Lead Data Engineer - Data Migration & Lakehouse

Description

You thrive on turning decades of legacy complexity into clean, modern data architecture. You feel at home navigating undocumented mainframes, tangled schemas, and ambiguous specs — and you know how to translate that chaos into a clear technical path forward. If you love owning complex migrations end-to-end, building trust with stakeholders through clarity and honesty, and shaping how data moves from legacy into the lakehouse era — this is for you.

Your tasks

• Migration Ownership: Lead large-scale migration projects from legacy systems (ranging from SQL over ERP to mainframes) into modern cloud/lakehouse targets, taking full technical responsibility.
• Databricks Architecture: Design and implement robust pipelines using Spark, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Lakeflow Declarative Pipelines, and Databricks Asset Bundles for CI/CD-style deployment.
• Data Modeling & Reconciliation: Own data modeling, schema mapping, and reconciliation across heterogeneous systems, resolving structural mismatches independently.
• Discovery & Assessment Leadership: Reviewing source documentation, interviewing SMEs, producing gap analyses, and translating ambiguous or outdated specs into concrete technical requirements.
• Data Quality & Validation: Establish data quality frameworks and automated validation as team standards.
• Stakeholder Communication: Proactively surface risks — documentation gaps, structural mismatches — clearly and early to non-technical stakeholders, representing SQUER with confidence.

Your qualifications

Must-Haves

• Migration Track Record: 5+ years in data engineering, with several large-scale legacy-to-cloud/lakehouse migrations led independently.
• Databricks Depth: Hands-on mastery of the Databricks ecosystem — Spark, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Lakeflow Declarative Pipelines, and Asset Bundles for CI/CD-style deployment.
• Data Modeling & Reconciliation: Strong command of data modeling and schema mapping across heterogeneous systems, from mainframes to legacy ERPs.
• Discovery Experience: Experience in discovery/assessment phases end-to-end — interviewing SMEs, identifying gaps between legacy systems and target architecture, turning ambiguity into concrete requirements.
• Data Quality Rigor: Practical experience with data quality frameworks and automated validation (e.g., Great Expectations, dbt tests, custom reconciliation tooling).
• Communication & Risk Ownership: Ability to break down complex topics and surface risks early and clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• AI-Assisted Workflows: Comfort using AI/LLM-assisted tooling in a data pipeline context.

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience with legacy system archaeology (undocumented COBOL/mainframe systems, EDI, proprietary ERPs)
• Exposure to agentic AI
• Metadata management or data catalog tooling beyond Unity Catalog
• Experience building or evaluating LLM-based mapping/matching tools (schema matching, entity resolution)

Your Benefits

Why You'll Love Working at SQUER:

• Ownership & Responsibility: at SQUER, we believe in empowering our team. In our flat hierarchies, your ideas and actions matter more than titles. Take the reins, make an impact and grow with us.
• Learn & Grow: Tap into a € 5.000 annual training budget to sharpen your skills and take advantage of our in-house Leadership Academy. Join and be part of our active tech community through meetups, hackathons and training sessions. Get up to 40h/year additional time off for your personal education.
• Exciting Challenges & Real Impact : Dive into diverse projects where your work truly makes a difference – for our clients and for SQUER.
• Flexibility for Performance: Benefit from hybrid work options, flexible hours, workations within the EU, and additional vacation days – giving you the freedom to perform at your best.
• Tailored Tools for Success : Choose your preferred hardware configuration and leverage our suite of AI tools and licenses (Anthropic, OpenAI, and more) to suit your working style.
• We Value You : Beyond perks and benefits, we offer a competitive annual salary to recognize your exceptional contributions.
• Be Part of a Thriving Team Culture: At SQUER, collaboration and connection are at the heart of what we do. Through open communication, shared successes, and meaningful team events – including our annual SQUER offsite – we cultivate a culture where everyone feels valued and inspired to grow together.
• A Perks-Packed Workplace : Work in a central office near Ostbahnhof and enjoy meal vouchers, EGYM Wellpass membership, a free Deutschland-Ticket, JobRad, referral bonuses, Corporate Benefits, and Pluxee employee gifts for special occasions.

We believe in transparent and fair compensation. For this role, the annual gross salary ranges between € 81.000 and € 103.000 – the exact placement depends on the seniority level we assess together during the process.