Lead Data Engineer – Front Office | Global Multi-Strategy Firm | Up to $600k TC

Lead Data Engineer – Front Office | Global Multi-Strategy Firm | Up to $600k TCData is how this firm makes decisions. You'd be the person who builds it.Not as a support function. Not as infrastructure that sits behind the real work. At this firm, data sits at the centre of capital allocation, risk, and PnL, which means the person who owns the data platform has a direct line to how money moves.My client is a global multi-strategy investment firm operating across public and private markets. They're looking for a Lead Data Engineer to own the platform end-to-end: architecture, roadmap, team, and the standards that underpin everything. Comp is up to $600k TC. This is a firm that pays to attract the best.The RoleYou'll report directly to the Head of Data and lead a small, high-calibre engineering team, staying hands-on while setting the technical direction for the whole platform.This is not a role where someone hands you a roadmap and asks you to execute it. You'll define the operating model, set engineering standards, and drive the evolution toward a modern cloud-native architecture (Snowflake, DBT, Spark, Databricks/EMR). You'll work closely with PMs, quants, and risk to translate complex business needs into systems that are fast, reliable, and trusted.The interesting part: the firm's golden-source datasets; security master, pricing, accounts flow through what you build. If it's wrong, people in the front office know immediately. That kind of exposure focuses the mind, and for the right engineer, it's exactly what makes the work worth doing.What You'll OwnEnd-to-end architecture and long-term strategy for the firm's core data platformThe data engineering roadmap, set in partnership with the Head of Data and senior stakeholdersLow-latency, high-reliability pipelines powering PnL, positions, and riskGolden-source datasets used across the firmA team of engineers; their direction, development, and outputBest practices across data quality, lineage, observability, and reliabilityWhat They're Hiring ForStrong engineering depth and an ownership mindset, above all else. You've led data platform teams before, you've made architectural calls and lived with the consequences, and you know the difference between a system that works and one that's actually trustworthy.Technically: expert Python and SQL, deep experience with distributed data systems (Spark, Databricks, EMR), and a track record of delivering production-grade platforms — not just designing them.Financial market experience is genuinely not required. The firm is far more interested in how you think and build than in whether you already know what a security master is.Why This, Why NowThe honest answer is that roles like this are rare. True platform ownership, reporting line into senior leadership, direct visibility with the front office, a lean team of people who are actually good and compensation that reflects what it costs to hire someone capable of doing all of it.If you're a strong data engineering leader who wants to own something that matters, this is worth a conversation.