Senior Data Platforms Engineer

About Simple Machines

Simple Machines is an international, independent technology consultancy operating across Sydney, New Zealand, London, Poland, and San Francisco. We specialize in designing and building cutting-edge data platforms, intelligent systems, and customized software solutions at the crossroads of Data Engineering, Software Engineering, and AI. Our clients range from enterprises and scale-ups to government entities, and we focus on converting complex, valuable data into practical products, platforms, and decisions that generate significant impact. We prioritize meaningful innovation and strive to "engineer data to life™".

Role Overview

This senior-level position requires active, hands-on involvement in engineering rather than purely architectural planning or support tasks. The role involves creating new data platforms, real-time data pipelines, and data products for clients committed to leveraging data effectively. You will collaborate with small, elite teams, maintaining close interaction with both the challenges at hand and clients directly. If you thrive on tackling complex data challenges, shaping contemporary architectures like data mesh and data products, and delivering tangible results, this position aligns with your strengths.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement cloud-native data platforms utilizing technologies such as Databricks, Snowflake, AWS, and GCP.
• Adopt modern architectural approaches, including data mesh, data products, and data contracts.
• Integrate intensively with client infrastructure to facilitate scalable, user-focused data access.
• Develop and refine high-efficiency batch and streaming pipelines using tools like Kafka, Flink, Kinesis, and Pub/Sub.
• Orchestrate data workflows via Airflow, Dataflow, and Glue.
• Handle large-scale data processing and transformation employing Spark and Flink, ensuring production-level performance.
• Manage data storage and optimize data formats and access paths across relational, NoSQL, and analytical databases such as Postgres, BigQuery, Snowflake, Cassandra, and MongoDB.
• Implement secure, compliant data solutions with security integrated from the outset, and embed governance practices that preserve developer agility.
• Serve as a consultant and technical advisor to clients, understanding their business challenges and translating them into pragmatic engineering solutions while fostering trust and collaboration.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Proficient in Python and SQL with strong software engineering fundamentals.
• Extensive experience working with Spark and modern data platforms like Databricks and Snowflake.
• Strong familiarity with cloud data services on AWS or GCP.
• Proven track record building and managing large-scale, production-grade data pipelines.
• Sound knowledge of data modeling and capability to exercise architectural judgement.
• Comfortable working with a diverse set of data storage technologies and formats.
• Experienced in infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform or Pulumi.
• Skilled in CI/CD processes using tools like GitHub Actions and ArgoCD.
• Competent with data quality and testing frameworks including dbt, Great Expectations, and Soda.

Preferred Additional Skills

• Experience with JVM or system programming languages such as Scala, Java, Go, or Rust.
• Familiarity with graph and specialized databases like Neo4j and Cassandra.
• Background in consulting or professional services environments.
• Ability to work effectively within agile teams and engage stakeholders to influence positive outcomes beyond simply delivering code.

Why Join Simple Machines

• Engage in intellectually stimulating, impactful projects.
• Contribute to building modern, innovative platforms rather than maintaining outdated systems.
• Collaborate with experienced senior engineers recognized for their expertise.
• Enjoy autonomy, influence, and opportunities for professional growth.