Lead Data Engineer

231 - Lead Data Engineer, WPP Media Data, Technology and Analytics (DTA)

About WPP Media

WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities. For more information, visit wpp.com.

WPP Media is WPP’s global media collective. In a world where media is everywhere and in everything, we bring the best platform, people, and partners together to create limitless opportunities for growth. For more information, visit wppmedia.com

About WPP Media Data, Technology and Analytics (DTA): A Leading WPP Media Brand

DTA is WPP’s global data products and technology arm. We’re on a mission to transform marketing by building the fastest, most connected data platform that bridges marketing strategy to scaled activation.

We work with agencies and clients to transform the value of data by bringing together technology, data and analytics capabilities. We deliver this through the Open Media Studio, an AI-enabled media and data platform for the next era of advertising.

We’re endlessly curious. Our team of thinkers, builders, creators and problem solvers are over 1,000 strong, across 20 markets around the world.

Role Summary and Impact

As a Lead Data Engineer, based within our Wavemaker team, you will serve as the technical figurehead for the data engineering practice across WPP Media’s broader Business Intelligence & Data Engineering agency teams. You will be instrumental in defining, driving, and implementing best-in-market data engineering strategies and solutions, with a particular focus on the Measure data platform. You will work directly on Wavemaker clients and collaborate closely with the Wavemaker BI team, ensuring their data needs are met with cutting-edge solutions.

This is an influential role that combines deep hands-on technical expertise with strategic leadership. You will be responsible for setting technical standards, fostering a community of practice among all our engineers across the agencies, and ensuring the delivery of cutting-edge, commercially viable data solutions that empower data-driven decision-making for our clients and internal teams. While you will directly manage one individual, you will act as the most senior engineer in the wider team, providing technical direction and mentorship. You will also represent our data engineering capabilities in client pitches and external forums, demonstrating our leadership in the BI space.

In this role you will:

• Lead Data Engineering Strategy: Define and drive the overarching data engineering strategy and architecture for WPP Media, ensuring scalability, reliability, and innovation across diverse client needs and platforms.
• Technical Figurehead & Community Leader: Act as the senior technical authority and figurehead for data engineering across WPP Media's BI & Data Engineering teams. You will cultivate and lead a thriving community of practice among Director-level engineers, fostering knowledge sharing, standardisation, and technical excellence.
• Measure Platform Expertise & Customisation: Leverage expert-level understanding of the Measure data platform (including Adverity, Google Cloud Platform, BigQuery, dbt, and PowerBI) to design, develop, and implement bespoke, complex data ingestion, transformation, and storage solutions that meet advanced BI specifications.
• Cloud Architecture & Development: Lead the architecture, development, and optimisation of robust, scalable data p