Head of Engineering - Data Products

Job Description:

About the Role

We are looking for a Head of Engineering to own the technical roadmap for our enterprise-scale data and AI infrastructure. You will lead a multi-disciplinary engineering organisation, set data platform and cloud architecture direction, and act as the bridge between hands-on solution design and commercial/vendor accountability. This role combines strong architectural credibility with people leadership, governance ownership, and stakeholder management across global clients.

Responsibilities

• Lead, grow and develop a multi-disciplinary engineering organisation, providing mentorship to Development Leads and engineers, ensuring team composition is adequate, and hiring to fill gaps.

• Set and own the technical roadmap for the data platform, defining reference architectures and design patterns (e.g. medallion/layered architectures) that scale across multiple business units and data domains.

• Provide guidance, coaching and mentorship in modern data engineering practices, web application development, and best practices for diagnostics, debugging, testing, deploying, and troubleshooting.

• Work with Product and Engineering teams to scope, plan and estimate the technical roadmap, aligning it to broader business goals and helping to forecast delivery timescales.

• Evaluate solution options against business requirements and organisational standards; champion rapid prototyping and proof-of-concept work to validate designs and de-risk delivery.

• Provide architectural oversight and mentorship to architects and engineers; maintain high standards of design documentation and contribute to the evolution of architectural reference models.

• Foster constructive debates between Product, Engineering and UX teams to create scalable, client-focused solutions that solve business problems with software in the shortest sustainable lead-time.

• Establish and run governance frameworks for applications and data products, including certification and stewardship processes; ensure compliance with security, data privacy, and regulatory standards.

• Own platform security posture: access control, secrets management, naming/tagging conventions, and certification of new data products. Lead the triage and remediation of platform security or data incidents.

• Build visibility into cloud and compute cost drivers; drive FinOps practices to optimise spend across environments. Design repeatable onboarding processes for new tools, analysts, and integrations.

• Manage vendor relationships, procurement processes and commercial contract negotiations, ensuring legal and compliance requirements are met. Provide technical oversight of 3rd party supplier partnerships.

• Lead platform modernisation and migration programmes, including planning, sequencing, and risk management for large-scale technology transitions.

• Stay up to date with emerging technologies and industry trends, assessing their potential impact and benefit to the overall business strategy, particularly AI/agentic capabilities and data infrastructure innovations.

Candidate Profile

• Proven experience leading data engineering or data platform teams at a senior/head level, ideally within a large or matrixed organisation.

• Industry experience working with Data platforms is essential, with strong background in dimensional data modelling, data pipeline development and data engineering in support of web applications.

• Strong hands-on background in modern cloud data platforms (e.g. Databricks, Snowflake, or equivalent) and major cloud providers (Azure, AWS, or GCP).

• Solid understanding of data governance, access control, and security practices in cloud environments.

• Experience with large-scale ETL/ELT design and migration programmes.

• Familiarity with how AI/ML and agentic systems are integrated with enterprise data platforms.

• Demonstrated experience with cloud cost management and FinOps practices.

• Experience managing vendor contracts, procurement, and commercial negotiations.

• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to communicate effectively across technical and non-technical audiences and global/matrixed teams.

• A structured, specification-driven approach to requirements and delivery, with a preference for disciplined, release-oriented delivery.

• Able to demonstrate evidence of applying technology to solve business problems.

Essential Skills

• Strong working knowledge of modern cloud data platforms (Azure Databricks/Spark using Python and associated frameworks, or Snowflake equivalent).

• Familiarity with how AI/ML and agentic systems are integrated with enterprise data platforms.

• Strong working knowledge of cloud storage solutions (Azure Data Lake, Blob storage, or equivalent).

• Strong experience of building data reporting and visualisations using PowerBI, Tableau, or equivalent tools.

• Strong knowledge of SQL and data modelling principles.

• Experience in application development with proficiency in Python or JavaScript frameworks.

• Strong knowledge and experience of hosting in major cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP).

• Solid understanding of data governance, access control, and security practices in cloud environments.

• Knowledge of delivering solutions using a microservice architecture with RESTful protocols and event-driven architectures.

• Knowledge and experience of implementing Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery.

• Ability to quickly learn and apply emerging programming languages, frameworks, and platforms.

• Comfortable working in an agile environment.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills with the ability to explain technical solutions clearly to both technical and business audiences.

Desirable

• Experience in building applications in MERN (Mongo, Express, React, Node) using Webpack, Typescript, and GitHub.

• Experience with Docker and/or Kubernetes and containerized deployments (AKS).

• Experience with workflow orchestration tools such as Apache Airflow or n8n.

• Experience of code quality, test, CI/CD and package managers such as Jest, Lint, Brigade, and Helm.

• Experience with Kafka and event-driven architecture patterns.

• Experience with identity/access management integrations (Okta, Entra ID).

• Experience with service mesh technologies (Istio) and advanced networking patterns.

• Working knowledge of GraphQL APIs, ABAC solutions, and CMS platforms.

• Experience with C4 model architecture documentation (PlantUML or similar).

• TOGAF or other enterprise architecture certification.

• Cloud architecture certifications (AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate).

• Familiarity with the AdTech/MarTech ecosystem.

What we offer

• This is a permanent role.

• This is a hybrid working role with the expectation that you will be in our London office 1-2 times a week.

• As well as a competitive salary, you’ll enjoy a benefits package that you can tailor to your needs.

Inclusion and Diversity

At Dentsu, we embrace diversity and inclusion, valuing the unique perspectives and contributions of every individual. We believe that diversity fuels creativity and innovation, benefiting our employees, partners, and communities.

We welcome applications from all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, or any other protected characteristic. Beyond recruitment, we strive to create an environment where everyone feels respected, supported, and empowered to bring their authentic selves to work.

We recognize the importance of work-life balance and are open to discussing flexible working arrangements for all roles. If you need reasonable adjustments due to a disability or medical condition during our recruitment process, please contact us at [email protected], quoting the reference number of the role that you are applying for. Your needs will be handled with respect and confidentiality to ensure an inclusive and accessible experience.

About Dentsu

Taking a people-centered approach to business transformation, we use insights to connect brand, content, commerce and experience, underpinned by modern creativity. As part of Dentsu Group Inc. we are headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and our 65,000 employee-base of dedicated professionals work across four regions (Japan, Americas, EMEA and APAC). Dentsu combines Japanese innovation with a diverse, global perspective to drive client growth and to shape society.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion sits at the heart of our Social Impact strategy - our fully integrated sustainability strategy which includes our ambition to build a fair and more equal society, where everyone is equipped to thrive.

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