Senior Data Engineer

Who We Are

WPP Enterprise Solutions designs, builds, and operates the growth systems that competitive businesses rely on. In a world where Al is reshaping how companies drive growth, we lead clients in business transformation and marketing modernization, connecting strategy directly to execution. Our 12,000 experts in engineering and platforms, commerce, consulting, content transformation, CRM, and CX work within a unified global operating unit across 40+ markets. WPP Enterprise Solutions works alongside best-in-class partners including Adobe, AWS, Braze, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Shopify, as well as innovators in AI, to deliver growth solutions tailored to the needs of our clients’ businesses. VML, part of WPP, supports WPP Enterprise Solutions by helping brands activate transformation through creativity and experience.

Overview

At VML, we are architects of connected brands and experiences for a changing world. We believe in the powerful synergy of creativity, technology, data, and culture to build brands that not only grow faster but also resonate deeply and personally with their customers. We are experts in marketing transformation, marketing science, and advanced marketing automation and personalization, relentlessly pushing the boundaries of what's possible.

We power over 350 million personalized experiences between brands and their customers every day. We achieve this by applying our deep expertise, leveraging strategic partnerships with the biggest technology platforms in the world, and by harnessing cutting-edge advancements in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Large Language Models. We work closely with our clients as true growth partners, helping them not just achieve their goals but redefine them for the future. This particular opportunity offers the chance to work directly with one of our tier-one automotive clients, a global brand powerhouse, helping shape their digital future.

Our global team of 4,000+ data specialists serves more than 150 markets across the globe. We operate with unwavering integrity, a profound respect for data privacy, and complete transparency. We champion new ideas and diverse perspectives, fostering a culture of creative bravery, open listening, positivity, and collective strength in all that we do. We are constantly evolving, empowering our clients to stay ahead in a rapidly accelerating digital landscape. Please note that UK working hours will be required for this role.

The Role

The Senior Data Engineer, Marketing & Analytics, is a technical leader and architect responsible for designing, building, and owning robust data pipelines and infrastructure that power VML's digital and media reporting and product analytics for our tier-one clients. This role focuses on defining data strategy, ensuring high-quality, reliable, and accessible data for complex analysis, advanced reporting, and critical analytical initiatives, including feeding platforms like Amplitude. You will be instrumental in laying the data foundation that fuels AI/ML applications and provides strategic insights.

You will leverage and evolve a modern data stack including Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Matillion for advanced ETL/ELT orchestration, Snowflake as our cloud data warehouse, and Rudderstack for customer data ingestion and event streaming. Your work will directly empower our analytics and data science teams to derive critical insights, fuel AI/ML applications, and provide robust data to product analytics platforms like Amplitude. This role demands end-to-end ownership, strategic technical guidance, and the ability to mentor junior engineers, alongside a deep understanding of data engineering principles, meticulous attention to data quality, and a collaborative spirit to drive data initiatives across cross-functional and client teams.

Responsibilities:

As a Senior Data Engineer within the VML EMEA Enablement Team, your duties will include, but will not be limited to, the following:

Data Architecture & Strategy: Lead the design and architecture of scalable, resilient, and performant data pipelines and data infrastructure solutions on GCP and Snowflake. Contribute to defining the data engineering roadmap, evaluating new technologies, and establishing best practices.

Advanced Data Pipeline Development: Lead the development and implementation of complex and high-volume ETL/ELT pipelines using Matillion and advanced GCP services (e.g., Dataflow, Dataproc, Pub/Sub, Cloud Functions, BigQuery, Composer/Airflow) to ingest, transform, and load digital and media data into Snowflake. Drive automation and optimization of these pipelines for efficiency and reliability.

Complex Data Ingestion & Integration: Architect and manage sophisticated data streams from diverse sources, including customer data platforms like Rudderstack, numerous APIs (e.g., ad platforms, analytics tools), and other raw data feeds. Ensure seamless and high-fidelity data integration from advanced omnichannel tagging and data collection systems into downstream systems like Amplitude.

Data Transformation & Modeling Mastery: Define, design, and implement advanced SQL transformations and complex data models within Snowflake (e.g., dimensional modeling, data vault, wide table designs) to clean, enrich, and prepare data for optimal performance and usability by reporting tools (e.g., Tableau, Amplitude) and sophisticated analytical/AI applications.

Infrastructure Management & Optimisation: Oversee, optimise, and secure the performance, reliability, scalability, and cost-efficiency of our data infrastructure components across GCP and Snowflake. Implement robust monitoring, alerting, and incident response solutions.

Data Quality, Governance & Security Leadership: Establish and enforce robust data quality frameworks, validation rules, and automated monitoring solutions for all data pipelines, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of data delivered to various platforms, including Amplitude. Drive compliance with data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA) and security best practices within the data architecture.

Strategic Reporting & Visualisation Support: Partner closely with analytics specialists, data scientists, and data visualisation experts (e.g., those using Tableau and Amplitude) to define data requirements, optimize data models for query performance, and ensure the delivery of strategic insights.

Mentorship & Technical Guidance: Provide technical leadership, guidance, and mentorship to junior data engineers, fostering a culture of continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and engineering excellence. Conduct thorough code reviews and ensure adherence to best practices.

Collaboration & Innovation: Act as a subject matter expert and partner with data analysts, data scientists, product managers (who extensively use Amplitude), solution architects, and client teams to translate complex business requirements into robust technical data solutions. Proactively research, evaluate, and advocate for emerging data engineering technologies, AI/ML data preparation techniques, and industry best practices.

Automation & CI/CD: Drive automation of data management tasks, monitoring, and implement Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) practices for data pipelines and infrastructure.

REQUIREMENTS

Minimum 7 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 organisation 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 under