Lead Data Engineer - Retail & CDP

Job Title : Lead Data Engineer/Architect (Retail & CDP Focus).

Location: Atlanta, GA.

Role Overview:

We are seeking a highly skilled and technically proficient Lead Data Analyst/Data Engineer with deep expertise in Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and data pipeline orchestration tools like Airflow. This role is critical to driving our CRM, personalization, and measurement initiatives, and will require someone who can hit the ground running with minimal onboarding.

The ideal candidate will bring strong retail domain knowledge, hands-on experience with big data ecosystems, and a proven ability to architect and optimize scalable, modular data solutions. You will be expected to lead technical conversations, resolve complex data issues, and mentor junior team members while collaborating cross-functionally with marketing, product, and engineering teams.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead analytics and engineering efforts across CRM, CDP, and personalization programs, enabling segmentation, targeting, lifecycle marketing, and campaign execution.
• Architect and optimize data pipelines using Airflow, BigQuery, and other GCP-native tools to support scalable and reusable workflows.
• Analyze and resolve data quality issues across platforms like Amperity, Acxiom, and other CDPs, ensuring accurate customer profiles and campaign performance.
• Design and implement modular, production-grade code for data ingestion, transformation, and measurement workflows.
• Develop and maintain dashboards and reporting frameworks using GCP-native solutions (e.g., Looker, BigQuery).
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate business needs into technical solutions and data products.
• Lead strategic data discussions with senior stakeholders, influencing decisions through actionable insights and technical expertise.
• Serve as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in data engineering and analytics, mentoring junior analysts and promoting best practices in data governance, storytelling, and campaign measurement.
• Apply agentic AI techniques to automate insight generation and enhance personalization and marketing intelligence.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's or master's degree in data science, Computer Science, Statistics, or related field.
• 15+ years of experience in data analytics and engineering, with at least 3 years in a lead or SME role.
• Proven experience in retail industry, with deep understanding of customer behavior, merchandising, and omnichannel strategies.
• Hands-on expertise with GCP, including BigQuery, Cloud Composer (Airflow), Dataflow, and Looker.
• Strong experience with Customer Data Platforms such as Amperity, Acxiom, or similar.
• Proficiency in SQL, Python, and modular code development for analytics and engineering workflows.
• Deep understanding of CRM data structures, personalization logic, campaign execution, and marketing measurement.
• Ability to work independently, take ownership, and deliver results with minimal guidance.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present complex data insights to senior stakeholders.
• Experience with agentic AI frameworks or similar technologies is a strong plus.