Data Engineer

About the Position

Data Engineer

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About the Company

VML is a global creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce to create connected brands that drive growth. Guided by a Human First philosophy, VML is known for its innovative work for brands and consistently ranks among the world’s leading creative companies, including the WARC Creative 100. VML’s global network spans 55+ markets with principal offices in Buenos Aires, Kansas City, London, New York, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore.

VML is part of WPP, the trusted growth partner for the world's leading brands. Powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform WPP Open, WPP unites cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, creativity, production, enterprise solutions, and expert strategic counsel.

For more information, please visit www.vml.com and follow along on LinkedIn #WeAreVML.

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Responsibilities

As a Data Engineer, your duties will include, but will not be limited to, the following:

• Data Pipeline Development: Design, develop, and implement scalable and reliable ETL/ELT pipelines using Matillion and GCP services (e.g., Cloud Functions, Cloud Storage, Big Query, Composer/Airflow) to ingest, transform, and load digital and media data into Snowflake.
• Data Ingestion & Integration: Configure and manage data streams from various sources, including customer data platforms like Rudderstack, APIs (e.g., ad platforms, analytics tools), and other raw data feeds. Understand and integrate data from advanced omnichannel tagging and data collection systems, ensuring data readiness for tools like Amplitude.
• Data Transformation & Modeling: Develop complex SQL transformations within Snowflake to clean, enrich, and model data for optimal performance and usability by reporting tools (e.g., Tableau, Amplitude) and analytical applications. Design and implement data schemas (star, snowflake, data vault) to support business requirements.
• Infrastructure Management: Monitor, maintain, and optimize the performance, security, and cost-efficiency of our data infrastructure components across GCP and Snowflake.
• Quality Assurance & Monitoring: Implement robust data quality checks, validation rules, and automated monitoring solutions for all data pipelines to ensure accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of data delivered to various platforms, including Amplitude. Troubleshoot and resolve data discrepancies and pipeline failures promptly.
• Reporting & Visualization Support: Collaborate with analytics specialists and data visualization experts (e.g., those using Tableau and Amplitude) to ensure data models meet their reporting needs and are optimized for query performance.
• Documentation & Governance: Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for data pipelines, data models, schemas, and data dictionaries. Adhere to data governance best practices, including data privacy (GDPR, CCPA) and security standards.
• Collaboration & Innovation: Work closely with data analysts, data scientists, product managers (who often use Amplitude), solution architects, and client teams to understand data requirements and translate them into technical solutions. Stay informed on emerging data engineering technologies, AI/ML data preparation techniques, and best practices.
• Automation: Automate routine data management tasks, monitoring, and deployments where possible using scripting languages like Python.

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Requirements

• Minimum 5 years’ engineering and development experience
• Strong client-facing skills – responsive, results-driven, dedicated to customer support, and adept at consulting on complex technical and strategic data challenges.
• Strong attention to detail, excellent organization skills, and ability to work independently and manage multiple projects/responsibilities and small teams in a fast-paced environment.
• Exposure to enterprise-level clients and understanding of complex web/app ecosystems, privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA), and best practices for data governance.
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of various client websites, mobile apps, their business models, and online marketing/product strategy.

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Technical & Development Expertise

• Cloud Platforms: Proven experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP), particularly BigQuery, Cloud Storage, Cloud Functions, and orchestration tools like Cloud Composer (Apache Airflow).
• Data Warehousing: Solid expertise in Snowflake including data loading, SQL querying, performance tuning, and schema design (star schema, snowflake schema).
• ETL/ELT Tools: Strong hands-on experience designing and building data pipelines with Matillion (or similar tools like Fivetran, Stitch).
• Customer Data Platforms (CDPs): Experience with Rudderstack for event collection, data routing, and destination management.
• Product Analytics Platforms: Familiarity with or experience integrating data with Amplitude (or similar product analytics tools like Mixpanel, Pendo).
• Programming & Scripting: Advanced proficiency in SQL for data manipulation and transformation. Experience with Python for scripting, automation, and API integrations.
• BI & Reporting: Experience supporting data consumers using BI tools like Tableau (or Looker Studio, Power BI), understanding the data needs for dashboarding, and the data structures required by Amplitude.
• Data Collection & Integration: Experience integrating data from various sources, including APIs (REST, GraphQL), SFTP, and understanding of event-driven data architectures, especially from advanced tagging and data collection systems.
• Data Modeling: Practical experience with data modeling techniques for analytical databases.
• Version Control: Proficiency with Git and modern software development practices.
• Beneficial: Experience with other cloud platforms (AWS, Azure), knowledge of containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), or exposure to streaming data technologies (Kafka).

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Functional & Domain Expertise

• Marketing & Product Data: Strong understanding of digital marketing data (e.g., ad impressions, clicks, conversions), media reporting metrics, product usage data (e.g., events, user flows as seen in Amplitude), and customer journey data.
• Data Governance: Familiarity with data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA) and best practices for data security and compliance.
• Analytics Ecosystem: Understanding of how data engineering supports analytics, reporting, and machine learning initiatives across various platforms including Amplitude.

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Leadership & Interpersonal Skills

• Client Engagement: Demonstrated experience as a senior consultant, engaging directly with clients to gather requirements, present solutions, and manage expectations.
• Communication: Exceptional written and oral communication skills, capable of authoring complex technical specifications, blueprints, and proposals, and confidently leading technical discussions.
• Problem-Solving: Proven ability to work collaboratively as part of a team to solve complex problems in varied, fast-paced environments.
• Project Management Acumen: Experience working effectively within a project management office framework.
• Methodologies: Familiarity and experience with best practice development methodologies.
• Adaptability: Ability to instill confidence through maturity, expertise, and impeccable communications.

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We Offer

• Competitive salary
• Opportunity to work with a global creative company
• Hybrid work environment
• Professional development opportunities

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About the Company

VML is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

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