Lead Data Engineer

The posting, as Walker Sands wrote it

Walker Sands is one of the fastest-growing integrated B2B marketing agencies in the world. We are looking for a Lead Data Engineer to help fuel that continued growth. The starting salary for this role is expected to be between $155,000 and $175,000 per year.

Walker Sands is seeking a Lead Data Engineer to join our DATA practice (Data, Analytics, Technology and AI) and help lead the data infrastructure behind our client reporting, measurement, internal operations, and AI-driven work.

This is a hands-on role, but not a heads-down one. Reporting to the SVP, DATA, you'll lead key technical parts of our data stack and be a strategic partner on where it goes next: what to build, what to buy, what to fix, and what actually matters to the business. You don't need a lot of direction and are comfortable working through ambiguity.

The role grows as you do. Near term, you'll work alongside our team and external partners to extend and strengthen the platform. Over time, you'll take on more of the technical ownership and help lead what comes next. And as the practice scales, you'll build and lead a small data support team handling tier 1 and tier 2 triage.

What You Will Do (Responsibilities)

Data Engineering

• Build and maintain pipelines and dbt models in Snowflake that are tested, documented, and trusted
• Integrate data from paid media, web analytics, SEO, CRM, and business systems using tools like Fivetran or Airbyte and direct APIs
• Find and fix breaks at the root, before an account team or client finds them
• Maintain data governance: access controls, privacy, and consent requirements
• Structure and document data so AI agents can use it reliable: clear semantic layers, consistent definitions, and metadata that tells an agent what a table or metric actually means
• Build governed access patterns for agentic tools (scoped, read-only, permission aware) so agents only query the data they're allowed to, and their answers can be traced back to the source

Strategy + Partnership

• Work with the SVP, DATA on architecture, roadmap, and build-vs-buy-vs-partner decisions
• Translate business and client needs into data designs that hold up, and push back when a request won't
• Make data usable for analysts, reporting, and AI-driven tools through well-modeled, well-governed layers

Team Leadership

• Build and lead a small data support team handling tier 1 and tier 2 triage, including the playbooks and escalation paths behind it
• Eventually build out the team as needed for various functions to drive better accuracy, performance and data tools for the business

What You Bring (Requirements)

You've spent 7+ years in data engineering, enough of it in lean environments where you owned real things without much hand-holding. You can go deep on a broken pipeline in the morning and talk through a roadmap tradeoff in the afternoon, and you're good at both. You are a clear communicator, and work to understand needs beyond the technical with empathy an
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, and learning events to help you grow professionally.

• 🌴 Flexible PTO and Hybrid Work: Take time as needed for vacations, mental health, or personal days. Includes 8 paid holidays, half-day summer Fridays, and a week off between Christmas and New Year.
• 🩺 Health Coverage: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans. Mental health resources, pet insurance, and more.
• 📈Retirement Savings : Employer-matched 401(k) and access to financial planning services.
• 🛡️ Additional Protection: Life insurance, disability coverage, and other benefits that provide added financial security.
• 🧠 Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Free, confidential support for you and your household, including counseling, mental health resources, and help navigating life’s everyday challenges.
• 👶 Family Support: Paid leave for new parents and caregivers, plus policies for fertility treatment, pregnancy loss, adoption challenges, and more.
• 🎯 Performance & Coaching: Regular performance reviews, clear goal-setting, and ongoing coaching to help you understand expectations, grow your skills, and make progress in your career.
• 🎉 Milestone Sabbatical: Celebrate five years with a two-week sabbatical and a $2,000 gift.
• 🤝 Community & Belonging: Employee resource groups, volunteer opportunities, and programs designed to build connection across the agency.
• 🌟 Culture: Our agency offers an award-winning culture. Read more on our website here !

We strongly encourage people of color, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and non-binary people, veterans, parents, and individuals with disabilities to apply. As an equal opportunity employer Walker Sands is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and welcomes everyone to our team.

In your application, please feel free to note which pronouns you use (For example – she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs, etc).

If you need reasonable accommodation at any point in the application or interview process, please let us know.