead/Architect role facing customers and internal stakeholders.
• Proven experience leading large‑scale data platform migrations (e.g., on‑prem to Cloud, or Cloud‑to‑Cloud).

Technical Competence

• Deep architectural knowledge of the GCP Data Stack with BigQuery as a must – design for cost, performance, and security.
• Ability to read and understand legacy PySpark or Databricks architectures to guide refactoring (hands‑on coding is a plus, but conceptual mastery is required).
• Familiarity with modern transformation tools like dbt and infrastructure‑as‑code (Terraform).
• Advanced SQL – write complex queries to validate data parity, audit data models, and debug performance bottlenecks in BigQuery.
• Python literacy – read and interpret legacy PySpark or Python ETL scripts to extract business logic.

Soft Skills

• Exceptional communication – present technical strategies to non‑technical audiences.
• Negotiation – push back on unrealistic deadlines or requirements while maintaining strong relationships.

What We Offer 🙌

• Fully Remote – 100 % remote position with the flexibility to manage your own schedule.
• Impactful Culture – supportive team driven by values like teamwork and innovation; your proactivity is always celebrated.
• Commitment to Growth – invest in your professional development through a continuous‑learning mindset, supporting both hands‑on experience and certifications (e.g., GCP Professional Cloud Architect).
• Innovation in Action – AI and automation are essential tools to amplify your impact.
• Autonomy & Accountability – influence your work with full accountability for delivering results.

Seniority level

Mid‑Senior level

Employment type

Contract

Job function

Information Technology

Industries

Business Consulting and Services