Description
We are looking for an experienced, innovative, and highly motivated Lead Data Engineer to join the development of IQVIA's next-generation data platform designed to unify, govern, and activate data across the enterprise.
In this role, you will serve as a technical leader responsible for shaping the engineering direction of the platform, influencing architecture decisions across multiple squads, and driving the adoption of scalable, secure, and high-performing data solutions.
Core Responsibilities
- Lead the design and implementation of enterprise-scale data engineering solutions processing large volumes of commercial and healthcare data.
- Define and influence platform architecture, engineering patterns, and technical standards across multiple teams.
- Drive technical strategy and roadmap execution in partnership with Product Management and Architecture teams.
- Provide hands-on technical leadership for complex initiatives and critical platform capabilities.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to create scalable, reusable, and maintainable data services.
- Mentor Senior Data Engineers and contribute to the growth of engineering talent across the organization.
- Establish and promote best practices for software engineering, data engineering, testing, security, and operational excellence.
- Lead architecture reviews, design discussions, and technical decision-making processes.
- Identify and resolve cross-team technical dependencies and risks.
- Drive performance optimization, scalability improvements, and platform reliability initiatives.
- Champion automation, observability, and engineering productivity improvements.
- Contribute to strategic technology evaluations and adoption decisions.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree in IT, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related field.
Technical Skills and Knowledge
- 8+ years of experience in data engineering
- 6+ years of experience with SQL and Python
- Deep expertise in Databricks, Snowflake, Apache Spark, and modern cloud-based data platforms
- Strong understanding of distributed data systems and large-scale data architectures
- Advanced knowledge of Apache Iceberg and modern open table formats
- Extensive experience designing enterprise-scale ETL/ELT solutions
- Experience defining data architecture standards and governance frameworks
- Expertise in data warehousing, data modeling, data quality, and data integration
- Strong experience with CI/CD automation processes and tools (GitLab)
- Experience operating data platforms at scale in Azure cloud environments
- Knowledge of platform observability, monitoring, reliability engineering, and performance tuning
Additional / Nice to Have
- Familiarity with AI-powered productivity tools (Copilot/Cursor) and their practical use in software engineering workflows.
- Experience driving technical strategy in a product-led organization.
- Knowledge of Cloudera Data Platform.
- Experience with database design and modeling methodologies (Kimball, Inmon, Data Vault).
- Prior experience with healthcare or pharmaceutical data.
- Strong understanding of software architecture, algorithms, design patterns, and distributed systems.
- Experience processing very large data volumes (multi-terabyte and petabyte-scale environments).
- Experience mentoring engineers and leading technical communities of practice.
Personal Skills
- Exceptional analytical, problem-solving, and troubleshooting skills.
- Strong leadership and influencing skills without direct authority.
- Excellent collaboration, communication, and stakeholder management abilities.
- Ability to present complex technical concepts to both technical and executive audiences.
- Experience working with global teams and navigating cross-cultural collaboration.
- Proven ability to align technical decisions with business objectives.
- Growth mindset with a passion for mentoring and developing engineering talent.
- Strong ownership mentality and commitment to engineering excellence.