Lead GCP Data Engineer

A leading London-based organisation is seeking an experienced Lead GCP Data Engineer for a high-impact, 6-month contract.

You will lead the development, scaling, and productionisation of data platforms utilizing a cutting-edge Modern Data Stack (MDS). This role requires a strong technical leader who can drive engineering best practices while remaining hands-on with delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Pipeline Engineering: Build and maintain scalable, automated data ingestion pipelines using Apache Airflow.
• Data Transformation: Lead production-grade data transformation, testing, and CI/CD deployment using dbt.
• Data Warehousing: Optimize performance, partitioning, and clustering strategies within Google BigQuery.
• Security & RBAC: Implement and enforce enterprise-wide Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), data governance, and secure IAM policies across the GCP ecosystem.
• Technical Leadership: Guide a team of engineers, conducting code reviews and ensuring robust engineering standards.

Required Skills & Experience

• GCP Engineering: Proven track record as a Lead Data Engineer within Google Cloud environments.
• BigQuery Expertise: Deep knowledge of BigQuery performance tuning, optimization, and cost management.
• Modern Data Stack: Expert-level, hands-on proficiency with dbt (Data Build Tool) for enterprise transformations.
• Orchestration: Extensive experience engineering complex workflows with Apache Airflow (or Cloud Composer).
• Security & Governance: Strong experience configuring GCP IAM permissions and building robust RBAC models.
• Leadership Capabilities: Demonstrated experience leading engineering pods, mentoring junior staff, and driving delivery.