AWS Lead Data Engineer

 We are looking for an exceptional Lead Data Engineer to join our growing Data Engineering team at Merkle. This role is focused on leading the engineering effort to deliver scalable, high-quality data solutions for our clients. 

You will combine strong hands-on engineering capability with leadership—guiding teams, shaping how solutions are built, and ensuring consistent, high-quality delivery from development through to production. 

You’ll play a key role in bringing our “Powering Intelligence” vision to life—turning data into actionable insight through robust, production-ready engineering. 

What you’ll do 

Reporting to the Head of Engineering, you will: 

• Lead the build and delivery of data solutions aligned to client needs  

• Drive engineering best practices across design, development, and deployment  

• Own technical delivery end-to-end, ensuring solutions are built, tested, and deployed to a high standard  

• Work closely with cross-functional teams (data, analytics, CRM, engineering) to deliver integrated solutions  

• Provide hands-on support and guidance to engineers throughout delivery  

• Contribute to solutioning and pre-sales with a focus on how solutions will be delivered 

Life as a Lead Engineer at Merkle 

 You’ll work across a range of clients at different stages of maturity—giving you variety, pace, and the opportunity to continuously build your skills.  You’ll be actively involved in building, reviewing, and improving solutions, not just defining them. 

Typical technologies include: 

• AWS (core platform) 

• Databricks, Snowflake 

• Tableau, Power BI 

• CDPs such as Treasure Data 

• Modern data and AI tooling 

You’ll be part of a highly skilled, collaborative team delivering complex, high-impact programmes. 

Key Responsibilities 

Engineering Leadership 

• Lead engineers in building scalable, maintainable data solutions  

• Set clear expectations for implementation and coding standards  

• Review code, pipelines, and integrations to ensure quality  

• Support and mentor engineers across the team  

• Step in hands-on where needed to unblock delivery  

Delivery Ownership 

• Own the end-to-end engineering delivery from build through to production  

• Ensure solutions are robust, tested, and production-ready  

• Support sprint planning, estimation, and prioritisation  

• Identify and resolve technical issues across systems and teams  

• Ensure components integrate and perform as expected  

Client Engagement 

• Work closely with clients to understand requirements and constraints  

• Translate requirements into clear, buildable solutions  

• Provide practical, delivery-focused technical guidance  

• Support ongoing client success through reliable delivery 

What we are looking for in you 

You are a strong engineer first, with the ability to lead others and deliver at pace. 

You will have: 

• Proven experience building and delivering data solutions in production environments  

• Strong hands-on engineering skills across data pipelines and platforms  

• Ability to lead engineers and drive delivery outcomes  

• Strong problem-solving skills across complex, multi-system environments  

• Confidence working with both technical teams and client stakeholders 

Technical Skills 

• AWS data engineering (e.g. S3, Lambda, Glue, CloudWatch)  

• Data lake implementation and management  

• Strong data engineering fundamentals (ETL/ELT, ingestion, transformation)  

• Python, Spark, Scala or similar  

• CI/CD and DevOps practices (e.g. GitHub Actions, Terraform)  

• Infrastructure as Code  

• SQL and database design  

• Docker for local development  

• Agile delivery experience  

A few of the benefits

• You'll have a great compensation package, private health & dental insurance and corporate discounts

• 29+ days of annual leave (25 days of regular holidays, birthdays off and 3 additional wellness days) 

• We also offer the opportunity to volunteer for up to 2 days per year and tend to close down the agency between Christmas and New Years 

• You'll have a hybrid working schedule, with flexible start/end hours

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.

#LI-Hybrid